What difference could that make? I don't even bother with ads without phone numbers anymore. Actually, I don't even bother much with Craigslist anymore.
Cincinnati is flake/scammer/spammer/dealers posing as owners city, and there's no way Craigslist could possibly police all the nitwits unless they start charging. -----
Craigslist if full of idiots who have no concept of basic human interaction and protocol. In a situation like the one you presented, I just write it off as an idiot, and cease wasting my time.
Are they idiots or scammers? I don't know, and I don't care, it just isn't worth my time to find out.
As an aside, I recently asked a few laptop sellers on craigslist some questions. A lot of them don't include the model number, and when you ask them for this information, it does like this:
Me: What model of laptop is this? Seller: It is a Dell Latitude
This is with a laptop that is already described as being a Dell Latitude, and it goes on and on like this.
The bottom line is that unless it is an item worth dealing with an idiot over, cut your losses and move on; life is too short.
That's funny, because I don't give my phone number out to anyone on craigslist, nor do I call anyone. If a person is unable to compose a proper message to communicate with me, they just aren't worth my time.
Even worse are the texting idiots, who are unable to compose any response other than "TEXT ME DUDE 541-555-1234". Those idiots don't even deserve a response.
I have a throw-away prepay cell phone that I activated on the PagePlus Cellular MVNO network for craigslist and similar contact. I bought the phone for $15 on Ebay and PagePlus's $10 Standard Plan offers 100 minutes good for 120 days. You need to refill before the minutes expire and unused ones roll over to the next 120 day period. For $2.50 a month, you don't have to give out your real numbers.
I make cell phone number trading mandatory at the point a meet-up time and meeting is established. That way, if he's late, you can call him-- or he can call you if he's running late.
If I was engaged in a business that relied on using Craigslist I would probably do something like this, but I am not. So for me, filtering out the illiterate and/or impatient individuals from my interactions keeps my Craigslist experience a positive one.
Look into Google Voice. Set up a phone number in ANY area code you wish (including your own) and it will act as a filter. Phone messages are recorded, transcribed and shipped to you anonymously. You can also listen in on the call being left and pick up if you wish.
I use it almost exclusively for Craigslist dealing. It's free.
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