Craigslist

[stitchlovestink]

YAY!!!!
I just sold a big ticket item on Craigslist and now I have $500 to put towards a credit card. I may not be doing well in the yard sale selling area. But I've been kicking butt on Craigslist lately. The CC has 0% interest until Oct, but now it will be paid off much much quicker. I Craigslist.

 

[hockeyprincess]

Yay for you!!! What kind of things are you selling? I did pretty well a few months ago, but haven't sold anything in awhile. I need to get back to business though! My 4yo has a Dora 4-wheeler Powerwheels (the bigger one) that she seems to have outgrown, in her own eyes anyway. She wants a Princess one, Dora must be too "preschool" for her!!! LOL So I asked her if I could sell it and she said I could, if I bought the princess one. Don't even know if they make one! haha But might as well get rid of it while it's still in good condition. So that's where I'm going to start, and keep selling from there!

 

[prncess674]

YAY!!!!
I just sold a big ticket item on Craigslist and now I have $500 to put towards a credit card. I may not be doing well in the yard sale selling area. But I've been kicking butt on Craigslist lately. The CC has 0% interest until Oct, but now it will be paid off much much quicker. I Craigslist.

Yard sales are a lot of work and usually reap little rewards since everyone is looking for a dirt cheap practically give it away bargain, not to mention that you waste an entire weekend pricing, setting up and manning a sale. Anything of real value is better listed on CL. I would much rather make my money by taking a few quick digital photos of my big ticket items than hoping someone drives by my house at a garage sale.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Yard sales are a lot of work and usually reap little rewards since everyone is looking for a dirt cheap practically give it away bargain, not to mention that you waste an entire weekend pricing, setting up and manning a sale. Anything of real value is better listed on CL. I would much rather make my money by taking a few quick digital photos of my big ticket items than hoping someone drives by my house at a garage sale.

In general I agree with everything you've stated. However, the only benefit to a yard sale is you get rid of a LOT MORE bulk and still get cash out of it instead of the tax deduction. I don't mind donating. But now it seems donating is soooo much more difficult because of keeping an inventory of donations along w/ the fair valuations for tax purposes. For me, that is waaayyy more work than the yard sale. Plus I like having the hot little pile of CASH in my grubbie fist.
I'm already thinking about what to put on CL next. I don't really 'need' to sell anything other than to clear out stuff I am no longer using or planning on using. It does feel really good to get rid of something that was just taking up extra space in our garage.
Maybe one day I'll be able to get rid of enough stuff to be able to put my new vehicle in my garage.

 

[lailah]

I would love to start doing CL, but I'm not sure how. I registered, but then I don't know where to go to put my items on. Can anyone give me a few clues?

 

[stitchlovestink]

I would love to start doing CL, but I'm not sure how. I registered, but then I don't know where to go to put my items on. Can anyone give me a few clues?

go to CL.org and then pick your state then pick the city or area closest to you. Once you get to that screen there should be a column all the way on the left that reads "my account". Click on that and then you'll have to sign in using your email and password. then all the way in the right corner is "post a new add in ____" w/ a go button underneath. click on that and it'll pretty much walk you thru the rest of the process. It really is quite easy. I just try to make sure that once I've actually sold the item I delete the listing so that I don't continue to get contacted regarding that item. That is one thing that I have found many (not all ) people are bad about deleting listings once items are sold. I don't like bothering someone when something is gone, but if the listing is still there, I find it safe to assume they still have said item.
give it a try, it's really not hard to put a listing on and the best part is it's free!!!!

 

[C.Ann]

Good for you!!

We (myself, DD, and her DH) have made a bundle of money on Craigslist selling both "big" items and "lots" of smaller items.. My son-in-law is the one who does all of the actual work - taking photos; listing; sifting through the responses; dealing face-to-face with the buyers; etc.. It's been a fantastic source of income - and a godsend at times.. We list high and then let the buyers "haggle" us down to what we actually know what the value of the item is or what we "want".. I like it much, much better than eBay - far less work - no additional expenses for shipping materials - no ridiculous fees - just cold, hard cash and it's done and over with..

