Craigslist.org is a free website with classified listings and online communities that you can use, in most instances, for free. Craigslist has local listings for more than 450 cities in 50 countries. Craigslist is a great place to buy and sell locally or in cities nearby.
Users of craigslist police the site with the help of tools to flag items when a seller posts prohibited items such as firearms, pornography or alcohol. Craigslist is very easy to use and is a good alternative to other online selling venues when you are selling an item that might be difficult to ship.
Here are three tips to help you increase your response when selling on craigslist.
- Have a clear title. Craigslist shows listings in a basic text format. There are no photos when you are browsing the categories, just words. You need to have a complete title with as much information about your item for sale. Let’s say you are selling snowboard boots. A listing that only says Snowboard Boots is probably not going to get as many views as it would if it said New Children’s Snowboard Boots Size 4. Be clear about what you are selling.
- Sell one item or a group of similar items in one ad. There are so many ads that say things like Huge Lot of Various Items for Sale. The description goes on to say I have a bunch of items – lots of household, décor, dishes, etc. Call me. How many buyers do you think that this person is going to have calling her wanting to know if she has this or that? This seller would be more successful if they would make one ad for household appliance and list what is available. Make one listing for décor, one listing for dishes, etc. By putting up a vague listing you are going to either not make many sales or be inundated with phone calls from people who have to ask you what you have for sale.
- Make it easy for the buyers to contact you. Craigslist offers a free anonymous email address for you to put into your ads as contact information. The buyers can respond to your ad using the Craigslist email and it will be forwarded to your personal email address. This is great if you check your email often. This isn’t a great option if you are only on the computer for a few minutes a day. Buyers will get frustrated if they don’t hear back from you and will find another seller to do business with. A better option is to post your telephone number for your buyers to reach you. If you are only available certain hours, put that in your ad. I always choose the option to have buyers contact me via telephone only and don’t put an email address option in the ad. The reason is that in the past few years I have gotten a lot of spam from scammers who like to reply via email. It seems like there are people who have nothing better to do than send out unrelated emails to sellers.
Selling online is a great way to make money selling new and used items. There is a buyer for almost anything even if it is broken. Before you throw something away, give selling online a try.
