I was browsing Facebook Marketplace last night and came across someone selling a blender for $15. They claimed it was haunted by a ghost that only comes out when you make smoothies. The picture just showed a normal Oster blender with a sticky note on it that said 'Beware of the Spin Cycle.' Has anyone else run into stuff like this where people try to sell random items with weird stories attached?
I saw this really cool 70s mushroom lamp on Facebook Marketplace for $60. Looked perfect in the photos, seller said it worked fine. Got it home, plugged it in, and it sparked real bad and tripped the breaker. Opened it up and the wires were basically crumbling inside the plastic. No way they didn't know about that. So I'm out $60 and now I gotta rewire the whole thing myself. Anyone else get burned by "vintage" electronics that were clearly broken?
I put up an old VHS rewinder from 1989 for $20 just for laughs, and within 2 hours I got texts from Oklahoma, Maine, and two different numbers in Ohio all asking me to ship it. Something about the way they all copy-pasted the same script about 'sending a movers check' gave me the creeps. Is anyone else seeing this pattern with random junk listings or did I just hit a weird scammer jackpot?
Saw this listing for a cool old brass lamp in Seattle for $40 and thought I scored. Got it home, went to clean it up, and when I unscrewed the base about a dozen baby mice came tumbling out. Not kidding. Had to throw the whole thing in the yard and text the seller who just said 'oh yeah the previous owner mentioned mice'. Has anyone else gotten something way worse than advertised?
I saw this Singer 111W155 listed by some guy in Portland, Oregon who said it just needed a good cleaning. Spent two hours getting it running, then the motor started smoking like crazy after 10 minutes of stitching denim. Turns out the wiring was completely fried and it would have cost $300 to fix, so now it's sitting in my garage as an expensive paperweight. Anyone else get burned by a machine that was supposedly 'plug and play'?
I found this beat up chest freezer on Facebook Marketplace back in 2016. Guy said it was loud and he didn't want to deal with it. Gave him 30 bucks, loaded it in my truck. Thing sounded like a lawnmower starting up for the first few months. But it kept everything frozen solid without fail through two moves and a power outage. Finally gave out last week. Learned that sometimes the ugly cheap option works better than the shiny new one. Anyone else had an old appliance just refuse to quit?
Saw a listing last week for a blender that supposedly only works after midnight and the guy wanted $200 for it. Said it was possessed by a ghost chef named Gerald. Did anyone else catch that or was I the only one scrolling that late?
I spotted it at his garage sale last Saturday and he admitted nobody bit because it supposedly burned toast with ghost faces. Has anyone else found fake paranormal items listed for way too much?
I found this old rusty fish smoker at a garage sale in Spokane last summer for $10. The guy said it worked fine he just didn't want it anymore. I got it home, cleaned it up, and fired it up in my backyard. About 30 minutes in smoke started pouring out of every seam and the lid wouldn't stay shut. My neighbor two houses down came over asking if my house was on fire. I ended up using aluminum foil and a brick to seal it up and somehow the salmon came out pretty good. Has anyone else dealt with a garage sale smoker that fought back the whole time?
I was scrolling through Marketplace around 2am looking for cheap furniture, and this guy in Austin listed a blender for $5. He wrote a whole paragraph saying it only works if you say "please" before pressing the buttons. I DM'd him asking if it's a joke and he dead serious replied "nah, tested it 3 times." I screenshotted the whole convo because I need my friends to see this. Has anyone else found appliances with weird backstories on there?
I saw this ad for a 1970s Technics turntable, seller said it was in "perfect working order" and barely used. Drove 45 minutes to their house in Elgin and when I got there he handed me a cardboard box with the thing rattling around inside. No packing at all. The platter was literally taped to the base with grey duct tape and the lid was cracked in two spots. I asked him about it and he said "well it still spins doesn't it?" I just walked away. Learned to ask for photos of the actual item before driving anywhere.
I grabbed a beat-up Hamilton Beach blender off a guy in Denver for 30 bucks last summer, expecting it to die in a month. It's still going strong after 200 smoothies while my fancy one from Target started smoking on the third use. Anyone else find a random kitchen tool on Craigslist that refused to quit?
It was described as a relic from a cursed estate sale. Said it rearranges itself 2 inches to the left every night. I messaged the guy asking if it's still available. He replied 'the ottoman wants to know why you're so interested.' Never hit 'archive' so fast in my life.
I saw this Craigslist post last week for a free Stihl 029 that the owner said just needed a new spark plug. I know these older saws are tanks, so I figured I'd grab it for a backup. Got it home, put in a plug, and it fired up for about 10 seconds before shooting a cloud of smoke and locking up solid. Turns out the piston was scored from running on bad gas mix, and the carb was gummed up way worse than advertised. I spent 3 hours taking it apart only to find the cylinder was shot too. The lesson I learned is that "free" usually means someone else's headache dumped on your workbench. Has anyone else picked up a fixer-upper from marketplace that turned into a bigger mess than promised?
