How do I sell stuff on Craig''s List?

[MichelleCarmen]

Yeah, I know how to take the photos, write up the listing, add the images, etc., but how do I move the inventory???

We're moving in a few weeks and there's TONS of items I'm trying to sell. Everything is nice stuff (I'm not one of those who's trying to sell an old lava lamp for 50 cents), actual furniture and house decor that either a) we've hauled around from our last few houses and never hung up, or b) won't have room for in our new home.

The deal is, three items have sold and everything else is just sitting and I keep relisting to keep my stuff at the top!

Is there any trick-of-the-trade to selling on there?

Is it better to provide adjectives to dazzle up the description or just say X is for sale for Y? Do buyers want to read listings with more than three sentences?

Finally, why are some people SO cheap? I listed an item for $200 and a guy asked if I'd give it to him for free. No joke.

 

[Haven]

The stuff we''ve been able to sell on Craigslist have all been items that were a *really* good deal. I think people aren''t likely to buy anything on Craigslist unless it''s a steal.

This is some of what we''ve successfully sold:
- A Krups coffee/espresso machine that I used twice. Still had box and all paperwork. $40 ($100 new)
- A bunch of in the box, unopened digital picture frames for $20 to $30. ($50 to $120 new)

I think that people snatched those things up because we were selling them for so much less than retail, so they were really good prices. I didn''t write fancy ads or anything, I just described the item and put up four pictures.

Good luck! I hope more stuff sells to help make your move less stressful.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Thanks, Haven. That's kind of depressing about the espresso maker. lol I want to make some money, you know? If I'm going to weed through 20,000 messages (from potentially crazy people) on my Hotmail account, it'd be nice to make more than $10 per item. lol One guy DID buy a $175 item! Yah!

My goal was to make $1,000 from all the stuff, but with my battered ambition, guess I'll hope for $500. lol

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I've bought and sold a ton of stuff on CL. As you know, pictures are really important to your listing. I'd put up good pictures of every single thing you're selling with a description and price. The biggest thing to remember is people aren't going to CL to pay full price for something, even if it's legitimately priced, but if you're patient you can get good buyers. So you need to be realistic in how you're pricing things. If it's a 5 year old Ikea table, $200 isn't going to move it. Similarly, if you've got a brand new bed frame, $50 isn't going to do anything because I can go and buy one myself for the same amount at Sleepys. People who are buying furniture on CL are looking for three things.

1. stuff they can get cheap and refinish
2. antiques
3. designer and name brand stuff (like pottery barn, C&B, etc)

All of the above they want at a good price. For the last two a good price is realistic and equal or less than the value or current price of the item. They're not going to pay a premium because your great aunt was on Antiques Roadshow with it unless it's really worth that amount. Going back to the Ikea thing. The only time I would consider buying something at or almost at full price is if it was new (or newer) and already assembled. That's worth a premium to me.

Other than price and pictures, it's about buzzwords and a clear, concise and catchy headline. I always list brand names in my posts for people who are searching via key words like Crate & Barrel or Restoration Hardware. And make sure you spell correctly. "Drawer," as in 4-drawer dresser is constantly spelled incorrectly and it drives me nuts. Buyers are just as wary of creepers as sellers, so you want to put your best foot forward and try to build credibility through your post.

 

[TooPatient]

I don''t have any helpful hints, just wanted to share a word of warning.

There was a home-invasion & murder last week (news link). Someone listed a diamond ring on CL and a woman called interested. She went to the sellers house with cash in hand. After she and her friend were let in the house to look at the ring, they pulled out guns and two more men joined them. The teenage boys were beaten, the wife was kicked in the head, and the man was shot several times (and died in front of his family).

Please be careful and use common sense. Meet somewhere public (and NEVER at your home).



Good luck selling your items -- it is never fun to have to move stuff you know you don''t want/need. Anything you don''t sell, you might consider donating to a good charity (Children''s Hospital in Seattle has a thrift store in Bellevue) -- you get to help a good cause and receive a tax deduction.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Thanks HH. Two of the items up are designer items and one woman came out and said one particular was cute but wouldn''t work for her and I''m asking too much, so I''ve lowered it twice. At some point, if it''s lowered much more, I''ll just keep it, you know?

A woman DID buy an antique item and was thrilled because she could refinish it. Another person was interested until she was told it had to be refinished (which I said IN the listing and then mentioned it again in a response to her). So finicky.

Oh, and I received a nasty email from someone saying I listed my item in the wrong category.

