Tried to buy a "free" couch on Craigslist and got a surprise I wasn't ready for

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?

2 comments

2 Comments

craig.reese3h ago

Man that's rough. It's wild how people treat free listings like they're free to waste your time too. I feel like it's part of that whole thing where you can't really trust anything anymore unless you see it first, even the free stuff.

wyatt_chen862h ago

Free stuff brings out the worst kind of people, sure, but that doesn't mean you should stop trusting everything. I've scored some killer free finds on Craigslist - a working couch, a bookshelf, even a nice coffee table. Downside is you have to deal with no-shows and weirdos, that's just part of the game. But I'd rather deal with flakes online than pay full retail price for something sight unseen from a shop. At least with freebies you lose nothing but time if it falls through. Marketplace and free groups are still full of honest people giving away decent stuff, you just have to wade through the junk to find them.