I’m so excited to share today’s guest post! It comes from reader Brandi, who’s incidentally thinking of starting her own blog. Based on this post, I think she should!
My experience with Craigslist results from being both a buyer and a seller. For every treasure I have found, I have also had disappointments and frustrations. As an aspiring blogger myself, I wanted to write about a few tips from my personal experience in order to help you when getting started with Craigslist.
1. Pretend you’re the seller.You’ll notice that a lot of my strategies suggest that you think of things from a seller’s point of view. Why? Because you need to have a strategy that will get you what you want. If you know what they want and how they want to be treated, you’ll be more likely to succeed.
2. Expand your search words. When I was looking for the desk, I would type in desk, cupboard, cabinet, shelving, and armoire. Why? People have different words for the same items and if the seller of the item you want calls it a credenza instead of a cabinet then you’ll be out of luck when trying to find it on Craigslist. Search under the “all for sale/wanted” section, not just the section where you think it will be because for example the seller might put a desk under “household” instead of “furniture.” By broadening your search you will find all of the items in any of the categories.
3. Subscribe to a feed of a Craigslist search. While I personally have not done this, it would be helpful if you were in desparate need of an item and wanted to make sure you saw every posting that came up with that item included. I suppose it would be like subscribing to any of your favorite blogs out there.
4. Be patient. Lots of items are posted and sold on Craigslist every minute. It may take a while to find the item that is perfect for you. Sometimes the perfect item will be posted and sold within hours while you are away at work and don’t have a chance to buy it. It’s okay! Relax, don’t get discouraged. It just wasn’t meant to be and there is an even better item waiting for you to bring it home. Take some time to get used to searching on Craigslist and responding to ads so that when that time comes, you’ll be ready!
5. Respond quickly and preparedly. If the item you want is popular, you are going to have to contact the seller quickly. In my search for the perfect piece of furniture for my space, I considered armoires, desks and cupboards. Unfortunately, I would see a great armoire show up in the morning, contact the seller right away and it would already be “pending.” Having sold on Craigslist myself before, I can tell you that most sellers are going to take someone with cash in hand over someone who might be “flaky” or high maintenance. Therefore, you want to be the person who stands out as responsible and interested; and nothing says that like a phone call with a quick commitment. You should be prepared to pick up the item; buyers don’t want to meet half way to sell their goods when someone else will meet them.
6. Bring cash. When you talk to the buyer, you might be able to set up a trade or to pay via check but 9 times out of 10 just take cash. If you were selling would you want to take a check from someone you didn’t know? Make sure you bring exact cash so that you’re not asking them to make change for you. And if you plan to haggle, make sure you have exact change for that or else you might end up paying full price.
7. Bartering. Everyone has their own opinion, but if you know the item won’t fit into your budget or you’re going to be driving more than half an hour to pick it up, you can be upfront with the seller and ask if they’re willing to be flexible on the price. I did this with my desk situation. I explained that I recently moved and became unemployed and that I didn’t have a lot of money to spare. I asked if they’d be willing to go down a little bit and we arrived at a price that was fair to both parties involved. I guarantee that if you are honest with a seller from the get-go, they’re going to appreciate that and try to work with you. The worst they can do is say no, and then you’ll know that the price is firm before you hop in your car.
Hopefully this little article helps you with your Craigslist adventures, best of luck and thanks for reading!
Have you had luck finding treasures on Craigslist? Do you have additional tips you’d like to share?
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Thanks so much for letting me contribute!
My friends have reminded me that I should have added “Also try misspelling words, often sellers forget or don’t have time to use spellcheck” in “2. Expand your search words”
From a frequent Craigslist sellers POV:
- as a buyer don’t lowball the seller. For example: the item is listed for $75, dont send an email/phone call asking if they will take $25. Or anything similar to more than half off the asking price. It’s insulting and annoying and you will most likely end up being ignored/email deleted without a response.
- read the description carefully. If the price is listed in the ad, don’t ask “how much do you want?”. Same goes for if dimensions are listed, etc… when potential buyers email/call with questions that are already answered in the item description they are just wasting the sellers time by answering those questions.
- Also note from the ad how the seller wants to be contacted. If they list a phone number, then please call. If no number is listed, please respond via the craigslist email system or any email the seller posted in the ad.
-And my number one pet peeve: If the seller asks to be contacted by email, please do NOT send an email saying “Interested, please call me at 555-555-5555.”. I for one, have small kids and finding the time to use the phone to call people is near impossible, let alone call random strangers about an item I am selling. Respect the seller by following the guidelines for contact they have set up in their ad, it goes a LONG way in negotiations in price and even in holding items for people who need to pick up in a few days, etc. I tend to be way more accomodating with buyers who have clearly read the ad and have appropriately contacted me.
As a buyer I scored a great deal on 2 year old Ikea Ektorp furniture in excellent condition. The seller was asking $650 and I let them know I could pay cash and pick up that same day but $650 was out of my budget. I asked them to let me know if they were willing to take less and to let me know how much they would take. They emailed back 15 minutes later saying they would take $500 if I could pick it up within the hour. SOLD!
Thank you. I actually am hoping to have a second, separate post about success tips for selling on Craigslist. Thanks for helping clarify the other side of the story!
Amanda, I hope you don’t stay away!! I just would prefer the comments stay on track, that’s all.
If you feel as strongly as you do about Craigslist, I hope you will take action – start a blog, get some petitions going, whatever you feel you need to do. I just don’t think this blog’s comment section is the best place to do that.
If you’ve read my posts, you know I’m a gal with convictions too – so I admire that about you and wish you best luck in getting your message out.
(And please come back!! We have lots of money-saving fun over here!)
Very well put Melissa!
Nothing is more insulting a person contacts you for your craigslist sale to immediately low ball you – I almost feel bad rejecting them (Only because i am too nice!) but I mean, come on – you want something for free – you go to freecycle. Don’t insult the seller by asking them to sell the item for practically nothing. Sellers have to make some money off their sales – why else would they list them?
Those people that send their phone number out and say “I’m interested – call me” – I often will not even respond unless I have no one else interested than I will email back saying i don’t call for sales and they have to state a time when they are interested in coming. Why? Well, because I am totally broke and I have a Pay as you go phone which charges me for everything – email is free and why would I want to wait my minutes and time on someone who might not show up? If I have emailed only I have lost too much.
Yes, please don’t respond to a craigslist sale post by acting like the seller owes you a favor – to call you or sell to you for practically nothing. You are just insulting the seller than way and they will be less likely to sell to you. If you can’t afford it, don’t even respond.
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