By: Revanche

Craigslist selling: how our crap becomes someone else’s treasure

September 18, 2015

If you’d asked me, I would not have believed that we’d unload any of the stuff clogging up our closets and nooks and crannies. It’s perfectly good stuff but none of it is that high-end, high-value stuff that Personal Finance for Beginners exhort you to sell to make some Quick Cash!

This is one money-related bet I would have lost.

All of this sold like it was in high demand:

• Miscellaneous bike gear
• Random auto parts
• Used shoes
• My old rainboots that never quite fit
• My old but in near-new condition sports watch (btw, this was a surprise sale. Maybe a general rule should be to TELL your spouse before you sell stuff out from under them!)
• Still in the box, old navigation system. Ah useless technology gifts.

PiC is the Craigslister in the family. I just collect the proceeds, log them into Mint, for which he calls me Judy Jetson (Please tell me you remember The Jetsons). Harumph! Oh, and also I provide the free service of fretting uselessly while he’s out, every time, as if all Craigslist buyers are serial killers on the hunt for their next hit.

… What? That’s not normal?

ANYWAY. He once walked me through some of his tips and tricks. I’ve never used them because this is his gig and he’s great at it but it’s good stuff nonetheless.

Writing your ad

• Be very clear in your description of the Thing and Thing’s condition. Don’t assume people have seen the Thing before or that they can view the pictures easily.
• Include some pictures taken in good light.
• Include dimensions or sizing if that’s relevant or useful. It’s always useful for furniture items. Not so much for books.
• If you’re open to offers, say so. If the price is firm, say so. Don’t waste your time with hagglers if you’re not willing to move on price and don’t lose opportunities to unload the Thing if you’re willing to accept an offer.
• Always refresh expired ads, a lot of selling is about the timing. Buyers for Thing may pop up 4 weeks after you list the first time, or in one case, 11 months.
• Always state in the ad: Thing is available if this ad is still posted. Remove ad immediately after a confirmed sale.

Making the sale

• We ignore all stupid inquiries: “Is it still available?” for one. “Does the $20 printer come with ink cartridges?” for another. Historically, those inquiries never bear fruit.
• CL buyers in our area are notoriously flaky. Never promise to hold an item for anyone. It’s always first come, first serve, unless it’s a very big ticket item and you’ve already met, haggled and agreed on a price.
• Safety, safety, safety! Please meet in a public place. Don’t do it in the dark if you can avoid that. The one time PiC did a sale after sundown I insisted on dragging my super-pregnant self along to protect him because that made sense.
• If it requires two people to lift and move, make sure you know if your buyer is going to handle that themselves (some bring a friend), or if they expect you to lend a hand (some will ask).

As regular Craigslist buyers ourselves, we do our best to be a positive part of the ecosystem by only making inquiries when we’re serious, paying in cash (duh!), arranging our own pickup, and of course, if the price isn’t firm, we do haggle! Obviously.

It really can be as easy as posting an ad, fielding calls or emails, and then pocketing some hard cash for things you don’t use anymore! Or won’t use, ever. As always, I record our sales in our tracker here so y’all know, it’s possible to make real money even if you have really weird old stuff.

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