Craig's List

[Jsme]

Will someone please explain to me how Craig's List works? Are there fees involved as there are with ebay?

I have several things I want to see but was wanting to sale them with out as many fees as Ebay charges.

 

[3"Mouse"keteers]

No fees but you have to repost each day if you want your listing to show up as new for that day. Interested buyers will contact you thru email or by phone if you include a phone number.

 

[Jsme]

No fees but you have to repost each day if you want your listing to show up as new for that day. Interested buyers will contact you thru email or by phone if you include a phone number.

Have you used them before? If so did you have a good experience?

 

[3"Mouse"keteers]

Have you used them before? If so did you have a good experience?

I have a car listed on there right now and so far I've had several calls and emails about it, probably as many as listing it in the newspaper, which costs money. For free, I think it's a pretty good place to sell.

 

[sunlover13]

Craigslist is free! When you post something, it lasts for 7 days before it expires or you can manually delete or change it.

I've had pretty much good luck.

The biggest problem you might have is some no shows, etc.

I'm always fearful of strangers and I've mostly sold tix so I meet them in a public place near my house. I'm not very comfortable with strangers coming to my house. I have done it before, but I make sure DH is around.

Also, only take cash. Too many scams going around with personal checks, money orders, etc.

Good luck!

 

[Jsme]

I would be uncomfortable with someone coming to my house. We have sold football tickets on ebay where it was pick up only and had the person meet us in a public area.

I guess it is worth the try since it is free.

 

[sunlover13]

I would be uncomfortable with someone coming to my house. We have sold football tickets on ebay where it was pick up only and had the person meet us in a public area.

I guess it is worth the try since it is free.

I hear you. The only time I had someone come to the house was to purchase dressers. If the stuff is small and moveable, I would meet in a public place too. The only problem is I would have the person call you or you call them right before meeting. I'd be po'd if I went to meet someone somewhere and they didn't show up. KWIM?

ETA: I've also done the paypal / ship thing through craigslist. Just be prepared that paypal takes fees too so you might want to add the fees & shipping cost to your asking price.

 

[madelyn]

I've had great success selling on Craigslist (Baby/Kid items). But it may depend on your location. I live in the Austin, TX area and the Craigslist board is pretty active. You do have to be available to check and respond to emails and be available to meet buyers who are anxious to buy. I've found if I am busy and unable to meet quickly, I may lose a buyer. My posts expire after I think 45 days or so but they are more visible if you delete the old post and make a new post. But there is a search function and people are available to find your post that way. No fees but there is also no feedback of any kind so you never know who you are dealing with (as a buyer or a seller). I post in my ads the areas of town I am willing to meet in but also specify that I will not meet them unless I am already scheduled to be in that area to run errands. It would not be worth the gas or time to go out on a special trip to meet someone for the small dollar amount items I often sell. I have had no shows a few times but for the most part, I have had favorable experiences. Be sure to get a cell phone number before agreeing to meet someone but even with a number, I have had people not show up.

 

[RachelEllen]

Craig's list is free, but, IMO, it's a mistake to think of it as a free Ebay. I love Craig's list and Ebay and think they are useful for completely different things.

Craig's list is basically the garage sale of online selling. People are looking for a bargain. I do not know any people that have luck selling high end items (for more than giveaway prices) or selling things for profit.

Because it is free, there is no protection for either buyer or seller. Personally, I'd only sell (or buy) in person and for cash. WHen selling, I get about a 50% no show rate. Personally, I don't sell out from under someone. (If someone makes an appointment with me to buy something, I won't schedule another appointment before it. If someone calls about an item that I have an appointment scheduled for, I will schedule them afterwards and let them know that I will call them if the item is gone.) However, because of the high no show rate, many sellers will sell an item to the first person who shows up with cash.

Here are some things my mom and I have had good luck selling on Craig's list. If you use Ebay a lot, you'll be able to see the difference. My mom is currantly using it to get rid of many items of my late father as she is preparing to move:

100 mounted stuffed fish for $10 each
Fishing equipment (for about 10% new value)
10 year old, 60 inch, 400 lb television $150 (would have cost more to move than value or even to haul away for junk)
Ikea pressboard office furniture. $10-$25 / peice (great for student furnishing place. Again, would cost more to move than to replace)
Books. (free to .25, great to have out for impulse purchase if having a big Craig's list day)


Most other things I sell on Ebay. For example, gift cards, small electronic items, etc.

Hope this is helpful

 

[chrissiecutie]

I am a big fan of craigslist and ebay! However, I do agree with a previous poster, they should be used for 2 different things.

Craigslist- FREE, more "garage sale" items, don't expect to make much $$$, lots of unreliable people/no shows, always meet in public or have DH home.

