Last weekend I looked around at the contents of my apartment and, in a fit of redecorating mania, decided to sell some of my furniture. I started posting stuff on Craigslist Saturday afternoon and by Sunday morning everything was sold. Based on my experiences on Craigslist, I've put together 5 tips to ensure selling success.
1. List your item in the most appropriate category. I originally posted these FLOR carpet tiles in the household items section but wasn't getting much response. When I moved the listing to the furniture section of Craigslist, the response was much greater.
2. Keep your guard up. After many years of buying and selling on Craigslist I can say that I have not been scammed once. Now, that's not to say there haven't been attempts. I've gotten the emails offering to buy items sight unseen if they send me a money order for more than the sales amount and I refund the difference. Yeah, right. I may be a fool but I wasn't born yesterday! In other words, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
3. Be as precise as possible in your title and location. List the quantity of what you're selling, the brand of the item, color, or anything else that may make your listing stand out from the others. Also, accurately list your location. This may seem unnecessary but in the face of $4 per gallon gasoline, listing an accurate location gives the potential buyer an indication of how far they'll need to travel.
4. Provide as many details as possible in the description. When I list furniture on Craigslist, I always list the measurements, color, materials, and, if I can remember, where I bought it and what I paid for it. If the item you're selling is heavy and your bad back prevents you from helping move it down three flights of stairs, it wouldn't hurt to mention that the buyer will be responsible for moving it.
5. Good photos go a long way. It perplexes me that some people still list things for sell on Craigslist without posting photos. In this age of cheap and easy digital cameras, there's no excuse for not having a photo of the item you're selling. Go one step further by trying to stage the photo. I try to photograph furniture as it was set up in my apartment when I list it. These FLOR tiles actually lived in my basement storage room for a couple of months but I brought them back up and photographed them set up as a rug. Show potential buyers how fabulous the item could be in their home. If had photographed a stack of FLOR tiles instead of laid out as a rug, it would have been a harder sell.
In addition to these five tips, you should also consider your safety. If you live alone, consider having a friend come over when a potential buyer is dropping by. If you keep your unwanted items in a dark basement, consider pulling them outside before the potential buyer arrives. The world is certainly full of nice, friendly people but there are also a few lunatics out there so be careful.
Images: Jason Loper
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One more to add, (that is a total pet peeve of mine) use a spell check or ask a friend to preview your ad. Ottoman isn't spelled "automan", wrought iron isn't "rot iron", etc.!! Grr.
Yes -- photos... Please take a look at your photo & try to imagine you're a viewer who is not familiar with the item -- can you tell what it is, or what it looks like?
And for goodness sake -- you've got 4 photo chances: use them!
It's shocking what people put up there as photos, and expect you to be interested.
A note on the safety thing - If the only time the buyer can stop by is a time when you're alone, call a friend and let them know what's going on, or see if you can meet them at a public place. Involving more people is never a bad idea, just make sure you let them know that the sale went down fine once it does!
If you're selling a desk or table or couch, please clear all the crap/people OFF of it before photographing!
One other thing that I've found is that items sell much faster when they're listed in multiples of $20 so people can stop off at the ATM on the way. Anything to remove obstacles to pick-up and payment helps. :)
hold firm on your price and terms too. Im never sure if people are just flaky or trying to take advantage but I have had people show up with less cash than we agreed on, I think hoping i would settle for less since they are already there.
A few more ideas:
-Mention if it breaks down for easier moving, a lot of people are afraid an item wont fit in their car for moving, if the legs come off your table, mention it, it could make all the difference.
-If there is any damage to the item, picture it in your post, its better to be honest about it than have a deal not work out after all the work of setting it up. Also, in many cases people can live with it but feel better about knowing the extent of it before they see the item.
-Link to the product listing on a retail website if you can find it. This has a lot of great info that would usually be over the top in your listing but might help a buyer make up their mind. Just make sure its exactly what you have first.
Be concise, accurate, keep it simple. Ads that list a bazillion things with mini descriptions and prices and then put only a couple of pictures are a royal pain -- and a waste of time. Also, people who put misleading things like "Pottery Barn" and then let you know it's "just like PB" are also annoying. AND, put the right neighborhood please -- pretending you're more conveniently located is not helpful; in the end, I am not going to pay a mover more than I am paying for the item (duh). Most of my Craigslist experiences have been positive but there are always a few wiseguys out there so beware, inspect what you buy, and be an honest seller so you'll have good juju when you go to buy!
All great points. I wish #4 and #5 in particular could be incorporated into the CL posting interface. Even if you're staging it, measuring and photographing your item is pretty quick! More times than I can count, I've skipped over a listing because I had no idea if the piece would suit my space in size and/or appearance.
I wish there was some way to weed out the people who will drive 30 miles to take a look at your item and then offer you half your asking price after it's only been listed for 24 hours. Yeah dude, if it lasts the entire weekend and it's still around I might re-list it including OBO. But I don't want to be low-balled on the first day. And I don't want to go through 3 phone calls and 5 emails with you just to have you show up and offer me half.
