The Taxonomy of Kijiji Personalities

Esther Smith at the blog Lost Boy Turned Pirate has taken on the task of ranking the major personalities you will meet in your dealings on Kijiji. To be fair, these are just the top five annoying ones -- most of the people you deal with on Kijiji should be rational, sensible, honest, straightforward dealmakers. But you _will_ meet others like these.

 It would be inappropriate for me to cut-and-paste the whole article called 5 People You Will Meet On Kijiji, so a summary with commentary will have to do.

"1) The Scammers"

Oh, we know about these, don't we? Anyone with two brain cells to rub together should be able to spot them, but some people are so greedy that they ignore their Spidey-sense and dive in anyway. If anyone is unwilling to meet you in person to complete the transaction in cash, bail. Seriously. Nothing good will come from agreeing to a deal on something you can't inspect or sell for cash in person. Paypal is fine for some things in life, but it's a red flag on Kijiji. Same goes for money transfers. If it sounds fishy, don't do it.

Scammers are a fact of life on Kijiji -- expect them and learn to spot them, then move on with your grace, dignity and personal information intact.

"2) Know It Alls"

As a know-it-all myself, I was curious to see where Essie was going with this one.

These are the users who take their time to correct your add when they are not even offering. Whether it's because you have overprice/underpriced, or just have a detail wrong you can count on getting a few emails from these guys. This can be both good and bad. Sometimes you may find out you should be charging more, or if it's a wanted add you are offering too much.

True enough, Essie. Snarky drive-by comments from people who want to make wisecracks about your ad from a fake email address are .... well, kind of funny sometimes, to be honest. It takes a fair amount of self-restraint for me not to do that, but I have this blog to vent my frustration. Yes, you will get replies to your ad from jerks, and that will be especially true if your ad is crap and you've priced or described it wrong. If you suck at Kijiji, people will let you know. And you're better off hearing it from these ants than from me.

"3) The Lonely Seller"

Imagine going to a flea market and having the guy behind the table tell you his sad, sorry life story. Difference is, the flea market vendor doesn't have your email address. Essie writes, "you may just find yourself unable to get them to leave after they pick up or drop of their item. It's more sad than anything but it can be annoying if you can't get rid of them. But really? Why not waste a couple hours chatting about their sad existence if it will bring joy to their lonely lives?"

"4) The 'I don't really want to' Sellers"

I don't know why Essie didn't rank this category as the #1 most annoying Kijiji creature. I see it a lot on Twitter -- people thinking they're funny or cute for haggling with a buyer, then deciding not to sell their loot after all. "I'm talking about those you go back and forth in emails, make a deal, they cancel, email a week later, make a deal, ask for more money, then back out again," says Essie. "Rinse and Repeat until either they back out completely or you do."

"5) People Who Just Don't Show Up"

Again, I'd rank these people near the top on the annoying scale. How better to waste your day than to ... well, just waste your day? It's rude and inhumane to make an appointment to come by and buy something and then not show up. And vice versa. If you've made an agreement to make a deal, follow through, or have the courtesy to get in touch and reschedule. Just don't be a dick. Is that so hard?