Craigslist "skilled trades"

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KVA

Senior Member
Location
United States
Has anyone here made any real money from advertising on Craigslist? I doubt their are any legit people on there looking to pay normal rates. The reason being they can easily Google up for example "electrician in Philadelphia Pa" and get like 15 electricians to call. So what would make someone troll craigslist for an electrician? Simple dirt cheap prices.

I'm going to make up a fake ad for $20 an hour just to see what kind of responses I get:lol:
 

ceb58

Senior Member
Location
Raeford, NC
Has anyone here made any real money from advertising on Craigslist? I doubt their are any legit people on there looking to pay normal rates. The reason being they can easily Google up for example "electrician in Philadelphia Pa" and get like 15 electricians to call. So what would make someone troll craigslist for an electrician? Simple dirt cheap prices.

I'm going to make up a fake ad for $20 an hour just to see what kind of responses I get:lol:

The response you will get is thread closed :happyyes:
 

SBuck

Member
I received a handfull of calls from it. One $3200 job and a couple service calls, but the rest were looking for something cheap.
 

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
I've used it to call for a job..., I've read my fellow HM posters posts there... The first 15 Electricains you have to pay attention if Googled, they will, if paid to put those 15 in a slight high-light and of course on top.
 

highvolts582

Senior Member
Location
brick nj
craigslist

craigslist

I have made money from craigslist . You need to be careful on what your willing to look at and how far and have knack for knowing the kind of person they are looking for when you speak to them. some are rude as hell but not all I recently had 2 no show no call for estimates. that does not usually happen and not 2 on the same trip but it happened. Good thing it was close and i was getting a coffee anyhow.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Has anyone here made any real money from advertising on Craigslist? I doubt their are any legit people on there looking to pay normal rates. The reason being they can easily Google up for example "electrician in Philadelphia Pa" and get like 15 electricians to call. So what would make someone troll craigslist for an electrician? Simple dirt cheap prices.

I'm going to make up a fake ad for $20 an hour just to see what kind of responses I get:lol:

have fun... this is from the akron area, where they are finding bodies buried in
shallow graves who answered craigslist ads... there are all sorts of interesting
folks on the internet......




"The farm advertised on Craigslist does not exist; the remote Noble County
area where two bodies were found 90 miles south of Akron is property owned
by a coal company and often leased to hunters.

The men who interviewed for the Craigslist ad came from around the country
but shared much in common. They were middle-aged or just beyond, between
47 and 58 years old.

They were unattached, either single or divorced. They needed work badly enough
that they were willing to travel hundreds of miles on the barest of details about
the job. Above all, they seemed the type of men whose disappearances might go
unnoticed for a while.

Ron Sanson, of Stow, said he responded to the ad and met Beasley at a shopping
mall food court outside Akron on Oct. 10. Beasley told him he was looking for an
older, single or divorced person to watch over a 688-acre farm in southeast Ohio --
the kind of man, Sanson says, whose disappearance might not be quickly noticed.

"How many other people have filled out an application, met with the guy and, you
know, and no one knows they're gone right now?" Sanson has said."
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
So what would make someone troll craigslist for an electrician? Simple dirt cheap prices.

I'm going to make up a fake ad for $20 an hour just to see what kind of responses I get:lol:


Why would anyone want to make up a "fake add"? There are plenty of people out there that are actually looking for work and need work.

If you wish to post an add make it a real one and state what you actually charge. Stay away from hourly rates and use words like "reasonable prices & affordable prices". This will let you negotiate with anyone as far as prices go.

Once you get a lead on a job and it doesn't matter what the source of that lead it's then up to you to sell the job to the customer.
 

dhalleron

Senior Member
Location
Louisville, KY
I advertised on Craigslist last year for a short while and got two or three small jobs from it.

Also got one guy (from mid east) that thought my price was too high and I was sticking it to him because of his skin color and accent. I was not. Money is money to me.
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
My one and only contact with Craig's List was not a very positive one. Someone recently advertised a MacBook computer for a pretty good price, so I contacted the seller by email to ask about it. I have a good friend who is an expert on All Things Mac, so I contacted him for advice and he had some questions about the hardware. I contacted the seller again and asked if he would answer the questions, but he declined, citing that he was "too busy".

No Sale.
 

renosteinke

Senior Member
Location
NE Arkansas
My current job came from an ad on Craigslist. No worries, there.

John Gacy used traditional newspaper classifieds to attract the 50+ young men he buried in his crawl space outside Chicago.

