<p>When we’ve sold things, we have met in a public, neutral location, like at the shopping center parking lot. See above post for how we handled payments.</p>
<p>Thanks for the “scam” description Toledo! I haven’t run into that although I have heard of similar scams ( the e-mails that start off with “good day kind lady…” ). It’s hard to believe anyone would fall for that stuff,</p>
<p>I sold my very expensive car on AutoTrader. I had it listed on CL but didn’t get much response there. I had the car at my house and made a photocopy of the prospective buyer’s driver’s license before giving him the keys for a test drive. He wired the funds to my bank account, I confirmed with the bank that the funds were there, and then delivered the car.</p>
<p>Love freecycle and have used it extensively. I’m signed up in 4 cities.</p>
<p>Chances are I would be the person meeting prospective buyers since my husband is always at work. Should I ride along for a test drive? The car is a Corvette so I’m a bit wary of someone wanting to take a spin for fun and trying to see how fast they can go. It would be so much easier to trade it in or sell it to a dealer but we should be able to get a good bit more for it in a private sale. Is ebay motors possibly a better option for this kind of car?</p>
<p>My fiance sells electronic equipment on craigslist all the time. They meet in a neutral location and pay cash. I insist on a public, crowded place in broad daylight-- fiance sees no issue with meeting in a grocery store parking lot at 11pm when nobody else will be there but I won’t allow it. I also will not allow someone to come to our house. I have a brand new bed and mattress to sell that I bought right before I moved in with my fiance and left at my parents house, and since that won’t be convenient to bring to a neutral location we will be selling to someone we know or donating it to get rid of it. To me giving out our address is a deal breaker! It’s one of those things where you’re probably safe, but to me it just isn’t worth taking the risk. I wouldn’t want someone coming over to check out the bed and while theyre there see if there’s anything worth coming back for later when I’m not home…</p>
<p>Is it worth trying to sell stuff like an old electric train set, K’Nex sets, stock car racing game, table top air hockey, etc. on Craigslist? Nothing would be above $40-50. We could meet in town or at a parking lot rather than at our house. I think we can get more selling than the tax deduction from donating. But if it’s a whole lot of bother for a small chance of success, we won’t bother.</p>
<p>Some points on CL sales:</p>
<p>The longer you can hold on for a buyer willing to pay your asking price…preferably indefinitely until said buyer shows up, the greater chance of getting that price or something close to it. That is…assuming the item doesn’t depreciate with time like most older cars or moreso…computers. </p>
<p>The more you’re in a hurry to get rid of something, the greater you need to drop the price/offer it for free to get rid of it.</p>
<p>Another alternative is to reassess whether you even need to get rid of the items…maybe the best option is to avoid the hassles of getting rid of the furniture set and making do with it for the time being. </p>
<p>If you don’t want to deal with bargainers/lowballers, you either need to stand firm or if you’re in a hurry to get rid of stuff…seriously consider their offer…however ridiculous.</p>
<p>CL does attract folks looking for great deals/lowballers. I speak as someone who managed to get some great deals through some negotiation ranging from a Gibson electric guitar priced at half its retail street price to a lower-end Squier Affinity Stratocaster Electric guitar and a decent solid state practice amp for the grand total of $10 for the combo.</p>
<p>I’ve also gotten lucky by getting many computers/computer parts for free or nearly free because the previous owners didn’t want to bother with troubleshooting the issues. Got several desktops, 2 intel Imacs, and a few recent laptops. </p>
<p>Got them all working and the accumulation is such I have had to use CL myself to give away/sell off older computers to folks whose computing needs are very basic.</p>
<p>Sorry you have been so unsuccessful. I have been just the opposite. I have sold about 20 items on craigslist. The thing is, no one wants to pay for your junky stuff. If you are trying to sell a bike you bought from a box store vs. a Trek bicycle, which one do you think will sell. People who buy and sell on Craigslist, in my humble opinion are looking for the good stuff. I sell American girl dolls in mint condition, Trek bicycles, fish tanks, PB furniture, etc. Are you taking good pictures of your items? That is also something I do. Good luck, I hope this helps.</p>
<p>My S has been pretty satisfied as buyer and seller on Craigslist, Amazon and eBay. Good photos and descriptions with competitive pricing is key. You have to decide how much hassle you’re willing to put up with. If there are several items, you can batch them rather than selling individually. If you don’t need the $$!, we like to just donate rather than hassle. We found schools very grateful for our educational toys, which you can get tax deductions, if that matters to you.</p>
<p>We recently downsized and sold a lot of stuff on Craigslist. Most of our sales went fine, there were plenty of people who failed to show up to see the item they were supposedly interested in buying and a handful of people wanted us to drive 20 or so miles to “meet them halfway” for a $25 item. NO. Most people only came if they were interested and bought what they came for.</p>
<p>We are also selling a car. Grits, my advice is to skip Craigslist for that. Mine was also a sports car and we had lots of emails wanting to see the person who had such a sexy car. I would only be a huge disappointment! It is currently listed on Autotrader.</p>
<p>So far, everything I’ve wanted to give away or sell…has been done by me posting a Facebook message to my friends…and their friends. Every item has been gone within a week. Most have been priced “right”…free to the first person who can haul it away.</p>
<p>For the most part, we have had good luck selling on CL (boat, bikes, basketball hoop etc). There seems to be a subset of buyers out there who think if they show up, spend a ton of time looking at the item and then low ball an offer that I will happily accept their offer. I have confused a few of them by flat out refusing and then they stare at me in disbelief.</p>
<p>I am just about to post a swim raft so my buyers will of a different set. Do you all think it is a problem to use the words “firm price” and “cash only” in the ad?</p>
<p>If the price is FIRM…and you will accept cash only…then use those terms! Why not?</p>
<p>When I was moving I had a lot to sell. I let people come to my “old” house to buy things, since there wasn’t much left there for them to steal, and it wasn’t going to be my home anymore anyway. I always let them know my son or husband would be there (even if that wasn’t true…they could assume the big strong male was in another room).</p>
<p>On Craigslist, ebay, or anywhere else, the keys are: Great descriptions, great pictures, great prices, great communication. If you’re selling a couch, also call it a sofa, for example. Use words (if they’re true) that people are searching on: “smoke-free home” and “pet-free home” are important for clothing and furniture. If you only post one or two pictures, offer to send more on request. I always specify cash or paypal only. I’ve never had a problem with paypal.</p>
<p>To add to the above good points, measurements are important for many items.</p>
<p>VH</p>
<p>As all the other had mentioned, you need to price it right. Three sectional couch for $750? Not a chance. Try $350… You can figure out all the others based on that…</p>
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<p>If the price is firm and you insist on it internally, you may need to be prepared to wait longer to find a buyer willing to agree to it.</p>
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<p>Or price it a <em>little</em> higher so there’s room for you to negotiate, but not so high that you scare people away. A few times when I’ve done that, the buyer didn’t try to negotiate and I got more than I’d expected. :)</p>
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<p>Agreed. However, this only works if the seller doesn’t have an issue with negotiating and more importantly, dealing with lowballers. </p>
<p>Many CL sellers have serious issues with both.</p>
<p>I posted the swim raft this morning at 9:40 with the price firm and cash only. At 12:30, it was sold and on its way to a new home. Maybe it was beginners luck, maybe I was underpriced or maybe I was perfectly priced. I’ll never know, but I am happy!</p>