Meet my friend, Craig

I'm not a Craigslist.org expert, but I am a big fan. The site is easy to use, so I won't bore you with a step-by-step tutorial.

I do, however, have more than a year's experience of dealing with Craigs sales, so I'll give you a few hints on what works for me.





Maintain an Account
If you have a lot of items to sell, this is the only sane way to track your posts and sales. You will need to provide an email address, which prospective buyers will not see, as Craigslist presents viewers with a one-use, anonymous address for each posting.

Try wikiHow to give a regular tutorial on setting up an account

You may want to create a separate email address through gmail to handle Craigslist replies. I use my regular email address as part of my account, and I have indeed gotten spammed because of my trusting nature. (No Viruses, though...yet?)

Like most of Craigslist, an account for sales is free, whoo-hoo!

Price It Right
I don't expect to get rich on a single sale, and the more I insist on a high sale price for an item, the longer the thing sits in my house. Buyers on Craigslist are usually willing to pay yard sale to 2x yard sale price. They want to pay "use value" price (ex: 10-20 bucks for an end table) for "brand value" items. Don't we all?

For me, the real question is not, "What is the legitimate resale value of this item?"
It's "What is the value of the space this item is taking up in my home?"

Before you post, check out retail prices and prices for similar items on Craigslist; if you want yours gone, gone, gone, drop your price by a 5-10 bucks.

Photos Sell Items
Let's face it: we live in a world of word and image. Be sure to include images of what you're trying to sell.
Nobody's asking for professional quality images. In fact, the more amateurish the photo, the more I trust the seller.
When I haven't, I get two responses from viewers:
1. "I'm really interested in your item. Do you have any pictures?"
2. ...Silence. Nada. Bummer.

Don't you love this? Mid-century sells!
 

Include the Essentials
After fielding the same questions from prospective buyers over and over, I now have a standard posting format:

1. Brand or materials description, including colors.
    Ex: This mid-century end table features genuine tan Formica tops!
2. Measurements (even necessary for lamps and children's toys, like bouncers)
3. If yours is a non-smoking and/or pet-free home, declare it!
4. Be honest, but not brutally so, about your item's condition


"Cash Only, Thanks"
Post this in your ad.
In no way should you entertain an offer to accept a check, money-order, or PayPal payment, especially if the buyer offers more than the asking price. That's a Phishing Scam, friends. Take that bait at your own peril.

"Include Contact Phone Number With Reply, Please"
I always plug in this statement, too. Even so, I find that real people forget to include it, and I have to write back a polite demand to prove themselves human and not Scam Bot.
Never, ever offer your regular email address or your phone number first.

Learn The Lures
These are the two spams and scams that I see regularly:

Ex 1.

Hi, I Saw your advert on craigslist about the (Baby+Kid). Hope is still on sale?
Contact me on ... oliviadc6@gmail.com
Thanks

Guess what happens when you write to that address? That's right--PORN SPAM. I was enraged that I fell for this one. I sure didn't think that a Baby Bjorn ad would attract the smut dealers...

Ex. 2
HI like to buy it.is sale still open?

9 times out of 10, any variation of the ultra-brief "Still Available?" response has been a cheap scam. This is especially obvious when I get this response 5 minutes or so after I post the item in question. (I've been tempted to write back, "Why, YES, it's available. It's not a live auction!")

Note the typos in the automatic response above.

In my early days on Craigslist, when I replied to this kind of message, politely insisting on a contact phone number, I got a second, highly polished, very obvious phishing lure along these lines:

"Thank you for your prompt reply. I am out of town on very urgent business, but my personal assistant will be delighted to help you finish this sale. I will even include an extra $20 to make up for this inconvenience. To proceed, please send your home address and bank information to the following email address..."

While you may be tempted to take the bait if you are selling something of high value, remember this: I have gotten this scam for $150 steamer trunks and for $5 lamps, for diaper bins and for oak dining tables.

It's a scam, Folks, that's all it is.  

Craig Tries to Make Things Right--So Should You
If you get a scam, spam, or phish, report it. Each email reply generated from Craigslist will include this at the bottom:

Original craigslist post:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/wch/atq/4068XXX89.html
About craigslist mail:
http://craigslist.org/about/help/email-relay
Please flag unwanted messages (spam, scam, other):http://craigslist.org/mf/28b0778d96a3dcf9c1164bae8df864687a0a4a5a.2
 


Use that last link! It's the only way to regain control of the pile of nuttiness that you must climb over to make a real sale with a real person. 


Copyright 2013, Tanya Monier