Selling Saturdays: Craigslist

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Craigslist sometimes gets a bad rap as being a dangerous way to sell your goods. I agree that things could go horribly wrong, but there are ways to decrease the odds.

Tips For Selling Safely On Craigslist

1. Don’t respond to anyone wanting you to ship goods, and promising they will wire cash. I have gotten a few of these emails and I just delete them.

2. Always try to meet the person in a public place to exchange goods.

3. If the item is too big to transport to a public place, at least drag it out to your front porch or another area where you will be visible to others driving by.

4. Whenever you can, always meet people with a friend or a family member.

5. Always let others know when you are showing your item and tell them you will check in when the showing is done (that way if you don’t check in they will know something is wrong)

6. Don’t give out your home number on your Craigslist ad, if you have kids at home. Keep them safe from strange calls, by giving out your cell number.

7. To be even safer, you can just provide your email (set it to private so no one can see it) and field inquires this way, however, please note that you will have to be able to check your email constantly if you list this way, and are wanting to sell your item fast.

8. Accept only cash from your buyers, or if your item is of great value (I have never sold something over $200) I suppose you could do a money order or certified check. I would advise you stay away from personal checks, I have been burned this way too many times in other areas of my life.

Now that we have covered ways to prevent Craigslist Crimes, lets move on to how to sell your item on Craigslist.

Tips For Selling On Craigslist

1. Clean up your item well.

2. Take 4 good pictures of your item from differing angles. 4 photos is the maximum amount Craigslist will allow you to post and I recommend taking full advantage of that number.

3. Take measurements of your item. Also make a list of any visible damage, the make and model number, color, and age.

4. Now that you have done all the prep work it is time to list your item. Go to Craigslist and find the nearest city to you (or if you live in a listed city, then pick that one of course).

5. Enter the item you wish to list and take note of how much an item like yours is being listed at, and what category it was listed under. (you might even want to swing over to Ebay and check out completed listing prices there too).

6. With a better idea of price in mind and category, go back to the Craigslist home page and click on the “post to classified” section.

7. Follow the step by step instructions. They are very idiot proof believe me, if I can do it anyone can.

8. In the title box be sure to include as much detail as you can, item, make of item, don’t forget price, and condition if you can fit it (like new, gently used etc.)

9. In the description box, note all the details you wrote down about your item earlier, include color, make, measurements, age, any damage etc.

10. If you want go ahead and include your cell phone number with the words inquire to in front of it (I don’t put my name just number) . If you don’t want to put you cell phone number out there, put e-mail for further details (don’t list your email in the description box there is another box that will do  that for you, and keeps it private at the same time)

11. Follow the prompts for photo’s at the bottom (add/edit images)

12. Follow the prompts for email at the top (make sure the anonymize button is clicked, as it prevents future junk mail)

13. Once you are all done with your ad press continue

14. Re-read your ad one more time for errors. Then press the button.

15. You then need to go to the e-mail address you entered and confirm the ad. Once you do  that you item is officially published and up for sale.

Your post will be visible of 45 days. If you have price it right, have good photo’s and descriptions your item should sell quickly. Don’t forget to take your post down as soon as the item sells to avoid further inquires that waste your time and the callers time.

One last word of caution, if you did add your cell phone number. Craigslist people often cruise the site late at night and early in the morning,  and a few seem to forget that not all people stay up past 9pm, nor do all people get up before 7 am.So whether you are an early bird or a night owl to insure your best sleep, turn off the volume of your cell if you have an active ad.

It is also helpful to keep a clip board handy with all the details of your item, so  that you can share them again with the caller if they ask.

How about you? Have you had any Craigslist success? Any Craigslist tips to share?

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