Don''t people have better things to do than "flame" sellers?

Okay, I''ll take new photos and see if that helps. Maybe they need to be jazzed up. If I''m selling a furniture piece like a table would it be better to show it plain or add a candle or something to show how it can be enhanced?

(and re: the wrong category. .. a lot of stuff I''m listing in both furniture and general to generate more exposure. I''m using two email accounts. lol)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/5/2010 12:42:50 PM
Author: TooPatient
Good luck selling your items -- it is never fun to have to move stuff you know you don't want/need. Anything you don't sell, you might consider donating to a good charity (Children's Hospital in Seattle has a thrift store in Bellevue) -- you get to help a good cause and receive a tax deduction.

Yeah, my MIL sent me a link to that story and is concerned about me selling stuff.

If items don't sell, then I'll discuss with my husband what to do. We're considering renting a storage unit. I was trying to calculate how much it would cost to store everything and if it'd make more sense to sell certain things rather than pay to store them. The deal is we have a set of living room furniture (which we're keeping) and a set of family room (which I'm hoping to sell) so if we kept all of that, we'd need at least a 12 X 15 locker (and the good ones/climate controlled are expensive), which lead to me wanting to list items. My MIL is being extremely helpful and offering to find places for everything. . .but also, we appear to be nomadic and I'm not wanting to keep dragging everything around, you know?

I haven't looked into the Bellevue Childrens' Hospital. Thanks for the recommendation. We do have toys (like transformers) that that are nearly new which we can donate there. I wonder if they do pick ups. . .

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

MC I would just show the item as is without additional decoration. If there are decorative elements, like carvings, you might want to take a second picture of the detail to show online.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/5/2010 12:57:45 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
MC I would just show the item as is without additional decoration. If there are decorative elements, like carvings, you might want to take a second picture of the detail to show online.

Thanks. I''ve been doing without decor and taking close-ups of the fancy stuff. I''ll just play around with my camera some more.

It''s running low on batteries, though, because I spent an hour taking pictures of my cat. Most of them turned out blurry

 

[Diamond_Newb]

I agree with everyone else and would like to add a couple of things:

1) Luck - seriously it may just depend on someone needing it and the price being right. I had a Murphy bed passed down from a family member that we couldnt use. Brand new the thing was a few thousand dollars and we sold it for $600 but it took serveral weeks weeding through crap emails and people who wanted it for $100 to finally have a couple of potential buyers. Not everyone is looking for a Murphy bed let alone know what it is so of course you sometimes have to be lucky!

2)Pricing - Be prepared to list the price over the bottom price you want it for! Everyone wants a deal so if you have a sofa you want $100 for, list it for $150. I did this exact thing! They came and saw it, they offered me $100, and i said its yours!

3) Patience - You will have people that want it for nothing but eventually you will weed those out and find people truely looking to buy what you have! Ebay is about Speed and larger Audience and Craigslist is about patience!

4) Wording - Negotiable! Every post should have that word in their sale. This way people know your are willing to work with the price andl throw offers around...most will be low ball but some will be workable! "AS IS" electronics/furniture/cars etc. Have them come and check it all out and be aware of anything! The Murphy bed i sold had some missing screws and some striped screw holes that needed to be redone - I was honest with guy and explained that it just needed some work but it was 100% functional and looked new! The guy was a handy man and saved thousands and i gained some moola. win win

Honestly if you need things gone fast i suggest garage sale too and continue to post the big stuff or large ticket items on craigslist!


hope this helps!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 5/5/2010 1:01:13 PM
Author: MC

Date: 5/5/2010 12:57:45 PM

Author: Hudson_Hawk

MC I would just show the item as is without additional decoration. If there are decorative elements, like carvings, you might want to take a second picture of the detail to show online.

Thanks. I''ve been doing without decor and taking close-ups of the fancy stuff. I''ll just play around with my camera some more.


It''s running low on batteries, though, because I spent an hour taking pictures of my cat. Most of them turned out blurry

LOL, D.O.G. had a photo shoot this morning and now my batteries are low too!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/5/2010 1:02:13 PM
Author: Diamond_Newb

Honestly if you need things gone fast i suggest garage sale too and continue to post the big stuff or large ticket items on craigslist!


hope this helps!

Yes, all this helps. I''ll add in "negotiable," to hopefully attract more buyers. Everything needs to be gone by the end of May, so there isn''t much time! Well, I can move the stuff to the new house and try reselling. It''s just we''re moving from a central location to a place that''ll be more difficult to attract buyers, so selling now would be ideal.