I think garage/yard sales still have their "place" though - if you would like to get rid of a bunch of stuff all in one day and don't mind selling it for bargain prices..

Which reminds me - I have to check Craigslist myself to see if I can find a replacement top for my screen house! Keep forgetting to do that..

 

[prncess674]

In general I agree with everything you've stated. However, the only benefit to a yard sale is you get rid of a LOT MORE bulk and still get cash out of it instead of the tax deduction. I don't mind donating. But now it seems donating is soooo much more difficult because of keeping an inventory of donations along w/ the fair valuations for tax purposes. For me, that is waaayyy more work than the yard sale. Plus I like having the hot little pile of CASH in my grubbie fist.
I'm already thinking about what to put on CL next. I don't really 'need' to sell anything other than to clear out stuff I am no longer using or planning on using. It does feel really good to get rid of something that was just taking up extra space in our garage.
Maybe one day I'll be able to get rid of enough stuff to be able to put my new vehicle in my garage.

My rule of thumb is to ask myself if it is worth at least $10. If it is, I list on CL. If not ,it goes in the donate pile. If you sold 100 items at a dollar a piece you only made 100 bucks. Considering you spent 5 hours on Saturday sitting on your lawn, plus all the time pricing and setting up, you probably have 10 hours in the project. My time is worth more than $10 an hour. At some point you need to value your time. I have a college degree with a good job and chasing quarters and dimes that so many items fetch just isn't worth it to me. I don't donate big ticket items, I list them on CL, all the rest are just write offs.

I can't imagine having that many items that add up to totals that are under $10 but still add up to totals that would really matter on a tax return.

 

[dizkids]

I only gave away a FREE item on CL and boy did it go fast. Mostly because we didnt want the hassle with haggling.

Soooo if i take the plunge and try to sell on CL would you say most of the haggling is done before they come to pick up the item or is it face to face when they arrive?

 

[stitchlovestink]

I only gave away a FREE item on CL and boy did it go fast. Mostly because we didnt want the hassle with haggling.

Soooo if i take the plunge and try to sell on CL would you say most of the haggling is done before they come to pick up the item or is it face to face when they arrive?

well so far, I have done it two ways.
Today's item was listed at an excellent price and was listed as firm, cash only, and no trades. It gets on my nerves when people send these lengthy emails listing 80 items and you can pick which ever one you want as a trade. so now, I always state NO TRADES in my listing and I haven't gotten a trade email since. I have listed one or two things that I haggled on, but before they came. I agreed to a lower price, but made it clear that I would not go any lower upon arrival. and to my surprise and pleasure, they did not ask me to lower the price again. That's been my experiences so far. And I always tell them over the phone, it won't hurt my feelings if they don't want it. I did have a lady recently tell me that she wanted one of my items (but due to MY schedule) I couldn't meet up w/ her for like 3 or 4 days. she said she'd call me back after the weekend. Well about 8 days went by w/ no call from her. I finally found her # and called her. She changed her mind. I don't mind that, but she could've called to let me know as a courtesy. I have no doubt that this item will sell, but next time first one w/ the Cash in hand gets it. I turned a couple of others down on selling this item b/c she said she definitely wanted it. Oh well, not that big a deal.

 

[dizkids]

Thank you for the heads up about the trades. OH GEEZE wouldnt have thought of that one : )

 

[prncess674]

well so far, I have done it two ways.
Today's item was listed at an excellent price and was listed as firm, cash only, and no trades. It gets on my nerves when people send these lengthy emails listing 80 items and you can pick which ever one you want as a trade. so now, I always state NO TRADES in my listing and I haven't gotten a trade email since. I have listed one or two things that I haggled on, but before they came. I agreed to a lower price, but made it clear that I would not go any lower upon arrival. and to my surprise and pleasure, they did not ask me to lower the price again. That's been my experiences so far. And I always tell them over the phone, it won't hurt my feelings if they don't want it. I did have a lady recently tell me that she wanted one of my items (but due to MY schedule) I couldn't meet up w/ her for like 3 or 4 days. she said she'd call me back after the weekend. Well about 8 days went by w/ no call from her. I finally found her # and called her. She changed her mind. I don't mind that, but she could've called to let me know as a courtesy. I have no doubt that this item will sell, but next time first one w/ the Cash in hand gets it. I turned a couple of others down on selling this item b/c she said she definitely wanted it. Oh well, not that big a deal.