Ebay- Fees, can make good $$$ if selling the right things, can be time consuming if listing lots of things.

I personally have used both lots of times. I currently have several items for sale on ebay, mainly NWT or NWOT women's, men's and kid's clothing. I make about $100/month average from ebay. Craiglist, I use to sell toys, furniture, my son's old strollers, etc and I'm really just looking to get rid of these items and not make a profit off them.

Hope that helps, best of luck!

 

[delmar411]

Seems to be a bit of slight mis-information on the posting rules...

you post ONCE. It lasts for 45days. if you delete your listing, you may not re-post it for 7days.

It is against the rules to post your item every day. An active board will report and have your posts removed for doing that. It's really rude to spam CL's like that.

 

[3"Mouse"keteers]

Seems to be a bit of slight mis-information on the posting rules...

you post ONCE. It lasts for 45days. if you delete your listing, you may not re-post it for 7days.

It is against the rules to post your item every day. An active board will report and have your posts removed for doing that. It's really rude to spam CL's like that.

Sorry......didn't realize. Please hold back the flames! I posted a vehicle and the auto category has up to fifty posts a day so I just figured if you didn't repost often, your car would just get so far pushed down that no one would ever see it.

 

[Robinrs]

I have bought AND sold on craigslist. It doesn't support me like eBay does but it is great for getting rid of things you no longer want and don't want to ship.

I have sold my washer and dryer, my son's bunk bed, TVs, all kinds of furniture and today I sold a clothes steamer I had no use for.

I've bought nearly EVERY piece of furniture in my house INCLUDING my house on CL. I bought all my exercise equipment and lots of small appliances, my digital camera and so many other thing on it.

The thing to remember is your price goes UP on eBay and usually goes DOWN on CL, so price accordingly. I've found that people plead mileage and gas so much they want the price to go down significantly!!!

 

[Lisa06468]

Craigslist is awesome. Im on it every day. We've sold quite a bit and bought some things too. Key is to deal with locals only and cash only. I call it an online tag sale.

 

[musclemouse]

At least with craigslist you know that you won't lose money! Ebay done me wrong 3 times this year. I don't trust ebay to help me with anything. I lost $100 total to 3 different sellers. Can't get my money back. Hate ebay.

 

[squirrel]

I have waited days for a reply from two different people selling their strollers. I finally sent them both another e-mail last night asking if the strollers are still available and that I would like to see/purchase it. It's still early here, so now I will wait to see if I get a reply.

So far as a buyer, I'm not having any luck.

 

[chrissiecutie]

Seems to be a bit of slight mis-information on the posting rules...

you post ONCE. It lasts for 45days. if you delete your listing, you may not re-post it for 7days.

It is against the rules to post your item every day. An active board will report and have your posts removed for doing that. It's really rude to spam CL's like that.

I think that different cities have different rules?? I post on craigslist often, I'm in the Seattle area, and here our posts expire after 7 days. You "can" post again before they expire by rewording a few things here and there. Or you could simply delete your first ad and put up a new one.

 

[rainbowsandroses]

I think that different cities have different rules?? I post on craigslist often, I'm in the Seattle area, and here our posts expire after 7 days. You "can" post again before they expire by rewording a few things here and there. Or you could simply delete your first ad and put up a new one.

7 days in Chicagoland also!

 

[nrod]

I've recently bought two items on Craigslist and had very good luck. Haven't sold anything yet, but am getting some baby things ready for sale.

One thing to keep in mind that a previous poster mentioned, is scamming. My friend was trying to sell some large furniture. She had a buyer lined up who was going to use a "certified check", but called to tell her the bank wrote it out in the wrong amount and that she could just wire him the $3,000 difference. Now my friend is usually way too trusting for her own good, but she did catch on to this scam. So just be careful!

Even with this info, I'd still list with Craigslist, just keep your wits about you. If it sounds strange, go with your gut. Good luck!

 

[Robinrs]

I've recently bought two items on Craigslist and had very good luck. Haven't sold anything yet, but am getting some baby things ready for sale.

One thing to keep in mind that a previous poster mentioned, is scamming. My friend was trying to sell some large furniture. She had a buyer lined up who was going to use a "certified check", but called to tell her the bank wrote it out in the wrong amount and that she could just wire him the $3,000 difference. Now my friend is usually way too trusting for her own good, but she did catch on to this scam. So just be careful!

Even with this info, I'd still list with Craigslist, just keep your wits about you. If it sounds strange, go with your gut. Good luck!

I get these idiots quite a bit, too... they even WRITE in broken English. I basically tell them to find another fool... and they WILL~~