 

[TooPatient]

Date: 5/5/2010 12:54:42 PM
Author: MC

Date: 5/5/2010 12:42:50 PM
Author: TooPatient
Good luck selling your items -- it is never fun to have to move stuff you know you don''t want/need. Anything you don''t sell, you might consider donating to a good charity (Children''s Hospital in Seattle has a thrift store in Bellevue) -- you get to help a good cause and receive a tax deduction.

Yeah, my MIL sent me a link to that story and is concerned about me selling stuff.

If items don''t sell, then I''ll discuss with my husband what to do. We''re considering renting a storage unit. I was trying to calculate how much it would cost to store everything and if it''d make more sense to sell certain things rather than pay to store them. The deal is we have a set of living room furniture (which we''re keeping) and a set of family room (which I''m hoping to sell) so if we kept all of that, we''d need at least a 12 X 15 locker (and the good ones/climate controlled are expensive), which lead to me wanting to list items. My MIL is being extremely helpful and offering to find places for everything. . .but also, we appear to be nomadic and I''m not wanting to keep dragging everything around, you know?

I haven''t looked into the Bellevue Childrens'' Hospital. Thanks for the recommendation. We do have toys (like transformers) that that are nearly new which we can donate there. I wonder if they do pick ups. . .

Looks like they can do pick ups if you are close enough to them.

Children''s Hospital thrift store

The one we usually donate at is the Redmond location -- right near Sears & Bank of America.
I''m not sure if they can take furniture though.

There is another one in the same area (I think it is in the same shopping strip as that Safeway across the street?). This one is an American Cancer Society thing and the money they raise goes to cancer. I am pretty sure they do furniture.

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 5/5/2010 1:06:54 PM
Author: MC

Date: 5/5/2010 1:02:13 PM
Author: Diamond_Newb

Honestly if you need things gone fast i suggest garage sale too and continue to post the big stuff or large ticket items on craigslist!


hope this helps!

Yes, all this helps. I''ll add in ''negotiable,'' to hopefully attract more buyers. Everything needs to be gone by the end of May, so there isn''t much time! Well, I can move the stuff to the new house and try reselling. It''s just we''re moving from a central location to a place that''ll be more difficult to attract buyers, so selling now would be ideal.

MC,

I know that we live in the same state. I also know that no transactions can be done via PS. But I understand you are selling furniture, not gems, and we need some for my office. Espresso maker - even more so!

So - without doing something unethical, is there any way for me to check your listings? Say, if I know in which area you live? I, too, have come across very weird ads, something like, "this diamond ring was appraised for $ 3,000.00, but let''s give girl a break" (they wanted to sell it for $ 5,000.00). And I have no wish to spend my day driving to Olympia to look at a set of "antique" chairs that people do not bother to recycle. You probably have nicer stuff.

 

[Arkteia]

Also - I had a very bad experience with donating an expensive ring specifically to a Children''s Hospital Thrift Store in Bellevue (it is close to Sears). It is a separate story, but when you donate to them, always ask for a receipt! And if it is a piece of jewelry, make either a copy of the appraisal (if you have it) or at least a photograph of your donation. I do not want to blame people, but I had to call their central store in Seattle to get their tax ID number.

 

[partgypsy]

I''ve sold a few things on craig''s list, and some things sell and some things don''t sell. I''ve sold furniture, like a trundle bed. However I didn''t get any buyers for a solid wood crib with mattress, the problem being there was a complete surplus of cribs on Craig''s list, and the price I could have sold it for I''d rather pass it on to a friend.

I like looking at furniture at Craig''s list, but haven''t yet purchased anything myself. The reason being, the antiques are selling for almost what I could buy myself new (with a return policy, and better working drawers, etc), or the furniture is an outdated style I''m not interested in. It makes me think that furniture is not really as liquid as people think it is, especially out of style, heavy furniture.

My MIL, after the grandparents passed away, had alot of furniture to sell. Her only luck was a) participating in an auction in which antique dealers come to, and b) leaving them at an antique store. But neither of these are fast as the auctions only happen a few times a year, and the store is consignment only. Also not sure if they are looking for non-antique furniture.

 

[ts44]

If you ever get to the point where you can't sell something and you're sick of trying, just leave it on the curb in front of my house - there's guaranteed to be a couple of sketchy dudes in a pickup driving away with it in less than 15 minutes.

