You've got to be very careful when shopping on online classifieds in general (not only Craigslist, there are plenty of sites like this), as most people are thinking along the lines of, you've bought it, it's yours. All sales are final! I've had some good experiences and not so good experiences using it. I've temporarily (knock on wood in hopes to getting it back) lost some money, to making some on it. You must realize that people are on Craigslist, because they couldn't afford to be elsewhere, or they thought it was the easiest place to find something that they couldn't find elsewhere. Sometimes people are desperate for money, so they post something out of desperation, and sometimes it's something they don't even have to offer. If you want to buy something new, I wouldn't recommend going to a classifieds site. If they say it's new, you should check it out. If you want to buy something used, then there are a lot of people trying to get rid of something used, so then you must know what you're getting before you buy it.

If you're selling something, you must know that people are always looking for a deal or discount. I had a couch listed on there once, and it was a really nice couch, however it was used. Everyone who came over to see it negotiated a better deal, everyone you can imagine, from lawyers to professionals. I refused to sell it, because there were a lot of people low balling the price. I only sold it when someone asked for a smaller discount.

If you're buying on it, you've got to be careful. If someone asks for a lot of money up front, you better be careful. People like myself have been taken advantage of this way. There are people who are out to take your money and provide you nothing in this world, then go missing. Even if you take them to small claims court and win, you can have a hard time with getting the money back.

Don't buy anything until you know you're getting what you paid for, and you know the return or refund they are going to give. There are some people who do not believe you're entitled to a refund, and people who can be crooks on these sites, but then again there are people who aren't like this at all. I've seen them both, the scam artists to the ones who are genuinely trying to sell something good.