If I were to make a list of all the items in our house that we have purchased used off Craigslist, it would probably be 75% of our household furnishings. Let’s see. Queen bed and frame, two chest freezers, two cars, coffee table and end table, high chair, stroller, carriers, file cabinet, car seats, glass jars (i.e. our kitchen pantry storage units), cloth diapers, rocking chair, to name a few. Yes, I love craigslist for all the wonderful goodies you can find for practically every need at less than 1/2 the price of their new counterpart. That being said, it is often easy to get overly consumed with it and just track all the items that come through just to exalt in what amazing deals you can find (am I the only frugal momma that can idolize that?). I do not recommend this pursuit…but if there is something you truly need, make sure to first check Craigslist. You can often find items, especially for babies, that have just seen one child’s use, so it is still practically new.
We have also sold a lot of our junk on Craigslist in a very easy manner. You would be amazed what junk you have that might be valuable to another – an old microwave, cell phones, baby items (strollers, clothes, etc), monitors and various technology, and kitchen appliances, have been on passed on from our house to another happy party. “One man’s toxic sludge is another man’s potpourri”, according to the Grinch, and I have found it to be true. You will also get a higher price for an item you are selling versus offering it a garage sale. We have also made some hilarious encounters over Craigslist as well. On one occasion we sold a air purifier to my midwife. On another occasion, I sold cloth diapers to my friend and contributor, Michele at Frugal Granola.
Craiglist is great way to just give things away. If nothing else, post your clutter for free and see what happens. Our neighbors have tossed large items into the trash before (as we have a community garage dumpster), and we have posted them for free on craigslist (so as to avoid the landfills), and there were gone in under an hour. In this case, we would just post the item on a first come, first serve basis, and include our basic approximate address and leave the item by the door or outside. A simple way to serve the community and be a good steward (who wants an old BBQ filling up half the dumpster?).
Lastly, Craigslist is a great way to test a product. I have frequently purchaced a product used on Craigslist, tried it out, and then re-sold it if I didn’t like it. I did this with a Baby Bjorn carrier. Tried it out. Didn’t float my boat, so I sold it. I also did this with several different cloth diaper styles, strollers, and other items. Many times I have made more than I paid for the item.
We have a few learned a few things along the way that might assist you.
1. Always meet in a public place.
This is a wise practice, if possible, for everyone’s safety. The other benefit is that there will be more guarantee that your buyer will come and not cause a “no show”. I have had numerous times when people said they were coming and never showed up, but this problem was completely solved when we designated a specific location and time.
2. Provide your telephone number.
When posting an ad, include your phone number. I’m one that doesn’t like to post my phone number online, but have found it will significantly increase your chance for making a good and quick sale. The serious buyers will call. The random inquiries will always email.
3. Make an offer.
Don’t be afraid to make an offer on an item, unless you really know that it is a rock bottom price and it will just sell really fast. More times than not I have always got a better price than originally post. This also applies to items you want to sell but don’t really know the value or think that it is not worth much. Ask for a offer. I got twice as much as I thought I could for my microwave by following this tip.
4. Provide pictures and clear descriptions.
Make sure to always include a picture of the item you have for sale, even if it is small and invaluable. People are not interested in items that don’t have pictures. It’s not worth putting the effort into making a post and be lazy to not include a picture. Make your descriptions clear.
5. Utilize the RSS Feed.
If you are on the lookout for an item but don’t want to be checking in every day for something to be posted, subscribe to your specific search with the RSS feature. It’s as simple as entering your search item and then going up to the URL line and selecting the RSS button on the far right. Now all the new postings can be send to your email.
It is important to note that you do need to use a discerning eye when viewing Craigslist. Always use the search bar rather than just viewing the general entries. I have never had a problem exposing myself to anything inappropriate in this fashion. If you are an iPhone or Ipod Touch user, the Craigslist Pro app is a great little tool. It makes searching and selling so easy – 5 minutes or less. You can post an ad completely from your iPhone with the camera feature. You can also subscribe to a feed and it will alert you with a basic alarm feature.
What tips do you have to share?
Craigslist rocks! I am a real estate agent so I use it quite often! One resource that I find quite helpful is http://craigupload.com/ On CraigUpload, I have the images for my individual listings stored in their own albums. I also store information that is relevant such as the property address and mls. I copy the image codes from CraigUpload and paste them into my new ads on Craigslist. Another thing that is really cool is monitoring how many views my ads are receiving from the statistics page on CraigUpload.com
When posting your item, be sure to add nice large pictures with a image host like http://www.listhd.com
Wow — I especially love that last tip! I didn’t realize there was an RSS feed for Craigslist. I have been using Kijiji instead because it will send email notifications of specific things you have searched for. I was disappointed with Craigslist because I thought it didn’t have a similar feature. You’ve just increased my resources – THANK YOU!! Now I can buy from there as well as sell!
P.s. I LOVE freecycle! Between these 3 services, ( and a local charity or two with drop-off bins nearby) there are a lot of responsible ways to discard unwanted things, and make room for different items!
