Craigslist Tips and Suggestions for a Better Sale and Removing Clutter

I did some of my own research along with using my own personal experiences to generate a list of helpful tips regarding Craigslist. This is to help you sell your items quicker, easier, and safer. You can view my tips below the links listed. If you choose to select the links, some may include pop-ups. As I come across more helpful suggestions, I will be updating the article accordingly. Otherwise, be safe and happy listing!

Heather's Tips:

• Take high quality pictures. Show the good, the bad, AND the ugly. No one likes to be misled, especially in a sale. Make sure to use a significant amount of light. Bad pictures will deter potential buyers as well.

• Don't give personal information unless you know that it's safe! Personal information includes your name, email, home address, and phone number.

• Update the status of your items. If they are sold, please remove it from the list. This reduces useless traffic. If they are still for sale, offer a better price or more pictures.

• Place your ad in the closest surrounding cities. For instance I live in the Treasure Coast, therefore, I would choose West Palm Beach and Vero Beach. The wording may have to be changed in some of the posts as it may look like spam.

• Craigslist is great for moving products out of your home/office fast. It's also great for employing help. If you have a small business and are looking for extra hands, try it out! Be warned though, there are a lot of Joe Shmoe's off the street. You might not find the perfect person for the job in the first couple interviews.

• It's always best to add in your listing if the items are considered new or used. Tell potential buyers if your items are from a non-smoking home or free of animal dander. Nothing is worse than getting hit by a wall of stench. Not to mention, the items will smell like their environment and someone could be allergic to animal dander.

• OBO: Or Best Offer. This will attract more buyers. Set the price of your item a little higher than the lowest price you'll absolutely go. One, it makes the buyer feel good that they were able to haggle you down. Two, you didn't go lower than your bare minimum. People always like to feel they got the "best" deal.

• If you do decide to use your phone number, do not put it in the ad as 123-456-7890. You will have an abundance of spam sent to you right away including telemarketers calling you constantly. Make sure to mix it up a bit by changing some of the numbers to actual words. One23-four56-seven890. This deters bots from finding your phone number in the listing.

• Use an email address you don't mind getting scammed unless you're familiar with what a scam email looks like. For me, I use my personal email because I have it linked to my phone in case of an instant reply.

• Choose a mutual place to exchange items and money. Don't meet up with someone in the dark unless you know the person. For me personally, I like to choose the Wendy's parking lot down the road. It's perfect, close, and lit up from all the parking lights.
   
• Have junk? You can add that on Craigslist under the free items section. Be sure to add FREE or Curb Alert in the title so others can pick your junk up even quicker. Curb Alert allows you to literally place your items at the end of your driveway, list your address, and not have to deal with other people face to face. They simply come and pick the items up.

• Only accept CASH for your items. Do NOT accept checks. You are asking to lose out on money and your item. This is a scam. To read more about scams, I highly suggest this article http://www.moneycrashers.com/types-common-craigslist-scams/  

• If accepting cash, don't be afraid to invest in a counterfeit marker. This will save you loads of trouble when bringing your money to the bank.

• Every couple days, update your post. This will place your ad at the top of the list, increasing the chances of someone taking an interest in what you have to sell.

• If you have a website to link to your products, do it. Millions of people use craigslist for a multitude of things. Increase your exposure.
• If there is an agreement on a price with a customer, do not sell it to someone else without communicating. This can create turmoil as the stranger now might have personal information to retaliate. Let the other party know there is an interest before completely ignoring them. They may have cancelled their plans and now have to reschedule.
• Remove posts if they are no longer up to date. People don't want to waste their time if the item is no longer available.

Useful Links

http://www.lifeedited.com/10-tips-for-selling-stuff-on-craigslist/

http://ohhappyday.com/2013/07/5-craigslist-tips/

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/02/01/24-craigslist-tips-tricks-and-resources/

http://www.moneycrashers.com/craigslist-selling-tips/