The Last 10 Things I Sold On Craigslist

We have a lot of stuff. In an effort to declutter our home, I often take to Craigslist, eBay, or Amazon.com to sell our stuff. On average, I’ll post about one item per week on Craigslist. Around here (DC/NoVA) and in most metropolitan areas, people will buy almost anything as long as the price is right.

Here are the last 10 things I sold on Craigslist. I’ll also share with you some of my tips down below.

2 Baseball gloves and 2 baseballs (used) – $20 – These were extra gloves that I didn’t need
anymore. One of them was my brother’s glove from little league. He gave me his approval to sell it.

Ryobi Circular Saw with bag (used) – $10 – The battery didn’t hold its charge that well and the blade was dull. I made sure to disclose this in the description as the reason it was priced so low. I also didn’t use this very much.

Garment steamer (used) – $10 – We brought this down from my parents’ house. My mom didn’t use it, so I sold it for her.

Spalding Extreme volleyball (used) – $5 – My brother is moving soon. He left some stuff here that he doesn’t use anymore. This was in there.

25 Satin Nickel cabinet knobs (new) – $25 – We bought these on Amazon for $25, but the screws were too short for what we needed. Sold them on CL for at a tiny profit as Amazon’s return period had expired.

(2) Size 5 soccer balls (used) – $10 – I don’t really play soccer anymore, so I don’t know why I had these around. Sold them to a guy whose sister was having some trouble. He wanted to cheer her up, and he knows she loves playing soccer. I originally posted them for $10 each, but I was happy to give him a discount.

Baby gate (used) – $10 – We got this to keep our dog out of certain areas, but he is now staying with my parents. It wasn’t quite sturdy enough for our son, as he kept pulling it out of place.

Osterizer blender (used) – $10 – Another thing from my parent’s house. We didn’t use this much, so I decided to get rid of it.

WEN Electric Hand Planer (used once) – $30 – Sold this without a picture. I got this when I thought I was trying to get into woodworking, but I didn’t have the space for this noisy thing.

Stanley Adjustable Bench Plane (used once) – $15 – This was another woodworking tool that I didn’t have time to use.

Grand Total: $145

Time period: March 9 – May 5 (just under 2 months)

As you can see, we have quite an assortment of random items. It was just taking up space in our home and providing no value to us. Getting rid of the things that don’t matter allows us to focus more on the things that do matter. I highly encourage you to take a look around and let go of clutter than longer has any use to you. This can also be a great source of additional income.

A lot of the items above sold for around $10-30, but you can sell items in any price range. I’ve sold cars, kitchen appliances, laptops, and many other big-ticket items on CL.

Here are my tips to successfully unload your stuff on Craigslist:

• Take pictures. As you can see, I’m not the best photographer. But I almost always take a picture of the item I’m selling. I usually do multiple items at once to save time. I recommend taking multiple shots with different views of the item.
• Provide a clear description. Make sure the title describes your item clearly. Try to provide as much information as you can including brand name, size, specs, etc. if applicable.
• Leave your phone number in the post. I know people are bit wary of posting their phone number online. I’ve posted my number plenty of times and haven’t had any issues. People on Craigslist are flaky. Talking to them over the phone will increase your chances of closing the sale.
• Meet at a public place if possible. You can never be too safe these days. I give people the address to my building but never the apartment number. This works for me. Find what works best for you without putting you or your family at risk.
• Have the buyer come to you. Don’t waste your time agreeing someone to meet halfway unless it’s convenient for you. People are way too flaky on Craigslist. Something will always come up at work or at the last minute, and you’ll be stuck waiting for them.
• If it doesn’t sell the first time, just renew the post. Some items will take a long time to sell, but very rarely have items not sold for me. Craigslist makes it easy to renew a post after a few days. It will bring your post back up to the top of the list in front of potential buyers. I’ve had to renew more than 5 times for some items.
• Be flexible on price. People will try to bargain. If you post for $50, they might offer $20. Price the item well and negotiate well.
• Only accept cash. I probably don’t need to say this, but don’t accept checks. You don’t know if they’re good for the money.

That’s all I can think of for now. If I think of anything else later on, I’ll update this post.