Hi, Have you heard of Freecycle? You can give away or request just about anything on there and it’s all free. It’s frugal and great for the environment too. I have received many great things from Freecycle, the best of which is a huge commercial bread mixer from a pizza shop, in which I can make at least 10 loaves of bread at a time. Check out http://www.freecycle.org to see if there is one in your area.
In #4, you forgot dimensions! Include dimensions folks–pretend like you own a tape measure.
Buyers have more knowledge so they are more likely to buy. Sellers get fewer unnecessary inquiries and more serious ones.
Personally, I find the RSS feed on CL to be rather lame. The coolest thing, though, which many people overlook, is you can actually create an RSS based on a keyword search and not just a the category.
For example, if I’m looking for a recumbent bicycle, I can search “recumbent” in the bicycles section and then click the RSS link at the bottom of the search results. It will give me an RSS of anything in bicycles matching recumbent.
But the best little app I’ve found for great keyword specific searches (that ARE delivered right to your email instead of an RSS feed) is a site called http://heycraigapp.com/
Super simple! Enter the details in the 3 boxes provided (your keyword, your email and your CL city) at the site and it will create an RSS type feed that will be sent to you via email every time something matches your keyword. Usually, they’re sent within an hour of a new posting so you get quite fast and can respond quickly when something catches your eye.
I hope that’s helpful! (And no, I’m not affiliated with heycriagapp or anything. Just a satisfied user.)
That is what I meant when I talked about using the RSS feed, that of searching for a specific product. I do it all the time!
Oh my gosh, I just read this and the oart about giving stuff away on Craigslist reminded me of how WONDERFUL it felt when i was on craigslist one day which I hadn’t been on in a while and I did not need anything particular but I saw an ad in the baby section of a grandmother who’s son had just moved from another state into his parents house because his ex girlfriend was drug-adicted and told him to “take” the baby becuase she didn’t want him. They moved to this state and the poor baby had almost nothing becuase the mother didnt take care of him very well so what was in the house was not worth this lady’s son bringing to Iowa. the grandmother was asking for any help for items for her grandson because her son did not have anything and had just started a new job. Well, my son was the same age as this baby boy and so I went in my son’s room and started grabbing clothing that I did not reach for that often, toys that my son did not play with as much, some of the extra baby wash and wascloths we had, etc. I paced up a HUGE box of things and brought it over to her house. I went in and i got to meet the baby I was helping out and sat around and talked with the grandmother for at least an hour, which i did not expect. The smile on that sweet little boys face as he saw the toys I brought was worth more than anything anyone could buy. It felt so good to give. We do not have a lot and i Try not to buy too much excess for my son but when i read another was in need I was still able to pull together a great deal to help this lady and her grandson out.
I love, love, love your blog! Thank you!
Just wondering if this is also a source of income for your family– E.g. how does the store work? do you earn some money for advertising? Just wondering if this is something I might consider doing since I am a full time mom and would love a source of income on the side. Since I’m already blogging I just wondered if I could use that effort to help my family a bit financially, although I’m guessing it’s not much. Any help/direction you offer would be appreciated and I hope you don’t mind me asking.
Thanks again for being such an inspiration!
Be blessed!
Becky
AHHH! I love craigslist, and have used it often. I had no idea about the RSS feed! Thank you!! Now (maybe) I won’t spend so much time on there and can rely on the feed to inform me when something I need comes up. Fantastic!
I heart craigslist too! I’m currently looking for a mirror to replace the one our kids broke and also for anyone allowing you to come pick apples for free/and farms with upicks for a lot less than even azure! I’m hoping to make that a family tradition each fall!
It was wonderful finally getting to meet you today Lindsey! You did a WONDERFUL job on your class/lesson and both me and my friends came away with just as much great stuff to apply in our lives as we did from the main speaker! I can’t wait to share w/my hubby the idea of setting aside in our budget a hospitality envelope/ $$! I love having people over and I do believe this is just what we need to help do that more consistantly!
May God bless you and give you lots and lots of rest! I’ll be praying that he does! =)
These are some great tips! Thank you!
We use craigslist all the time too but can’t figure out the RSS feed thing. At least I can’t get the updates sent to my email, it just gives me an option of saving it in my IE feeds. How do you get it sent to your email? That would be so great! Thanks.
RSS means that you subscribe to the notifications in your reader. I probably should have clarified that it is a subscription but the style of receiving will depend upon your choosen reader. You’ll want to do a bit more research into RSS readers. There are RSS readers that will send it to your email. Try googling: RSS to email.
Great tips. We’ve benefitted a lot from being able to buy, sell and giveaway things via craigslist. We’ve found some amazing freebies on craigslist lately too!
One thing I’ve done if I end up needing to go alone to pick something up at someone’s house is forward my husband the address, then call him and stay on the phone with him while I’m making the purchase/pick up. That way if he hears any funny business he can be making a 911 call asap.