I have little to add regarding Craigslist advice other than that as a buyer I want to get as good a look as possible at what I'm considering before I go see it in person, and I always will more strongly consider items with good pictures even if they're slightly more than a similar item with a crappy picture. I guess I don't really read descriptions that much except to see how much work something needs and if there's anything I should be aware of.

Also I never buy anything with upholstery on Craigslist. Even if they say it's brand-new, never used, never taken out of the box, whatever! The idea skeeves me out.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/5/2010 9:43:18 PM
Author: ts44
Also I never buy anything with upholstery on Craigslist. Even if they say it''s brand-new, never used, never taken out of the box, whatever! The idea skeeves me out.

Uh, yeah, the upholstery thing. . .lol

I''m now running into issues where someone will express interest and we''ll work out all the details (except my address) and then they''ll say they''ll call or email me at a specific time and then don''t do so. I took the advice of a friend and decided to respond to a second person (about an item that a "no-show" had planned to buy) who said they would buy that item and be here today at X time. Well, HOURS later, the other one who flaked out, called and said, "oh, sorry I know it''s too late, but I''ll call you tomorrow to see if you still have that item."

Ugh!

 

[Diamond_Newb]

Date: 5/6/2010 12:01:00 PM
Author: MC

Date: 5/5/2010 9:43:18 PM
Author: ts44
Also I never buy anything with upholstery on Craigslist. Even if they say it''s brand-new, never used, never taken out of the box, whatever! The idea skeeves me out.

Uh, yeah, the upholstery thing. . .lol

I''m now running into issues where someone will express interest and we''ll work out all the details (except my address) and then they''ll say they''ll call or email me at a specific time and then don''t do so. I took the advice of a friend and decided to respond to a second person (about an item that a ''no-show'' had planned to buy) who said they would buy that item and be here today at X time. Well, HOURS later, the other one who flaked out, called and said, ''oh, sorry I know it''s too late, but I''ll call you tomorrow to see if you still have that item.''

Ugh!

Yup no shows or people running late will definitely happen...i had my share when selling the Murphy Bed but i really needed it gone so i keep setting up times and eventually people came to see it....Like said its all about Patience

 

[ts44]

Date: 5/6/2010 12:01:00 PM
Author: MC

Date: 5/5/2010 9:43:18 PM
Author: ts44
Also I never buy anything with upholstery on Craigslist. Even if they say it''s brand-new, never used, never taken out of the box, whatever! The idea skeeves me out.

Uh, yeah, the upholstery thing. . .lol

OMG what about the people who sell mattresses on Craigslist! REALLY? (I hope you''re not selling a mattress )

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/6/2010 1:53:36 PM
Author: Diamond_Newb

Yup no shows or people running late will definitely happen...i had my share when selling the Murphy Bed but i really needed it gone so i keep setting up times and eventually people came to see it....Like said its all about Patience

Sigh. . .well, what I''ve been doing is not giving the buyers my exact address until they''re on their way so people don''t know where I am. Somehow that makes me feel safer. (something creepy about a no-show being aware of what I have in my house.)

This week, I contacted two landscapers and neither of them showed up. I don''t get it b/c I''m paying THEM.

 

[karpouzi]

There''s a direct relationship between price and hassle on CL. The lower your asking price, the less people will hassle you, because they know that there are probably plenty of other buyers out there. My general strategy for pricing items on Craigslist is to look up completed auctions on eBay to figure out the market price, and then knock maybe 20% off of that.

 

[charbie]

my husband lists items he really wants to sell in multiple markets. if someone is really looking for something, they usually are willing to travel a bit. actually, this is how he sold his car last summer!

he always puts up lots of pictures, and looks for other similar items, and then lists it a bit lower. we just sold a fooseball table for $175, he had put it up for $200.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/6/2010 4:23:37 PM
Author: charbie
my husband lists items he really wants to sell in multiple markets. if someone is really looking for something, they usually are willing to travel a bit. actually, this is how he sold his car last summer!

he always puts up lots of pictures, and looks for other similar items, and then lists it a bit lower. we just sold a fooseball table for $175, he had put it up for $200.

Thanks so much everyone! Today, two more people came over and I made a few more hundred, and now dh and I decided to wait until we move our belongings/TV, etc., out before putting the rest up mostly for safety reasons. (Basically, a guy left a weird voice mail on my phone that creeped me out so I'm rethinking things here!)

