How to Sell and Succeed on Craigslist

We all have stuff we don't need. Stuff that sits around collecting dust and never gets used. Stuff that we move from house to house because we might need it "someday".

One of the easiest ways to get some stress out of your life, especially if you are in debt is to sell some things on the side. Even if you are not in debt, a life with less clutter is a better life. Many items in our life simply add to our stress level because we have to care for them, worry if they will get stolen, put them in a storage facility or get a special container for them in the basement/attic.

The plan that we follow is very simple and effective:

Do a Monthly Review (or more) of every room in your house and be honest with yourself if you have used the item in the last day, month, year. Ask if the item is actually important to you or simply used to be important or was never important at all.

If the item could easily fetch more than $25* in the secondhand marketplace then take some quality pictures of it and go to the Craigslist of your City or Facebook (some neighborhoods have a group set up) and post the item up for sale with a nice description (this takes less than 5 minutes):







Make sure to include the following:

What the item is
Brand
Why you are selling (if relevant)
Where (zip code only) you can give your meeting address to real people who contact you
Measurements of item
Condition
Description (Dark Brown, Oak, sturdy, etc.)

I prefer to use the only by email contact and craigslist filter and screen the potential buyers myself.

For items that are small, I meet at the local Pizza Place or Coffee Shop. For bigger items such as furniture I make sure my neighbors are around, it is daylight and move the piece next to the front door or on the porch.

We have sold many things and have never had a problem, I think the key is heavy screening via email and phone.

One of my favorite experiences is buying something at a yard sale or Goodwill, getting good use out of it and then selling for break even or profit on Craigslist or Facebook.

-*To find the value of an item quickly, just search it on ebay or Craigslist. If you don't know, just start @ 65% of what it is new from a store and your should have no problem. If this isn't enough money for your 5 minutes then you most certainly have way too much stuff and should sell some and should just give it away to those in need and your neighbors.