Nov 18, 2011 by Ben
I was up visiting my family last week and my family and my sister asked me to help her get rid of some stuff from her garage. She has done a good job of cleaning it up and getting it all onto one side of the garage so she can park her car. Now she wanted to get rid of some of the bigger items and wanted some help. So for my 1AW I walked her through setting a post up on Craigslist. This is very easy so I thought I’d create a quick guide here to help any of you who may not be familiar with Craigslist.
Truly Simple guide to posting on Craigslist
First, go to www.Cragislist.com
You can browse all the posts without an account, but you will need an account to post something. It is free.
Simply click on the ‘my account link”
If you already have an account, simply log in with your email address and password. If you don’t have an account you can create one by clicking the “sign up for an account” link.
When you are logged into your account click on the “new posting” tab
Choose what kind of posting it will be. If you are selling or even offering the item for free, you will select ”for sale”
Select what area best suits what you are offering. For this example I chose “free”
Select the region you live in.
For your post you need the following:
A short and accurate description of what you are offering
put the city where you live in the specific location area.
In the product description be as detailed as possible. If I am selling something I will copy and paste the product description from the manufacturers website and include all relevant information.
Include this information:
- Does it work?
- Anything wrong with it?
- Any visual blemishes?
- Why you are selling it (optional)
You want to weed out those that are truly interested in the item. If it has a big scratch on it you don’t want to waste your time having many interested parties come to see it only to walk away because of that scratch.
Finally include how you’d like to be contacted. I only use email and never my phone. I made that mistake once and was inundated with phone calls while my wife was trying to take a nap. Emails are easier to go through and respond to.
Next you MUST add images. Click the “add/edit images” button
Here you can add 4 images. Add all that you can. Click the “choose file” button next to each image area to select an image.
Its important to take pictures of all sides of the item if you can. Click “continue” when you have added the images.
the final step is to enter the words/letters/numbers in the captcha to prove you are a human and not some robot trying to spam the system.
That’s it! Your listing is now posted and you will start to receive offers via email for your items.
Some other helpful tips:
If you are uncomfortable having people come over to your house to pick up the items you can meet at a local parking lot.
If they are haggling over price, make sure to come to an agreement on price before meeting to avoid wasting time
That’s it. Its really very easy.
Got any other good Craigslist tips to share? Let me know in the comments.
Ben…
1AW is a project by which I’m getting rid of at least 1 thing each week that I do not need, want, or use anymore. Doing at least one thing per week helps me reduce the clutter in my life and make room for what is truly important.
What are you getting rid of this week? Leave a comment and let me know.
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