Categories: Spend Less

10 Tips for Buying & Selling on Craigslist

I don’t know about you, but I am pretty much in love with Craigslist. It is simultaneously a thrifty shopper and compulsive organizer’s dream. Did you spend the weekend cleaning out the garage and now have a bunch of stuff you want to get rid of? Craigslist is there for you. Need a new desk but don’t want to spend a fortune? Craigslist has you covered. Moving cross-country and need to sell everything you own as quickly as possible? Craigslist, baby, craigslist!

As it so happens, I happened to have just cleaned out our garage this past weekend, which is probably what got me thinking about my favorite website of all time in the first place. And last fall when we moved from Seattle back to our house here in Florida, we sold everything we had, including one of our cars, on Craigslist. So when it comes to buying and selling stuff on CL, I’ve had a lot of chances to figure out what works….and what doesn’t.

So without further ado, here are my top 10 tips for making the most of your Craigslist experience:

DO always offer less than the asking price. This may seem like stating the obvious, but for whatever reason, a lot of times people are scared to offer less. Even if it is something you really, really want or even if the asking price is waaaaay lower than you are willing to pay, or even if the ad says “price firm,” offer less. The worst that can happen is that the seller will say no. In which case, you decide whether you are willing to pay more or want to keep looking.

DO agree on a price with the seller before you go to look at an item. Bargaining is much easier from a distance and you won’t waste time inspecting an item, only to find at the end that you can’t agree on a price.
DON’T idly browse. There are literally tens of thousands of items posted on craigslist at any given time, with thousands more being added every day. Without some idea of what you are looking for, searching for a bargain can quickly slide from a fun adventure to an overwhelming mess. Have an idea of what you are searching for, and then do a keyword search, starting fairly broad and narrowing as necessary. For instance, if your search for “coffee table” comes up with 1,000 results, try “pottery barn coffee table” or “round coffee table.”

DO start your search as close to home as possible. There is no sense driving 60 miles out of the way for something you could find just down the street. Narrow your search results to your own county, then expand as necessary. Decide how far you are willing to travel for a given item, and then stick to your guns. A good deal isn’t really a good deal if all your savings go to pay for gas to pick it up.

DO compare prices and product reviews online before buying. A quick search on Amazon.com can tell you a lot about what you should be paying, and whether the product you are considering is worth buying at all. This advice rings especially true for electronics and appliances!

DON’T ask too much. We’d all like to think our stuff is worth close to what we paid, but the sad truth is that used stuff isn’t worth all that much. Do a search for your item to find out what other people are asking. If your price is significantly higher, don’t expect any calls.

DO leave room for bargaining. Decide on the lowest price you are willing to accept for an item, then price your item 10-20% higher.

DON’T be afraid to say no to an offer. If someone offers you less than you think your item is worth, don’t be afraid to hold out for more money. Craigslist is free and you can list your item as many times as you want (within the CL guidelines.)  Determine whether it is more important to get rid of an item quickly or to get your full asking price.

DON’T over list your item! Follow the Craigslist rules or you will be flagged and ALL your listings will be removed. Each region is slightly different, but as a general rule you can post any given item once every 7 days.

DO consider creating a separate website when selling multiple items. Last year when we were selling all of our stuff I created a “moving sale” page on my family’s personal website. I would include a link to this page on every craigslist ad I posted, which allowed people to see everything I was selling all at once. It was amazing how quickly things sold! I literally had one person buy almost all our furniture in one fell swoop, and another couple bought the rest of it, while several other people purchased multiple items, almost treating my moving sale page like their personal bargain mall. There are a lot of free & easy web page programs available, including Blogger.com or WordPress.com

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Do you ever buy or sell on Craigslist? What tips or advice do you have to share?

Ruth Soukup

View Comments

  • Nice ideas. it is very interesting and informative. Thank you for the sharing.

  • I have found sometimes that you can often get less for an item if you show up and make an offer instead of bargaining beforehand. You're there and ready to take the item off their hands which can be more appealing than holding out for potential buyers who might flake. Also, there is a craigslist app for android that alerts you to Nnew postings within your specifications within ten minutes if them going live on craigslist that I use all the time!

  • Great ideas. One I would add, just to keep in mind, I'd there are some items that will actually sell fir 2 or 3 times higher on eBay and vice versa. Thanks for sharing.

  • Most of this advice is good with the exception of confirming/ negotiating the price before seeing the item - asking if there is wiggle room ,especially big ticket items. I have sold things on CL for years and am always willing to negotiate on line/phone about the price... however, many times people offer ridiculously low offers - sometimes insulting my item as well. Especially, when it comes to cars.

    It's okay to ask if the price has any wiggle room, especially big ticket items... but somethings, it just doesn't make sense to negotiate with seeing first... same goes for clothing, furniture, tools and specialty items.. IT's also important to know when not to negotiate. I have had people have me hold an item for days... keeping in contact with me but unable to meet to get said item.. I always build up a back up list in case of no show etc... But then when they show up, after waiting for them, they offerd an even lower price.. There have been times I have let someone walk away for just being EVERYTHING a buyer isn't supposed to be..I was asking $150 for a nice kids bedroom set.. (bed, bookshelf, drawer and under bed storage drawers from IKEA). We negotiated down to $75 online prior to them ever seeing it (much lower then I was really comfortable with) they put me off for 5 days to come pick it up.. always an excuse. I lost countless other offers that made no mention of negotiation prior to seeing the set.. They drove an hour, and showed up with only $60.. no offer to run to atm or write a check for the difference.. and not an apology for wasting my time. Just got mad when I wouldn't accept 3 $20s... I reminded them that I was really expecting $150 and that we had agreed on $75... I was polite.. But firm.. and this is why I don't negotiate or hold things very often. People will take advantage.

  • I've sold things on Craigslist and so has my sister. My biggest tip is to give a deadline for the person to come over.. If you get multiple calls, tell them others are interest and if they don't show timely then it's first come first serve. Too many people would say they would be by but never show. Also have a second person there as security. Never show an item by yourself.

    • Yes we actually buy and sell goats on Craigslist. It may seem weird but it works today we sold two babies which I wish we could have kept. But we had two people trying to come at the same time but one lady told us that she would back down because the other lady was getting thrm for her kids.

  • Craigslist can be a frustrating place, and I have to admit I've had some bad experiences there myself. Nevertheless, trading used goods online can be a great way to save/earn money. I just stumbled upon this great new website, Statricks, which I'm sure will make selling/buying used goods a lot easier. I’ve always felt that it takes up a lot of time determining the price of used goods (If the goal is to make some sort of profit out of it). Statricks gives you price reports and trends for free, so you basically get the going price for any used item on both Craigslist and eBay, without having to browse through all the classifieds yourself. I can highly recommend this site, and here is a link to their page:
    http://www.statricks.com/craigslist-used-pricing-tool.html?lrRef=FYHr

  • Hopping on over from Welcome Wed. I am your newest follower, come follow me back, I love all my followers.

    Love Craigslist, and these are some great tips.

  • I love Craigslist and freecycle type sites! Thanks for the great tips.

  • I have to admit I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to craigslist. I tend to go with Freecycle more often.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog, and have a great week!!

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Published by
Ruth Soukup

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