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Craigslist - where to sell livestock

16041 Views 14 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  crazie.eddie
We often discuss craigslist as a great place to Buy a used tank, filter and lighting, but if you live in a major metropolitan area, it may also be a great place to Sell your fish and plants. I've been reading on PTF about people trying to sell off their bumper crops of CRS, Endler's, Angles and other weeds with limited success. But now especially during the summer Months when it's getting too hot to ship livestock, I wanted to share my recent craiglist experience with other PTF members.

After breeding them all winter, I had about 60 $1 Endlers I wanted to get rid of, and didn't want to deal with the hassle and risk of shipping live fish. So I placed an ad in the NYC craigslist without my direct email or phone number, including an actual photo of my fish, and here is what kind of responses I got.

2 people wanting free fish.
2 complete newbies wanting cheap fish.
2 net buyers wanting 1-2 dozen fish.
4 fellow breeders wanting to buy livestock, but willing to trade as well.

surprisingly, all wanted both genders to breed, not just all males for display.

the responses didn't come at once, rather they trickled in over the 2 weeks my listing was up. what's great about craigslist is unlike ebaY or Aquabid, craigslist has that anonymous email address system. that way I could ignore the freebies and newbies without upsetting them or getting harassed by them. consequently I sold a few dozen, and traded about a dozen.

some breeders had similar display stock then I, some worse, but they all swore up and down that they came from other people who only bred Endler's with other Endler's. Regardless the opportunity to strengthen the 3 genetic lines I already had was too tempting to pass up.

People gladly drove to me to pick them up, and I compensated them for their gas expense with a few plant samples. I even got an invitation to join two different aquarium keeping groups out on Long Island.

to keep strangers out of my house, I simply bagged their fish and walked it to a nearby intersection where I met their car, got my cash, and we both went our separate ways. In addition, none of them kept pestering me with emails and calls after the transaction, since the accepted attitude on craigslist is; all sales are final.

my point is, selling live fish off craigslist was not the disaster or waste of time I thought it would be. If you'd like to share any of your live plant and live fish not tank or equipment, buying - selling - trading experiences using craigslist, feel free to do so here.
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Spy, if you were talking on your cell at the same time it would have looked like a drug deal going down. I've bought similar things off ebay and met the seller and it always looks that way. :)
ive found it nealy impossible to give away fish recently on craigslist.. ive gotten all of my ads flagged then removed, and usually at least a few wackjobs writing me emails about how immoral it is to give away fish. they say i should donate them to the SPCA instead, or give them to a LFS....
normal people trying to give away fish beware!, craigslist is full of people dumber than you think with no money to spend and nothing better to do than complain about whats happening on the list. ill probably never try to post free fish there again.
Maybe not a disaster or waste of time, but a violation of the "terms of use" that you agreed to when you joined/set up an account.
I know almost no one reads the TOU when they join something or buy software or whatever, but it is there for a reason. Just my opinion ...

here's the excerpt(emphasis added by me):

Partial list of items the sale of which is not permitted on craigslist:

* Obscene material or child pornography.
* Weapons and related items, including firearms, disguised, undetectable or switchblade knives, martial arts weapons, sniper scopes, silencers, ammunition, large capacity magazines, BB guns, tear gas or stun guns.
* Fireworks, including "safe and sane" fireworks or any destructive devices or explosives.
* Controlled substances or illegal drugs, substances and items used to manufacture controlled substances and drug paraphernalia.
* Alcohol or tobacco products.
* Prescription drugs and medical devices, such as prescription or contact lenses, defibrillators, hypodermic needles or hearing aids.
* Nonprescription drugs that make false or misleading treatment claims or treatment claims that require FDA approval.
* Blood, bodily fluids or body parts.
* Animals and animal parts, including the retail sales of cats and dogs.
* Restricted or regulated plants and insects, such as noxious weeds, endangered plant species, or live insects or pests.

and the link to the actual list of prohibited items from the TOU

http://craigslist.org/about/prohibited.items.html

and the link to the TOU

http://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use.html

Keep Smilin'
John :icon_smil
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I guess NY'kers are not that anal, and besides I'm not a "member" just some anonymous.
you see a lot of distressed pet owners who need to travel soon selling things cheap here.
I think it's the regular resellers and high priced breeders people actively keep from listing.
Maybe not a disaster or waste of time, but a violation of the "terms of use" that you agreed to when you joined/set up an account.
I know almost no one reads the TOU when they join something or buy software or whatever, but it is there for a reason. Just my opinion ...

