How to avoid getting scammed on Craigslist

I have stopped using CL - it is too polluted with fake apartments and I just kept seeing the same photos over and over. SE is sooo much better!

It is such a pity about CL but I have given up as well. Too many scams, overposts and all cap headers.

That has been my sense as well -- that many renters have moved on. The only downside to SE is that listings are quick to come on and slow to come off ...

As an owner who lists on SE, LC and NYBits (about 3-8 "no fee/by owner" apartments a month), I rank my success as follows:

#1 CL - I have to sift through BS on my end too, but it gets the highest volume of responses, and the highest rate of success.

#2 NY Bits - I get on OK amount of responses, and quite a few tenants. VERY easy to use/update.

#3 SE - I can tell how many people view listings and I like that, but don't get to many responses and have only had a handful of tenants come from here. I also don't like how my current tenants try to use price histories as leverage when negotiating, as if they have all of the info. ALso, I HATE how renters are 2nd class citizens here to the point that many people don't even realize SE is also for rentals.

I am advettising some apartments in Astoria right now, on CL and SE. SE tells me my click rate is 10x the average; at most one call. Avout 33-40%oif CL callers want to know if am really an owner/

MAV, I'm surprised you don't get more traffic from SE. If you feel OK linking one of your listings, I'd be happy to give you my $0.02.

I get traffic (mostly about the 10x average line, if that is accurate) that is not the problem. I just don't get to many inquiries from those views, and even less people who want to come see anything. People like to "window shop" here I think

I am not ready to "out" myself on SE yet, although I have been entertaining the idea as of late...

it is a shame that CL is not a very reliable tool for those of us looking for apts. My coworker found her apt on SE and I have referred a couple people here as well. Maybe CL should charge more money to list and that would cut down on multiple postings from these sham brokers?

MAV, do you list a street address an put up a good number of pics? If not, I'd suggest both those things. If the pics are professionally done, that's better. The point of SE, for me anyways, is that I'm not willing to sift through descriptions of ambiguously-located places with no or poor pics, in the hopes that one out of every dozen places I see will be minimally acceptable. That's what CL is like.

It could also be that the average CL user is willing to pay more than the average SE user. I.e., if you have the minimally acceptable place that the CL user sees after sifting & visiting a dozen crappy places, they'll take it. If your minimally acceptable place is just mediocre compared to what can be found on SE, then your place will be skipped.

I guess what I'm saying is that your lesser luck with SE could be related to the fact that I, as a person on the other side of the transaction, like SE so much.

I have found SE to be the best source of quality clients for rentals that are in the higher rental range averages. Craigslist (which was once good) is a jumbled mess as a search vehicle for consumers, the noise is deafening! It seems that those looking at the lower end of things still prefer CL. According to a friend who has many $1500-$1800 a month rentals in Chinatown and vicinity, SE brings little to the table, while CL gets the phone ringing.

Here is some free advice as a person looking for a quality apartment and I these are the things that irritate me about CL listings:

Put the correct area where apt is. If its near Lincoln Tunnel don't call it Chelsea. Chinatown is not Soho.

Put what FLOOR apartment is on. As a single woman I don't want first floor apartments.

Pictures that give you a sense of the room. Taking a picture of the floor in a corner tells me nothing. Also - taking a picture at night means to me that the windows face something really unpleasant and you are trying to hide that.

When taking pictures of the bathroom but the toilet seat down for god's sake!!! gross!!!!!!!

FLOOR PLAN! FLOOR PLAN! FLOOR PLAN! If something doesn't have a floor plan I move on.

kstiles - totally understand your points. wouldn't disagree with you. the only point that's hard to deliver on is the floorplan, as many rental buildings just don't have them.

KeithB, I concur with you on the price thing. I think it's probably related to the cost of marketing. At an $1800 rent, the split to the listing broker on a full 15% fee is just $1500. That's not a lot of money for good marketing (i.e., proper pictures, floorplans, etc.), which is where SE shines for the customer. Even for the LL who markets themselves, it just may not be cost-efficient compared to CL, where the customers are willing to accept lesser marketing.

inonada, Yes I put up street addresses and no less than 6 pictures I take myself (I am practically a pro by now).

KeithB, you might be on to something regarding SE being better for higher end and CL for lower end...\

kstiles99, I do all of those tings (and you would be amazing how many people ask what floor, or walkup/elevator anyway), with the exception of floorplans, which I do not have for any buildings I own, and have never found it necessary to go thought he expense of having hundreds of them made

... one other thing to consider in this discussion: the cheaper the apartment, the faster it will move (generally speaking). Since we're talking about an $1800 apt above, the turnover at these pricepoints is fast enough that by the time you go over, take pictures, get floorplan, post online, an agent could have shown the place 10-20 times and get it rented.

The higher the pricepoint, the more worthwhile it is to invest in "proper" marketing.

inonada - i agree with your split piece ... at $1800 rent, $1500 goes to the listing broker and $750 to the agent (if you assume a 50/50 split) - not to mention that the likelihood of getting full fee for a budget apartment is slim.

What is the breaking point from a cheaper apt ($1800) to a higher end (which is what I am looking for)? thanks?

"Since we're talking about an $1800 apt above, the turnover at these pricepoints is fast enough that by the time you go over, take pictures, get floorplan, post online, an agent could have shown the place 10-20 times and get it rented."

What you are describing takes me 1 hour, maybe two if I come back to my office and answer emails/voicemails before I post the pictures, and does not cost me or my incoming tenants anything....