I realize that the most precise way to deal with this is to say "firm" but obviously I don't want to scare off anyone who might offer me 80%. What to do?
Mr. Modtomic - I completely agree. The default size for photos on CraigsList is very small.
Also, I always put my phone number as well. I've found that I get a lot less flakes that way. People who make the effort to call do so because they actually *want* the item. In my experience, most people who email aren't always serious about buying. I know a lot of people are scared about putting their number on CraigsList, but you can always use a Google Voice number as well.
Ditto on the spell checking/editing. I've been looking for apartments on CL and it's a huge turn off when a posting is rife with misspellings and bad grammar. A post that is clear, concise and doesn't have 15 exclamation points after every sentence appears much more credible and worthwhile.
I'm a Kijiji user myself, as Craigslist just isn't as popular where I am. However, I wonder if all of you have the same issue with responses from the site being void of all email common courtesy?
I wish there was a tutorial for that, too. Yeesh.
Love these suggestions though. Haha, I just hope it doesn't make it harder to sell my stuff if others are making better ads ;)
If you have posted 4 photos as we prefer, please use different angles (front, side for example), or if it has drawers or doors show them open and closed. Posting 4 for the very same photo of the very same item is going to enhance the buying or selling of the item.
I like the suggestion from adamwa to post a link to the product page. Definitely a good move.
On the other hand, don't just steal the photo from the product page to post in your ad. I don't want to see the Jonas product pic from Ikea's website. I know what the desk looks like when bought straight from Ikea.
On the other hand, I don't know what your Ikea desk looks like, and that's the one I'm buying....
I want to see what YOUR Ikea Jonas desk looks like....ie: is it scratched, stained, etc.
Yes, please, give measurements!
All good ideas, but all common sense. I doubt that people without common sense will actually read and follow them - I find you either have common sense, or you don't. (I skip over furniture that doesn't have measurements posted, too.)
I would add to say "Moving Sale" - I do it even when I'm not moving anytime soon - it lets people know I'm flexible and really want to get rid of the stuff - that I'm not going to keep posting at a ridiculous price and keep listing it week after week with no offers. And that I want them to move on the stuff soon.
Measurements! Thank you!
And if you're selling a sleeper sofa, please include the size of the bed too. It helps in sheet selection/inventory and gives another idea of the space requirements.
If selling furniture with parts/hardware, please make sure everything is complete and together (unlike the nutcase who told me that some critical stabilizing bolts were 'around here in a box somewhere').
interesting that you'd advise using the correct category, and then post flor tiles in furniture.
In my area, my plea is for people to seriously consider the listing price. Then take another 10% off. Maybe take the time to actually look at your competition and price accordingly?
I don't care what you paid in 1991, your pine Ethan Allen "dinning table" in perfect condition is not going to sell for $900. Sorry.
My advice - it's not sold until you've got cash in hand. I've bought and sold for both myself and clients over the years - and CL is where I've become a hardened New Yorker. If you write or call in response to my ad (always provide a phone number) and tell me that you were an orphan as a child and the nuns provided you with exactly the SAME DESK that I'm selling and it was the only happy memory of your sad little childhood - and now you've adopted a child and you want to provide him/her with that very same desk so that your life makes sense - I'm not saving it for you and it's not yours until you've shown up with the cash. Seriously - I've had people tell me that they're delivering their baby in just 4 weeks and the Ouef crib my client has for sale is EXACTLY what they've been looking for at JUST the right price. I get all warm, fuzzy and emotionally moved and refuse all subsequent offers only to get stood up by the lovely, eager couple. And now I've turned away potential buyers. I've been burned - lesson learned.
Great tips. I have been using cl for over 4 years and allows me to have extra income. I bought and sold items especially furniture and bikes. Another fantastic way is supply and demand. Imagine what you sell during winter and summer? Snowboard, heater, ect. For more information on how to make extra cash visit me at www.fiverr.com and find mplisting as my username.
All great tips so far, here's some I thought of that I don't think have been mentioned:
If you've improved the item somehow (painted it, added new drawer pulls, etc), mention that in your ad. It could justify a price difference if you're selling something for more than what you paid for it, or for more than what it should go for as a used item.
I use photobucket to upload high-quality images of whatever I'm selling, and then include them in my ad using the "img src" HTML tag. Look up how to use it if you're unaware, it really helps to make a sell!
I try to post my Craigslist ads on Friday afternoon. That way they're near the top for people perusing Craigslist on the weekend. Then if I don't sell it over the weekend, I take down the ad Sunday night and repost it on Monday for a potential weekday sell after work.
I've also seen people list multiple items, and then say something like "To see my other listings, search for 'sara's moving sale'." Then when someone enters those keywords, all the person's listings will come up. It's helpful if you're looking to decorate an apartment and need a few things!
#6. You should also know the difference between "sell" and "sale". You list things "for sale" (not "for sell") and you are "selling" not "saleing" (how that even happens perplexes me).
one of my pet peeves: if its not west elm, room and board ect. don't tag it as such! when i'm selling if it is still a current product I link it to the full price item.
