How to Sell Items on Craigslist

Right now, Craigslist is the favored website for local listings of all sorts, from jobs to pets to furniture to collectibles to personal ads! But craigslist isn't only for people searching for something. It's also a great site for people who are trying to get rid of stuff as well! And what makes selling your stuff on Craigslist better than selling on Ebay is that you are dealing with people in your immediate area as opposed to people in another state, which cuts out your having to deal with shipping items and figuring out shipping charges. AND Craigslist doesn't take a percentage of your profit! So start selling any used, new, or created items on your local Craigslist site using this basic guide.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A Computer
• An Internet Connection
• Digital Photos of What You are Selling

1. Open up your internet browser and go to www.craigslist.com. If this is your first time accessing the Craigslist website, you will automatically be redirected to the Craiglist directory page, listing different countries, states, and cities. Click on the country, then state, then city or county that is closest to your location. Once you've clicked on a city/county, you will be taken to your local Craigslist site. For example, my local Craigslist site is http://sandiego.craigslist.org.

2. 
    
   Craigslist Screen Shot

   Once to your local Craigslist page, click on the "for sale" which is in the center of the page. This will take you to the complete list of all items that are for sale on craigslist in your area.

3. On the "all for sale" listing page, look for the "post" link on the very top right corner. Click on "post".

4. Next, click on the category that best fits the item you are selling. For example, if you are selling a desk that you no longer need, select the "furniture-by owner" category. There are plenty of categories to choose from, so try to pick the category that is most appropriate for what you are selling.

5. Now you must click on the area or part of the city that you live in (this may not apply to smaller cities).

6. Once you have picked your exact location, you will finally be able to fill in a form to create your sale listing. Simply fill out the form with the corresponding information. Create a posting title that is specific and eye catching as this is the first thing people will read about your sale items. Make sure to include as detailed a description as possible so that people don't have to dig too much for any information they'll need.

7. Once you've filled in a posting title, price, your location, and an item description, type in your email address (twice for verification purposes) and then decide how you want people to contact you. If you would like to keep your contact information private, select the radio button next to "reply to: [e-mail] (craigslist anonymizes your real address)". With this option, anyone interested in purchasing your item(s) will email a craigslist address and the message will then get forwarded to your email address. If you click on the "do not show any email address" option, be sure to include some form of contact information so that interested parties can reach you.

8. Be sure to add an image or two (or three) of the item(s) you are selling. People are more likely to inquire about your item(s) if they can see it themselves without having to drive to your location.

9. Once you've finished with a description and adding images, click on the continue button on the bottom of the page.

10. All that's left now is to look over your ad and make sure there is nothing that needs to be changed. If it looks good, click on the continue button again. Then you'll have to agree the terms of use and type in a couple of confirmation words. Type in the words you see on the screen and you're almost done!

11. The final step is to publish your ad. To do this, Craigslist will send you an email with a link to your ad. Click on the link and it will take you to a preview of your posting. You can either publish it, edit it, or delete it. Click on publish, and you're done! You have just posted a "for sale" ad on Craigslist! Just wait for people to respond to your ad and complete the transaction from there! It's as simple as that!

Tips & Warnings

• For safety purposes, it is best to keep your personal contact information anonymous unless you do not have an email address or you are in a rush to sell your items and want to be able to talk to interested parties immediately.
• Always post a picture with your item description. You'll have better odds of selling your stuff if people can see what it is.
• Craigslist will NOT let you post the same item under numerous categories in order to get more "exposure". You can get around this by coming up with completely different item descriptions and posting titles, but sometimes even that won't work.
• Please use discretion when completing transactions. Make sure that you are comfortable with meeting strangers in your home before posting items that will need to be picked up from your house. And for safety's sake, try to have someone there with you when meeting a customer.
• Accept CASH payments ONLY!

Resources

• Craigslist

[almondspecial]

on 2/28/2009 Very deatailed article.Thank you

[AmyRose]

on 2/12/2009 Very clear steps, thanks! 5*