craigslist tutorial

we've heard about mr. craig and his list,

however, 

not all of us are sold

(pardon the pun)

or familiar with his benefits and rewards

i wanted to offer you a 

novice walk thru

from someone who's dabbled.

warning:

i am not a professional.

i'm sure if you searched you would find someone

far more suited, craftier and more clever

to offer their expertise.

once again,

i am not a professional.

but here is my humble take on the process:

rather than donate a good piece of furniture,

a decent household item or even a collectible to

your local goodwill chapter

we now have a new money making alternative.

craigslist

craigslist is a local online classified ad

(if you will)

you can buy, sell, trade or even give away 

items through craigslist.

remember this post?

my girls wanted to 

replace their too-small bicyles for

new and improved beach cruisers.

so here we are.

selling the old ones on,

you guessed it,

craigslist.

step one:

pricing

you want to price your item correctly.

first we must research: 

click over to your area-specific

craigslist and actually search the item

you are attempting to sell.

we are looking to find out what

we will price our own item for.

*don't price too low, 

don't price too high.

i looked up 24" bike

and found bikes priced between 

$25 and $75.

looks like our magic price will be someone in the middle.

step two: 

photos

take close up, 

clean photos.

(doctor them up on picnik, 

if you are feeling it)

*see this post if you have no idea what picnik is

i will post these two shots to represent the three bikes,

attempting to be sold.

step three:

post

click back over to your area craigslist.

select the category in which you will post.

for sale, jobs, personal, etc.

once there, click the 'post' button 

up in the right hand corner

here we go...

if you don't have an account yet,

you will need to do this now.

it's okay.

walk into the light.

once you are good to go and have your account, 

you will follow the prompts to post your item.

top three headings are:

posting title

price

specific location 

then you will write a brief description of your item.

be specific, concise and direct.

*refer interested listers to your email only.

do NOT list your cell phone.

finish following the prompts until posted.

presto!

done.  

you will then get a link to your post from craislist.

good job.
do you feel like an accomplished money maker now?

here is a look at my final product.

now just a few things to keep in mind

as you bargain, haggle and show your item for sale... 

-once contact has been made with you by an interested party

(via email, because that is all you have listed in your post, right?)

you can eventually give them your cell phone.  

only do this when you are 

sure they are a serious buyer.

-only accept cash

(and make that be known in your email exchanges)

-when it comes to actual sale of item, 

 chose to meet in a public place (starbucks is always good) if you item

is small enough to shuttle in your car.

if not, meet

 in front of your house. 

be wary of letting people into your home.

if your item is simply too large, 

i would suggest hauling those larger pieces into garage

to eliminate going into your home at all.  

i have been known to drag piece of furniture into driveway to eliminate

going inside at all, even the garage.

if unavoidable and item is in the house, going nowhere, 

make sure hubs is home, or call a friend for reinforcements

as a stand by when potential buyer need to go in your home.  

oh and bring rover inside too.   make his presence be known.

i hope i covered it all.
good luck.

for all you out in blog land who are experts
and have gone through this process already,
would love your thoughts.

feel free to add anything i might have forgotten,
or things i perhaps don't know at this point.

would love to know your success stories,
or pitfalls to beware of.

as always,
thanks for being here.