Saw this listing for a free sectional in Austin, said it was in great shape just needed pickup. Drove 30 minutes to this guy's house and he hands me a bag of trash bags instead of a couch. Turns out the ad was a joke, the "couch" was just an old mattress propped up against the wall with a sheet over it. Learned to always ask for a photo of the actual item before heading out, has anyone else fallen for a fake freebie like this?
I was scrolling through Marketplace last Tuesday near Austin and stumbled on this ad for an oven that the seller claimed was possessed. They said it turns on by itself at 3 AM and once cooked a frozen pizza without anyone plugging it in. The picture just showed a normal 1990s Kenmore with some rust spots. I messaged them asking if it made any weird noises, and they said it hums the chorus to "Hotel California" sometimes. I half wanted to buy it just to see if it was real, but my wife said no way. Has anyone else run into haunted appliance listings on there?
I found an ad on Facebook Marketplace last week for a free couch. The pictures looked fine, just some old floral thing. I messaged the guy and he gave me an address way out in the sticks near Raleigh. When I showed up, there was this rusted-out van in the driveway with what looked like a mattress tied to the roof. The guy wanted me to help him carry the couch out of his basement, which had no lights and smelled like wet dog and cigarettes. I noped out so fast, lol. Has anyone else shown up to a buy and instantly regretted it because the situation felt off?
I was at the transfer station in Burlington last Saturday tossing a stack of clean buckets from a job site. Some retired farmer saw me and yelled 'hey, those are worth $5 each on Marketplace!' I laughed it off but checked when I got home. People actually buy those things for gardening, paint mixing, whatever. Now I clean them out and list them for $3-$4 a pop. They move in 2 days tops. Anyone else sit on a goldmine of stuff you thought was trash?
Talked to a moving crew guy last week in Denver who said they've hauled off 12 of those "free pianos" in the last 6 months alone. People just want you to do the heavy lifting, so they slap "free" on it and then ghost you when you show up. Anyone else get stuck with a dusty upright they couldn't even give away?
I found a listing for a free NordicTrack treadmill on Facebook Marketplace near Tacoma last Tuesday. The guy said it worked fine, he just wanted it out of his garage. When I got it home and started cleaning it, I pulled back the belt and found about 30 bucks in loose change and a half-eaten granola bar stuck to the motor housing. Has anyone else found weird stuff hidden inside used gear they bought?
I posted this old porcelain doll I found in my grandma's attic for $20. First guy who messaged said his girlfriend collects them and asked for my address to pick it up that night. He showed up at 11 PM, didn't say a word, just grabbed the doll and handed me a crumpled $50 bill. Next morning I woke up to three more messages all asking if the doll was still available. Weirdest part is my TV turned on by itself around 3 AM that night. Has anyone else had a random transaction like that where the buyer acted totally strange?
I was browsing Facebook Marketplace this afternoon and some guy in Akron is selling his collection of painted pet rocks for $75. Not even fancy ones, just rocks with googly eyes and sharpie smiles. It got me thinking about how wild Craigslist and Marketplace have gotten over the years. I remember back in 2015 when the weirdest thing I saw was someone selling a haunted bread machine. Now it's like people are cleaning out their junk drawers and calling it a vintage collection. The pet rock ad had 14 photos of different rocks with names like Gerald and Susan on sticky notes. I almost messaged the guy just to ask how he ended up with 50 rocks that all look like they were made in 10 minutes. Has anyone else noticed the ads getting more bizarre lately or is it just my area?
I was about to buy a cheap pancake compressor at Home Depot for $90, but my coworker Jeff told me to check Craigslist first. Found an old Craftsman 6 gallon oiled compressor for $75 from a guy in Denton who said it just needed new rings. I rebuilt the pump for $12 and now it runs quieter and holds air better than any new budget unit I've tried. Anyone else had luck fixing up old shop tools instead of buying new?
I needed a dresser for my spare room and saw this beat up old thing on Marketplace for $50. Looked solid in the photos, figured I'd save some cash and get character. Picked it up last Saturday, got it home, and the whole back panel is particle board crumbled to dust. Had to spend another $40 on plywood just to fix it up so it wouldn't fall apart. Has anyone else gotten burned by buying "vintage" furniture that's secretly junk?
I stumbled on a Facebook Marketplace ad from some guy in Phoenix selling a toaster that supposedly only works when it's dark out. He claimed it burned every slice he put in at night but worked fine during the day. Has anyone else run into kitchen gear with weird quirks like this?