I'm really getting fed up with Craigslist. All I see in the furniture section are blurry photos, furniture with junk all over it, WAY too close-up shots of items, and things that are insanely priced. No one is going to pay $150 for your scratched up wooden 1950's dining table with no chairs. Get it down to $25 and we'll talk.
I agree with previous comments about pricing your items realistically. It's tiresome to sift through endless posts asking 80-90% (or more!) of retail price, "firm." Like cars, mass-market furniture (Ikea, Crate & Barrel, etc.) depreciates substantially once you get it to your home, even if you only keep it a short time.
Some good advice I was once given is that a reasonable price for a piece of mass-market furniture in excellent condition is 50-60% of its original retail price. Guidelines might differ for antiques or higher-end items. Anyone else have a rule of thumb for sensible pricing?
I too am always annoyed when sellers don't bother to include dimensions. Hey, maybe you live in a McMansion - but I live in a 1949 walkup... doors are narrow and there are walls everywhere! I'm looking for a sofa, and dimensions are more important than looks at this point!
I just gave away my childhood dresser and nightstand on CL last week. I included dimensions, the fact that it's been moved 9 times and so while it's not in perfect condition, the set is stable, solid and the drawer movements are flawless. I did forget to say that I lived on the third floor. Oops.
Curiousity... how does Craigslist make money? If buyer and sellers aren't paying for the service, and there are no ads on the pages ... how does it work?
I wonder because I recently learned that Craigslist, when the goverment asked, and then subsequently demanded that CL remove and not allow the postings that aid sex traffiking and child prostitution... that CL REFUSED to do so!!! (Which is disturbingly unbelievable. How do you refuse to do the simple right thing in such a wrong situation?!?)
As a result, I'm tempted to boycott CL - but since I can't figure out how they make money I don't see the point.
DISCLAIMER: Apparantly, they did eventually agree to cooperate with law enforcement - but the fact that they held a hard line in support of sex traffiking and slave trade really makes a person wonder!
Something else to consider for pictures is staging the item you're selling next to something else so people can judge the size. Yes providing measurements is important but I've found it helps people to visualize the size if you, lets say, have at least one photo of the nightstand you're selling by a bed.
Spell it right, because some of us are using search terms to locate specific things. If you're selling a "dinning table," it won't come up as a dining table when I search for it. I look for location too. A typical search for me, "dining table -round -glass eastside | downtown"
and ALWAYS try to post them on the first or last day of the month, 15th or Fridays. These are most often the paydays for people.
I've always had the best of luck using this method for posting larger/pricier items, as people are more likely to buy them before they deplete their paychecks on bills.
@groupie, I respectfully disagree about phone vs. email. I prefer email for nearly every interaction, including Craigslist, and it makes me no less serious a purchaser. Just a writer and not a verbal communicator.
One of my biggest pet peeves is people who don't list a price in the title. If I'm only willing to spend $100 on something and conduct my search accordingly, seeing your wonderful something for $500 won't change my budget, it will just frustrate me.
Take it down if it's been sold! I always try to keep my listings updated, and I say so in the add. My policies come first (cash & carry ... if it's listed, it's available) followed by heading, amount, number available, dims, and any other important information ... like link to item at the store.
When folks inquire, I give them my cross streets until we set an appointment. Only then do they get my address sans apt number. If I can't get a friend to come over, assuming it isn't a heavy object, I bring the item down to the sidewalk for the transaction.
*Knock on wood* so far, so good.
@clickchick: Some services on the website do cost money. Posting a job ad costs anywhere from $25 - $50 or more, depending on the region. They only have something like 30 employees so they don't need to make too much money to turn a profit...
I agree with most of the tips here. Here are a couple more:
-Especially if you are alone or live alone, don't let a stranger inside your house if you don't have to - you can bring a small item outside your building or to a public place.
-If you live in a college town or near a college, you can sell your bookcases, desks, and other dorm/apartment basics quickly and for a fair price at the end of the summer when the students are moving in. Likewise, you can score great furniture for a low price (or for free!) at the end of the semester or academic year.
@clickchick, I remember hearing that there are two types of ads that cost money to post on Craigslist. One is job listings; the other is broker-fee apartment listings in NYC.
(Sounds super specific, but I can fully believe there are enough of those listings to contribute a sizeable portion of revenue!)
Thanks for the info on ad revenue.
I'm still absolutely alarmed that they put up a fight against slamming the perpetrators of sex trade and slave trade ads... assuming they wanted to keep it free and open for everyone... but there are some things that are obviously wrong and everyone should confidently put a stop to!
We used to buy and sell 90% of our furniture from Craigslist, but in the past year or so anything that we've posted for sale (tables, camera lens, iMac, rollerblades, all in good condition and cheap) has garnered a dozen "please ship to my cousin in vietnam and sign up for paypal" responses and a couple of real responses with people who don't show up to come get the item. I don't know what's happened to craigslist (this is in Toronto) but it drives me crazy, how do you get real people to buy your stuff anymore, like they used to in the good old days, circa 2009?
I concur. It blows my mind that people still think it's ok to post a CL ad without a decent photo. I don't even waste my time looking at an ad without one.