February No Spend Month Challenge: Day 17 (How To Make Money Selling Your Stuff On Craigslist)

Hello again, savvy savers! Happy Mardi Gras! So this past week you’ve shown you know to kick your clutter habit, but now what can you do with all your discarded, yet viable items? Sell them of course! And this is what this weeks challenges will be focused on.

So, yesterday we focused on Facebook Local Group selling, and so for today we will laissez bon ton roulette, as we tackle today’s No-Spend Month daily challenge, selling on Craigslist!

So, why Craigslist?

If you’re looking for an easy and rewarding “in” to buying and selling online, there is no better option than Craigslist.
Craigslist takes the old-school idea of selling in the newspaper, and applies this model to a larger scale, community-specific format.
Selling is free to list, sell, or trade.

What’s even better? It’s super simple to sell your unwanted stuff on Craigslist groups. So, today I am challenging you to look for Facebook sale groups in your area to post, sell, and profit from your household items, clothing, sporting goods, and baby items.

Here’s how to sell on Craigslist:

Go to Craigslist.org.
Choose the state where you live: You can go right to your city by entering your cityname.craigslist.org.
Click on the post to classifieds button. It’s on the left side, under the Craigslist logotype. That will bring you to a page that says: ‘”What type of posting is this?”‘ It gives you a list of posting type.
Click the for sale button, will bring you to another category page. It features a list of about 100 categories. You can choose one. Click on the category that is most appropriate for what you’re selling. If you don’t know what category your item belongs in, click on the category general for sale.
Enter the posting information. This is the title and copy and other information potential buyers will see when they are searching for what you’re selling.
These fields are as follows:

-Posting Title: This is what people will see as the heading in their search results.

-Price: Obviously, how much you’re selling the item for.

-Specific location: Enter your county, part of town, or other general information. Do not enter your address!

-Reply to: Put your email address here. You can choose to either display it as is, or to make it anonymous so that your name is not attached to it. This is good to do, especially if you have a unique last name and are selling something valuable.

-Posting Description. This where you do your selling. Make it interesting, make it catchy. If you don’t know what or how to write sales copy, take a look at a catalog or newspaper ad you might have, and see how they do it.

-Be truthful here. If there are flaws that damage the value of the item, or there’s a piece missing, or that your ex will be knocking on the door of whoever buys it—let them know in advance.

-Check “ok for others to contact you…” if it’s fine with you to get unsolicited emails from strangers.

-Check your form. The fields in green must be filled in.

-Submit pictures of what you’re selling.

7. Check your listing for accuracy. You want to make sure your listing will get the attention it deserves. You’ll also receive an email, which will need to be confirmed, and then the posting will be officially posted to the site. That’s it! You’re just made an ad on Craigslist!

Here are a few selling tips:

You need great photos: A great photo, will make for an easy sale. A fuzzy photo makes people wonder what you are trying to hide, even if you’re not trying to hide anything! Be sure to take photos from multiple angles. List the best photo possible!
Write an accurate description and price accordingly; think actuality and not sentimental worth.
Note what area of town you are in.
Be ready to respond to inquiries.
Don’t settle on the first offer. If someone is already trying to ask for a lower price, or wants to know a hundred things more about it, I don’t waste time on them unless they are the only inquiry. Although it is considered courteous to offer the item on a first-come, first-served basis, if there are more than a few responses I usually skip over anyone who gives any indication they will be difficult to work with, such as wanting a discount before seeing the item, difficulty in arranging a time to pick up the item, or asking a myriad of questions that are irrelevant for a used item that’s being sold for a fair price.
Specify when the item needs to be sold. The first person who’s able to come get it by tonight gets dibs!” on the ad to prevent something like that from happening again.
Save your “back-up buyers” emails. Sometimes you will have someone not show up, or cancel, or decide they don’t want it. In that case, you could post it again, or if you’ve saved the emails other people sent, you can just email them all directly and and re-offer it to them; just be polite and do not let them know they were your second choice person!
Always meet in public. Be sure to pick a place that is convenient for you, that’s in public, during daylight hours, never in a secluded place, and always take someone reliable with you.
Be courteous. If your item doesn’t sell, re-post it according to the guidelines. If you’ve posted it twice with no response, it probably means no one wants it or you are asking too much. As a buyer, it gets really annoying to see the same exact postings get posted every couple of days with no change–no new pictures, same description, no price adjustments. I have seem people post the same thing every day for a month. Be consciousness of others.
Once items/listings sell, promptly remove listings. It goes without saying that as a buyer, it’s highly frustrating to respond to listings, only to find out items have already sold. Treat buyers as you would wish others to treat you!

My Selling Goals:

I am going to list 10 household items; bedding sets, lamps, chair, desk, book sets, and small kitchen appliances.
I hope to make $100.00 in profit.
All items that do not sell will be donated to charity.
All items will be listed for one week.

So, that’s it, folks! So everyone, today I also challenge you to create a Craigslist account, and sell your items laying around your house, too! Please be sure to check back this evening for my daily recap!

Here’s to saving,

Challenge Links:

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