Part 2 of the series on how to sell stuff honestly on Craigslist (and eBay). You can find part1 here
So to briefly summarize what we talked about last time
1) Make the ad simple and easy to look at and read
2) Get a digital camera with Macro capabilities
3) Take a lot of pictures with your digital camera
More tips after the jump!
Now that you go the pictures, and an clear ad description, the next obvious step is to declare a price…
#4) Set a price that is “around” market-value
You maybe asking yourself, what “market-value”? Well, it’s the value of the product you are selling based off demand, supply, the condition and any extra accessories you have with it. Say your product is perfect, scratch free, and in 100% condition. What would you set the price to be? If it’s an item not in hot demand (ie. new apple stuff, like iPhones, game consoles just out on the market, then I would first look at eBay prices. You can see the current bids on the items you are selling. For example, if you are selling an “Apple iPhone 4gb”, but make sure the keyword is specific. Doing a search on “Apple iPhone” in the eBay world will get you searches from cases, to chargers, to even magnetic stickers… (sigh). Just be specific on your search string. Click on the auctions and see how much they are going for.
If you want to see “current’ market-value, that’s when you need an eBay account. After you registered and logged in, there is a checkbox on the left hand side in the “Search Options” that needs to checked. (see image below)
Click on submit afterwards, and you be greeted with final price. Any price with green font color is actual price that it went for. Green is good.. red is bad… (see picture below)
My idea of “market price” is setting it between the average of a bunch of auctions. You can set it higher or lower with a buy it now, (which I prefer) over having people duke it out for a product. I usually set my price to about 95% of the highest price with a buy it now. I’m pretty confident with my product that I am selling.
If you have a scratch, bump, dent, gauge etc, (and you already described in part 1 and shot a picture of in parts 2 & 3), then typically I would take at least 10% off the price you are thinking of.
Use this price that you found on eBay on Craigslist. Since you are not paying for shipping, ebay & paypal fees, or worrying about receiving payment before product, then you are in the clear of those nasty worries. Putting OBO will get you more inquiries, but will also yield more lowballers…
#5) Best way to contact you
Unless the item is a hot item, it’ll won’t be a good idea to provide your cell phone number in the ad. The best way is to say “Email if interested”. 90% of the time, you will get Nigerian emails requesting them to send you the item after they send you 200% of the products value… that’s bs. Emails allow you to screen fractious emails like that. Also, use Craiglist anonymous email so the spammers do not get your address! After the intial email, you can probably provide your cell phone number and communicate more effectively.
#6) Where to meet
(this is probably the only time I would recommend Starbucks to anyone), but Coffee shops, McDonalds, pubs, wherever. Anywhere that you are comfortable. If a parking lot at night does not make you feel comfortable, reschedule for another place… Do NOT meet in a parking lot at night. I have meet many-a-people at parking lots at night without any problems, but that doesn’t mean it’s always going to be good. I have heard horror stories of people getting mugged for item, money and car in an empty parking lot at night…
My suggestion is that you meet in a public place; Starbucks, or a local coffee or tea shop is probably the best.. the more public place you get, the more you and the buyer will feel at ease.
#7) During the sale
This is YOUR time to shine. To be the “salesperson” you always wanted to be when you were a kid… nah, just kidding, but when you meet, do the following
- DO shake his/her hand with a firm grip just like you were in an interview. This conveys that you are a firm person and you took the time to come out here to sell the product
- DO go over the product you are selling with them. What accessories it comes with, what(if anything) is wrong with it, where it is at, maybe a brief (3 min tutorial) on how to use the phone if they don’t know how
- DO let them know that your price is firm.
- DO NOT waste your time if they are going to lowball you on the price on the spot. Even if your price is OBO, you can always say that I received multiple offers for my asking price and I can just get it elsewhere
- DO NOT ever, sign anything! I mean it. Some people will say “Oh, I need a receipt for work, can you please sign your CL ad, so I can use this as an expense.” I would respond with “I’m sorry but my lawyers do not allow me to sign anything without letting them see it first.” That usually throws the whole argument out the door.
- DO NOT accept Cashier’s check, Money order, or personal checks.
- DO ONLY accept CASH!
- DO verify that the CASH is legitimate. How? Be familiar with currency.Like the strip, the texture of the money, watermarks when light is held at different angles, etc.
- DO always thank them for their time and wish them a nice day!
This is the bare minimum during a sale. Just keep it cool and usually it’ll just pay off
#8) End the sale
Delete your Craigslist ad after the sale. You will get weird people at the middle of the night asking you if the product is available.
Conclusions:
Well, I hope you get a better idea of how to sell things *honestly* on Craiglist. This post can pretty much apply to eBay selling as well (accept the meeting people part). You’ll end up having to ship the product out and setting a price on shipping and what not, but that’s another blog post…
Thanks for reading
Wilson >__<