With CL cash is king.

I have never had someone try to offer me less in person. The only time something similar happened to me was I tried haggling via email but the woman was firm. I agreed to meet her at her house. She was held up with her kids by nearly 45 minutes with a baseball practice. I had driven quite a distance to pick up the item, so I waited in her driveway. and in the end the woman felt bad that I had stuck around so long she offered it to me at a lower price.

Don't ever pull a listing off of CL till you have cash in hand! If you have an offer on the table, tell your other responders a person is picking it up at X time, but if they aren't there you will be the next on the list.

One time I had a seller tell me as above and I offered above the asking price for the item since it was something I really wanted.

 

[TotalSnowWhite]

I've bought two things off CL, but other than that I've been selling, selling, selling!! I just got rid of DS's Jumperoo today. Yea!! I do always try my "big" items on CL before I do anything else with them. I save the kid stuff for our consignment sale (JBF), where I usually get rid of 75-90% of those items. Everything else goes into our "sale corner."

I still love a yard sale, though. It's not really work to us. I love to organize, so I set it up like a store. I think that's helpful for buyers.

Anyway, with all of us working together, it takes about 30 minutes to set up, and then we just sit around and chat. We usually have a fast food breakfast or pastries and juice, then we break out the grill for lunch. We've even had people ask to buy hot dogs! Haha!! We just make it a fun morning/afternoon, and the cash and empty garage is just a bonus. :

 

[lailah]

Thanks so much for the instructions! Looks pretty simple. I have an almost brand new pink battery powered scooter I can put on so I'll try that this weekend. Thanks again!

 

[Daytonamom2]

Got a question for all of you that do craigslist. I have a ton of stuff. Can I group like things together for one price. Like my DD wants to get rid of her brats dolls (some very good condition) and like over 100 clothes/shoes and other brats stuff. All that for one price? How much should I ask. I can take pictures but don't want to count it all up.

Now how do you go about selling . Meet someone. Do you give out your e mail/phone?

 

[toledo13]

I like the concept of buying and selling on Craig's List. BUT- those who have bought and sold.... when you encounter the buyer/seller for the item, how do you do it? I feel weird about meeting someone at some location to complete the transaction....

 

[renae3]

How safe is CL? I mean you have to give the people your address right?

 

[java]

How safe is CL? I mean you have to give the people your address right?

Not if it's an item you can easily transport- you pick a place with lots of people like a parking lot.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Not if it's an item you can easily transport- you pick a place with lots of people like a parking lot.

We've done both where we've met them somewhere and a couple of times they have come to our house. If they come to the house, it must always be when my DH is home. I have a neighbor that I tell, she keeps an eye out while they're here. We've had people come to buy a dishwasher, ATV, and my huge Little Tykes jungle gym, LT bookshelves and LT toybox. They NEVER come inside, not even the garage. We have the item in front of the garage door when they get here. Oh, except the jungle gym, that was in the back yard. I've met people in parking lots of large stores or strip shopping centers to sell other smaller items like brand new ipod hubby won from work (we're a Zune family ), smaller ATV, and a scooter. Use common sense ( I don't mean this as a smart alec remark) like Don't ever let anyone inside your home. I really feel that it's not that much difference than a yard sale if you have the item(s) outside. Have someone there w/ you or take someone w/ you if you meet somewhere. Pick a meeting place that you are familiar with. And I always have my cell phone visibly in my hand. I only have one time that I had a little uneasy feeling (mild ) but I was really accompanying DH. I just made a phone call on my cell phone that way they knew I had one working. It was fine. I do on occasion get a little paranoid. I've made quite a substanial chunk of change doing this. I need to get some more things listed on there.

 

[Duchie]

One of my friends here goes around to garage sales on Saturdays, buys stuff dirt cheap, then turns around and sells it on CL for a profit. Sounds nuts to me, but she has fun and makes some money at it, so more power to her.