 

[CaliCushion]

I haven''t sold on craigslist, but I''ve successfully bought a few items. For one of the items, the seller was willing to deliver (huge plus in my book!). I have friends who have sold items (some complete junk) very quickly by selling for a very low price. If it gets to a point where you need items out of your house, it''s often easier to have someone pick up and take away the items than to do it yourself.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/7/2010 2:12:12 PM
Author: CaliCushion
I haven't sold on craigslist, but I've successfully bought a few items. For one of the items, the seller was willing to deliver (huge plus in my book!). I have friends who have sold items (some complete junk) very quickly by selling for a very low price. If it gets to a point where you need items out of your house, it's often easier to have someone pick up and take away the items than to do it yourself.

Yeah, it's just when it reaches the low price, I worry about who may show up. A month back, I had a designer fish aquarium set up that I sold for about 10% of original price and the people who showed up were very nice, it's just that they immediately described all their fish tanks and it became apparent that they are animal horders. The guy also brought up drinking beer completely out of context. lol Eh, so there went the aquarium (which I didn't care very much about) but with my precious little fish in it (who I loved) to go live god knows where!

I should have kept the fish and put her in a little 2-gallon fish bowl.

Right now, there are about 10 boxs of stuff ready for donation. Unless something will sell for $50+, I've decided not to list it up on CL. It's not worth the hassle! My DH has a large truck and we're going to donate all the nice stufff, like brand new build-a-bears which my kids got but never played with.

At this point, I've made about $500. We have a massive desk I'm expecting to sell for at least $300! So, I guess we did pretty good, considering

I'm SOOOOO wanting to spend that money on an OEC diamond, but my husband would kill me. hahahaha

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

MC, just an FYI most charity places wont take stuffed animals, pillows and mattresses because they''re so hard to sanitize.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/7/2010 2:29:54 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
MC, just an FYI most charity places wont take stuffed animals, pillows and mattresses because they''re so hard to sanitize.

Okay, thanks for the heads up. Someone once told me that Goodwill sprays all the donations with pesticides to kill lice/fleas, etc., (bleh!)? What do I do with the stuff then?

We''re having success with legos. People buy them by the pound, believe it or not. I sold 20 lbs of them for $125!!! That''s only a fraction of what we still have (I''d say we have at least 150lbs more). I sold them while my kids were at school b/c if they saw the legos going, they would have expected me to give them the money! (and that means they''d use the cash to buy MORE legos.)

I''m going to fill up six bins and then sell any left over ones. It''s crazy that people buy them even w/out the instructions (which CAN be found online luckily)

 

[Diamond_Newb]

Date: 5/7/2010 2:36:07 PM
Author: MC

Date: 5/7/2010 2:29:54 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
MC, just an FYI most charity places wont take stuffed animals, pillows and mattresses because they''re so hard to sanitize.

Okay, thanks for the heads up. Someone once told me that Goodwill sprays all the donations with pesticides to kill lice/fleas, etc., (bleh!)? What do I do with the stuff then?

We''re having success with legos. People buy them by the pound, believe it or not. I sold 20 lbs of them for $125!!! That''s only a fraction of what we still have (I''d say we have at least 150lbs more). I sold them while my kids were at school b/c if they saw the legos going, they would have expected me to give them the money! (and that means they''d use the cash to buy MORE legos.)

I''m going to fill up six bins and then sell any left over ones. It''s crazy that people buy them even w/out the instructions (which CAN be found online luckily)

Wow legos by the pound that is crazy cool...Glad to see things are working out for you though!! Good luck with the OEC diamond!!

 

[2Artists]

We have done Craigslist a ton. Great pics really help sell items. I think a quick clever description can help at times as well.

It is always so weird to see the strangely written scam emails that people try to pull. I find that it can help lessen the amount of odd emails you get to include in your listing that you only deal locally (cash only) and that you report scammers. For selling or buying small stuff its best to meet somewhere besides your home like a bank.

For items that charities will sometimes not take-like pillows and mattresses you can list them on Freecycle or Freesharing and people will gladly pick them up. That''s also useful for things like half empty bottles of paint, cleaner or food you might up getting rid of in a move. Even things like heavy old rusty appliances you don''t want to pay to have someone haul away. You would be surprised at the odds and ends people can find a use for on Freecycle or Freesharing. Like Craigslist of course there are some annoying people who flake out at times. So it is best to be careful there as well.

Also sometimes animal shelters can use things like old towels or blankets.

Mrs.2Artists