here's the excerpt(emphasis added by me):

Partial list of items the sale of which is not permitted on craigslist:

* Obscene material or child pornography.
* Weapons and related items, including firearms, disguised, undetectable or switchblade knives, martial arts weapons, sniper scopes, silencers, ammunition, large capacity magazines, BB guns, tear gas or stun guns.
* Fireworks, including "safe and sane" fireworks or any destructive devices or explosives.
* Controlled substances or illegal drugs, substances and items used to manufacture controlled substances and drug paraphernalia.
* Alcohol or tobacco products.
* Prescription drugs and medical devices, such as prescription or contact lenses, defibrillators, hypodermic needles or hearing aids.
* Nonprescription drugs that make false or misleading treatment claims or treatment claims that require FDA approval.
* Blood, bodily fluids or body parts.
* Animals and animal parts, including the retail sales of cats and dogs.
* Restricted or regulated plants and insects, such as noxious weeds, endangered plant species, or live insects or pests.

and the link to the actual list of prohibited items from the TOU

http://craigslist.org/about/prohibited.items.html

and the link to the TOU

http://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use.html

Keep Smilin'
John :icon_smil
i know what you are saying john, but AFAIK there is no restrictions against giving away a live fish. would individuals be ok with it if i killed the fishes first and sold them as food? answer is yes, ads for fish for food do not get removed.... whats actually happenning is individuals who dislike the idea of people giving away living things repeatedly flag the ad, and it gets removed. ive spoken with CL reps, and they have reissued some of my ads after they realized i was not in violation of the TOS. but i don't have the time to argue with these idiots, and prove to them what i stated in my ad was fair, and not against the rules. CL is going down hill fast around here... and its just these kinds of issues that are expediting the certain downfall of the service.
I imagine a lot of TOS violation complaints emanate from newspaper companies trying very hard to run craigslist out of business, and they probably have engines working to do just that.
I don't think craigslist is "going down" any faster then the rest of the internet is, now that thieves and wackos know how to use it as well as any regular person and unwary newbie.
I meant no offense to anyone in promoting the sale of live fish on craigslist; I simply want to share my own personal experience in doing so. your results by week and market will vary.
fredyk; sorry your black angles didn't sell better. maybe next time you need to post some aggressive pricing. craigslist people don't like writing unless they get better pricing info.
people can be so pricing sensitive. when I tried to sell 2M4F Endler's 6 for $10, nobody wrote. as soon as I wrote $1 per fish, I was getting inquiries almost daily; it was bizarre.
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I don't think craigslist is "going down" any faster then the rest of the internet is, now that thieves and wackos know how to use it as well as any regular person and unwary newbie.
my point is, if all it takes to have an ad removed is someone else to flag it... then as soon as i see someone else selling something similar to mine i flag it... so the item is no longer there... this is a circular problem, and as of right now, they aren't doing much about it.
You could always try posting any items you want to give away free on Freecycle. There are hundreds of different groups around the country. Check them out. (it's a .org btw)
Spypet - my point in pointing out the TOU was only to let you (and whoever read your thread) know about the prohibited list. As I said originally, I know that most people never bother to read the terms of use before they download something, or sign up for something, etc. As a result many people are often in violation of something without even knowing it. No "tsk-tsk" intended ...

Keep Smilin'
John :icon_smil
My problem with freecycle is that it is constantly prowled by profiteers, not by people who are down on their luck and could actually use the charity.
My problem with freecycle is that it is constantly prowled by profiteers, not by people who are down on their luck and could actually use the charity.

I definately understand that, and as those of us who use the service know, profiting from any transaction by selling the items is prohibited. It is mainly a service to keep items that are still usable from going to a landfill. Just like any service, you have to weed through the replies in order to give it to someone who either needs it, or at the very least take care of whatever it is.
LOL, most of us could have written this, but I sure didn't;
http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/hsh/354191362.html
You could still post on CL. It is a strong possibility it will get flagged, but someone may catch your post just in the right time before it gets removed. I've spotted posts of people selling/giving away fish a few times and I was able to post some discus I had for sale. Otherwise, go to your local aquarium clubs/forums and post on there.
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