Overall, I find the vast majority of 'help wanted' ads, from whatever medium, to be insincere. Fishing expeditions, bottom fishing, or just collecting resumes ... take your pick, they never seem to actually hire anyone. Some even prove to be 'sting' operations.
 

GUNNING

Senior Member
WACKO's and Geeks.

WACKO's and Geeks.

I've gotten good service work and wacko's both. Got stiffed once, but the wife who I haven't told yet and is an attorney, is going to sue for me. Can't wait to here that bomb shell land in his lap.

You will get spammed. ALOT.

Use a dead end email account.

The State AHJ peruses the adds and cleans house occasionally so make sure to put your license numbers in the add.

Yes there will be bottom feeders calling for free work. Had one ask if I had a hack saw and did he need to buy one for me. Note to self ... use this as a reference trigger not to service this type of request.
 

satcom

Senior Member
My one and only contact with Craig's List was not a very positive one. Someone recently advertised a MacBook computer for a pretty good price, so I contacted the seller by email to ask about it. I have a good friend who is an expert on All Things Mac, so I contacted him for advice and he had some questions about the hardware. I contacted the seller again and asked if he would answer the questions, but he declined, citing that he was "too busy".

No Sale.
The Mac Computer ads in this area they list a really low price and if you call they may say a cash only deal, they give directions to a place where there is a gang waiting to take your money, and leave your memory a blank. looking on the list to save money can end up costing your life.
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Consulting Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
The Mac Computer ads in this area they list a really low price and if you call they may say a cash only deal, they give directions to a place where there is a gang waiting to take your money, and leave your memory a blank. looking on the list to save money can end up costing your life.
I would specify the address to make the transfer, which would be the parking lot of the police substation in my part of town.
 

kiddrock

Member
Location
VA
I've gotten good service work and wacko's both. Got stiffed once, but the wife who I haven't told yet and is an attorney, is going to sue for me. Can't wait to here that bomb shell land in his lap.

You will get spammed. ALOT.

Use a dead end email account.

The State AHJ peruses the adds and cleans house occasionally so make sure to put your license numbers in the add.

Yes there will be bottom feeders calling for free work. Had one ask if I had a hack saw and did he need to buy one for me. Note to self ... use this as a reference trigger not to service this type of request.

Thanks for the SPAM info. I was thinking of doing an AD and didn't think about that.:D
 

KVA

Senior Member
Location
United States
I think Craigslist should charge for ads in the skilled trades. Just the other day a guy spammed the hell out of it posting 15 ads in a row for his general contracting business.

It's weird you see no ads for electricians for almost a day and once i post mine at least 10 more "electricians" post after me. It's a battle to be at the top of the list.

My favorite line from people who call me from there after I give them a price they say "ok i'll give you a call back later" and i never hear from them again.

Do they think we cry like a 2 year old if we don't get the job or something? Why not just say something like "ok that's out of my price range thank you though" :?
 

GUNNING

Senior Member
Do they think we cry like a 2 year old if we don't get the job or something? Why not just say something like "ok that's out of my price range thank you though"

People equate price with quality. There are some embarrassed by discussing the subject of money. It can be used as a tactic of negotiation. Like the last person to talk during a sale wins or using personal space to your advantage. Ask any car salesman.

That is probably why to tell someone it is out of their price range isn't an option to the conversation. Personal embarrassment vis-?-vis violating the social convention of the discussion of personal wealth.
 

jaylectricity

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Occupation
licensed journeyman electrician
Do they think we cry like a 2 year old if we don't get the job or something? Why not just say something like "ok that's out of my price range thank you though"

Because modern telemarketing society has taught us that salesmen will do everything they can to make the sale. By telling a salesman you are ending the possibility of transaction there's a chance that he will try everything to avoid that. It's just a waste of everybody's time, but it was perpetuated by the idea of salesmanship.
 

highvolts582

Senior Member
Location
brick nj
Because modern telemarketing society has taught us that salesmen will do everything they can to make the sale. By telling a salesman you are ending the possibility of transaction there's a chance that he will try everything to avoid that. It's just a waste of everybody's time, but it was perpetuated by the idea of salesmanship.

I almost never drop my price.( unless someone tips me that knows this person and says there going to cut me down no matter drop and you will get it. I have special pricing for that.) The saying for me goes if i am willing to drop my price i must have been trying to rob you. and of course i was not. They mostly say they will get back to you.(this means there just price shopping sometimes they call back almost never do.)
 
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