For the last 4 years we've been obsessed. With a house once filled, literally to the ceiling, with midcentury furnishings the time came to clear things out. Afterward, although we loved having actual space in our home, it didn't stop us from wanting to keep on collecting. Now we curb instead of cultivate our collecting desires with Craigslist and it's oh so simple!
We collect and then pass on the goods on Craigslist. At first, the whole idea of shopping for other people seems difficult. What do they like? Where will it go in their home? It's easy to get overwhelmed. Instead of thinking you have to have actual clients, shop instead for pieces you love, those which you'd fight for at auction and then simply list them on Criagslist.
To start, you'll want to create an actual log on and user id for Craigslist. Instead of making a new posting each time, it will allow you the ability to relist things or save html coding to copy and paste for your next listing. Make sure all your items are clean and as like-new as possible and take great photos. Then you just list them for others to find.
Soon you'll have a client base that follows you. Make sure to add something at the bottom of each post (a tag) so they'll be able to locate your goods without searching through the masses of other items up for grabs. Style each post the same so they have similar appearances... just remember to skip writing in all caps!
Now we shop with freedom without worry of where it will go. We rotate great pieces in and out of our own home, while passing on other great finds to other local folks who might not have the same time to bargain hunt that we do. And by bargain hunt, we mean the obsessive need to comb thrift stores, antique malls, auctions and garage sales for undiscovered treasures!
Is there anyone in your area that you "watch" on Craigslist? Found great deals from the same person more than once? Share your story in the comments below!
Image: Flickr member jakeliefer licensed for use by Creative Commons
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I am dying to find a gently used, authentic Eames lounge in black on CL!
I am also about to sell some dressers and chairs, so I appreciate your tips.
Another tip: On craiglist, IKEA is a magic word. List anything from IKEA, and *poof*, it will be gone in like one day. So if you are selling stuff from IKEA, there will probably be a decent demand for it, so price accordingly.
Another good tip is to ask for specific info when people respond, as in: please let me know your phone #, what day/time you can pick it up, etc..
ghunt's IKEA tip may be location specific - Toronto has 3 stores and so much IKEA available on CL that it doesn't always move very fast.
Sarah -- wow, what a great idea. So what is your tag line? How can I find you on CL?
outonalimb_09: I don't sell in the Chicago area... sorry!
ghunt: It is a good tip, but be careful of driving away customers with the same tip that might be annoyed that you wasted their time and tagged your post with words that it didn't have anything to do with. Unless you make it funny and then folks are usually pretty understanding.
I meant that, in my experience in Boston, anything from IKEA gets alot of interest on CL. I didn't mean that you should throw the word IKEA into your posts, that would be allowing.
Thanks ghunt! I misread before. Anything listed here from IKEA goes fast as well as the closest one is 6 hours away!
@PureDaisy Agreed. Though I think it's partly because people try to sell used IKEA at nearly retail price - not a great incentive to buy.
Tricks to selling on craigslist:
1. Start a chain of communication with the party interested in your item. Suss out their intent, even google their name, email, phone number to see if they have any *issues* lurking about on the web.
2. Set up an appointment, saying that "we'll be home______". If you're going to be alone, make the house appear to have more people in it: turn up the TV in another room, or switch on some music and say that your son/husband/brother seem to hard of hearing, etc...
Installing key words in your ad ALWAYS works: Modern, mid century modern, Danish modern, a named designer, etc. Even if you say your piece would "work well in Danish Modern interiors", or, "would compliment XYZ designs nicely". For some reason, I find that "teak" and "Danish Modern" draws the most inquiries, with most of them being mature adults.
Finally: sell it as cheap as you can since cl tends to draw bargain hunters. Avoid "tire kickers" (people who want to come over to look at something), stand firm on your price, and only take cash.
Even here in DC (with two stores in the area), things still go pretty fast if they are IKEA. The only problem is that IKEA goods depreciate really quickly. Even if you have them for only a few months and in excellent condition you are lucky to get 50% for them.
I have sold dozens of items on CL and the one basic thing I've learned is always look out for yourself and don't take anyone else's crap. I know it seems sort of harsh, but CL is like the wild west - people will never come by when they say they do, they will give you ridiculous low ball offers, or they will try to scam you. I require everyone who emails me to provide their name, contact info and a time to meet or else I will not respond to their emails. If they don't show up or call to let me know they are late, I just go to the next buyer on my list. This way I usually sell my stuff a few days after I list it.
You just have to go into it with Gordon Gecko mentality :-P If you don't, you will just waste a lot of time.
I am definitely big about giving things away. Selling on Craigslist is a hassle sometimes, maybe from the karma of me giving other sellers the same kind of hassle.
my wife has done the same thing with her etsy shop, modapple.
we're garage-sale, estate-sale and thrift store-a-holics yet are very minimal in what we keep... however, when we see a (insert cool vintage thing here that someone might otherwise buy and not respect the provenance of*), we pick it up and put it in her shop...
it's great, too, because -- since it's not a primary source of income -- prices aren't much higher than what we picked the item up for (and less that you'd find on ebay, craigslist or a vintage shop).
(*there's plenty of ikea and target crap out there for folks to buy and use (and destroy)... used motor oil really doesn't belong in a vintage pyrex pitcher, does it?)
CL sucks in Utah. Just plain sucks.