We’re okay giving out our address for people to come pick things up, but I never tell them we won’t be home at given times, etc. One time someone came to get something from the doorstep when we were gone and my neighbor came over and started questioning her. She had to pull out her phone and show him the email thread to prove the item was now hers. It’s nice to have good neighbors! We’ve had funny times were people we knew (or friends of people we knew) responded to our ads too.
I have to say that I am a little obsessed with Craigslist. I’m going to have to try the RSS feed!
We love craigslist and usedeverywhere.com – both have been great and given us lots of opportunity to buy and sell what we need!
Due to a major resurgence of bedbugs, I was advised against buying bedding/mattresses on craigslist. I don’t buy anything on craigslist that I can’t toss in my washer on hot water or sanitize in my dishwasher.
I would second that idea. My sister actually got a second hand futon with mattress (I forget if it was Craigslist or another outlet) that was infested with bed bugs. Very itchy. Do be careful!
We LOVE Craigslist here too! We’ve actually made quite a bit of money off CL. We buy things SUPER cheap and resell them for the ‘going’ price. For instance, most Italian-Made cribs will sell for $100-150 in good condition. If we see one for a lot lower price, we’ll grab it, often take better pictures, relist and sell for more money. It’s been a fun way to bring in extra income. Our best buy and resell ever was a double jogger that we bought for $60 and resold the next day for $280. Some people just want to get rid of ‘junk’ and they don’t care how much they get for it. We, on the other hand, want to give people a good deal but also make money.
Great Post!! My husband and I found all of our appliances for our first home on Craigslist, and the prices were great!! We also found a wood stove that matched our living room perfectly!! We even found chickens yesterday, and we will be picking them up this weekend!! Yea!! Thanks for the post! Have a blessed day!
Love Craigslist! We have sold several items with great results. BTW, love the quote from the Grinch — my ultimate favorite Christmas movie!!
Great tips. We just bougt a co-sleeper on craigslist read about it below. I would like to include, when buying baby items, ask for the model and brand so that you can research the item for any recalls and to read reviews from other parents before buying.
http://newwifememoirs.blogspot.com/2010/09/great-baby-finds-on-craigslist.html
Great tips! I love Craigslist so much! My husband and I have found two amazing apartments for low rent and an almost-new refrigerator for $125! I have to limit my time on there or I could spend WAY too long searching for good deals!
I like the suggestion about the RSS feed.. that would save me time looking but I wouldn’t miss something that I actually need!
Another good tip if you’re unsure about putting your phone number on Craigslist, encrypt it so that you won’t get spam calls. I’ve had friends who ended up getting LOTS of junk text & phone calls that have nothing to do with their listing. Apparently, there is a program written to scan through Craigslist to pull phone numbers & add them to their calling lists. For example, type your phone number like this… 5five5 – 33three- 1one11. Hope that helps!
Great suggestion. If you delete your post right away after it is sold, this also helps to avoid the additional exposure.
You can also get a cheap Skype number and use it for all things like that… it can be set to forward to your normal phone but then, if crazies do start calling, it’s also cheap and easy to change it out.
Thanks for this info. I need to sell my old laptop, but I didn’t know where to begin.
We’ve lived in three places over the last three years (military
and I’ve found that some areas have more interesting/active Craigslists, and others don’t. Our last place had a great Craigslist – this one isn’t so great, at least for the things I tend to look for. But we still utilize it!
Great post, Lindsay. I didn’t know about the RSS feed. What a time saver! I’m going to tell my hubby that. He’s the one that’s always looking.
Love Craigslist! I have been able to get rid of things easily for free like an old couch. I have hesitated to use my phone number though when giving away something for free.
Yes, in this case I just put the item outside my door or by our community dumpster and just gave our basic address. That way you don’t have to be disturbed. First come, first serve basis.
Good advice for someone like me who has been standoffish toward Craiglist.
Maybe I’ll take another look.! 
I must be in the minority but I’ve been a little weary of purchasing items off Craigslist… I’ll search around, but often in the end I’m able to find what I’m looking for elsewhere for a great or comparable discount. Or I just do without! Many of the things that I think I “want” end up being unnecessary anyway, so it all works out, I suppose! I did buy a used Polaroid camera with film on Craigslist once and it was a safe and seamless exchange.
I have found that different community have good or not-so-good Craigslists. It often seems that the smaller the community, the less good deals there are.
I love craigslist. I bought all 4 of my hutches for probably half the price of one. You gave some good tips but as you know, when buying furniture you usually have to go to that persons home, just don’t go alone and you can usually get a feel for a person when on the phone. Make sure you make contact by phone. If someone doesn’t want to talk to you that should raise a red flag.
Have a fabulous day!
Yes, that would definitely have to be an exception.
We always go together on such an occasion.
I too, love Craigslist… alittle too much maybe. You have listed some great tips but I have one more for you. I like to search a litter wider area sometimes if I’m looking for an item and willing to drive a bit to get it. Doing so can be a pain with changing your city location on craigslist though.
So now I use Searchtempest to search within an specific number of miles from my zipcode for items I want. It will pull up what your search terms are from all cities within what you specify! I love it for finding stuff!!
http://www.searchtempest.com/