Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with craigslist and ebay

Craigslist automated notifications would be a good idea.

Dave. — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:30:14 -0800

Why hasn't anyone created a mainstream application/website to generate Craigslist notifications similar to EBay's "saved searches"? I'm not quite sure what I mean by "mainstream", but I do know that I've googled the heck out of it, and I can't find anything that appears to be risk free or just simply free ($).

Someone bought THAT?

SweetTeaAndABiscuit — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:39:11 -0800

Help me find some hidden treasures. With an eye to both decluttering and raising some much-needed cash, I've been looking around my home for things that might be resaleable on Craigslist, eBay, etc. It occurs to me that there are probably things that would be sellable that simply haven't occurred to me. What are some unusual, obscure, or downright off-the-wall things you've bought or sold or heard that someone else has?

Ebay vs Craigslist for absolute novices

immlass — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:42:33 -0800

Mr. immlass and I are considering craigslist vs ebay for selling electronics/computer gear. Neither of us has any experience with either system as a seller; he's bought a few rare items (CDs) on ebay. Specific questions within. The stuff: a DVD burner we don't use, an older iPod, a portable DVD/iPod doc and (eventually) a desktop computer (a Mac G5 tower).

Questions wrt ebay:
1: how much do the nickel-and-dime add-ons (pictures, etc) actually help?
2: Is paypal as big a deal as they want to tell me it is?
3: Have you had bad experiences with buyers?
4: Is it better to price the item low to assure it sells or re-list it if it doesn't?
5: How well does it work for big-ticket vs. cheap stuff?
6: Do you ship to Canada?

Questions wrt craigslist:
1: Is it better than ebay?
2: why?

We're in Austin, if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance for your help.

RSS reader optimized for Craigslist and Kijiji

Chuckles — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:29:33 -0800

Wanted, an RSS reader optimized for Craigslist and Kijiji. Willing to program myself, if necessary. I'm looking to optimize my use of RSS feeds when perusing online classified adds. I've been using Thunderbird, and I've set a few message filters to save me some time, but it isn't enough. Some of the features I need:

Sophisticated kill scripts, to avoid spam, duplicate listings, and items I'm simply not interested in
Permanent storage of the listing and pictures for market research purposes. This would include monitoring changes, and recording the date of listing removal.

I'm sure there are a million features I haven't thought of, but those two are really key, and they are not at all typical for RSS readers, as far as I can tell.

I'm a junior programmer, but I'm happy to take this on as a project. Hopefully, as a plugin for existing software, or a modification of an existing open source RSS reader. Happier still if somebody has already made it, of course!

And as an adjunct question, I'm very interested in recommendations for ebay software. Again, looking for permanent caching and tracking of auctions. I've heard of some ebay market analysis services, but paying a subscription isn't really an option, unless it is very cheap.

(too) Cheap car with escrow. What could go wrong?

niles — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:56:50 -0800

She's selling the Mini for $10k under retail and will ship it out here at no cost for me to inspect. It's just like nice Mr. Oreck and his vacuum cleaners! So what's the scam? Or is it too good and true? My mom has been wanting to buy a Mini Cooper for the longest time, and regularly looks on Craigslist and other sites for sales. Yesterday, she found someone selling it for under $5,000. The cars retail new for about 4 times that amount. Ostensibly, the seller just needs to get rid of it so it doesn't rot in her driveway while she's deployed in Iraq. I think she could sell in in all of 30 seconds to a dealer for double her asking price. One other weird thing is that the ad was placed locally, but the car is 3 three states away for some reason. I also couldn't find an ad local to where the car is.

So here's the deal. She says she'll set it up though eBay Motors, using their "Business Purchase Protection Program", wherein she ships the car, along with the "title,bill of sale, full service records and more" at her cost. We simply pay eBay, and she ships upon deposit of the money. eBay holds the money "until you receive and inspect the car (you have 5 days for inspection) If you will find the smallest problem with the car you will ship it back on my expense and ebay will send you your full amount back."

This seems like a regular escrow deal. And escrows are supposed to prevent both parties from getting ripped off, right? So is there some loop hole we're missing, or is this really as safe as it looks?

Buy. Sell. Trade.

sixcolors — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:31:58 -0800

Interested in buying and then selling stuff. I am running into two (and I assume, very common) problems. 1. The high quality stuff I find tends to be too expensive to buy. 2. The cheap stuff I find is really crappy. I know in order to make money, you need to buy low and sell high. But, this seems a LOT easier in theory than in practice! What am I doing wrong? I am interested in selling video games, dvds, CDs/tapes/records, magazines, and books. I am also interested in selling vintage collectibles and jewelry.

I search thrift stores and pawn shops, and have little luck in finding quality items. When I do, it is too expensive. I don't know much about garage sales, is there a way I can find out who's having one? Are there any other places that I should check? Any other methods I should use? Any other items I should try selling?

I'd prefer to sell things through ebay, but craigslist is an option also. I heard of people selling things through resale shops, but I heard that it is really hard to make money that way.

How much would you pay for a monome?

defmute — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:04:00 -0800

How much would you pay for a monome? I'm looking to sell my first edition monome 40h (monome.org) but don't know how much I should charge. I know that there were only 500 of these machines made worldwide and I hardly ever see listings for them on craigslist or ebay. So given that I know that, how much should I sell it for if I were to post a listing on craigslist? I paid $500 for it originally and I've seen exactly ONE craigslist posting in my life and that guy was charging $800. Is $800 too pricey or could I perhaps sell it for more? I like this machine and don't want to part with it but I need to buy someone a new computer (I spilled bong water on my dealer's new laptop) and need to do it faaast. Any tips for selling something like this on ebay? Am I better of selling it as a buy it now or would I make a lot more money if you could bid on it? Thanks in advance.

How to best sell old collectables?

razorfrog — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:55:11 -0800

What do I do with my old collectibles? Meaning: how do I easily turn Beanie Babies and Hess Trucks into some money? I have two huge boxes sitting in my attic I'd like to be rid of - one containing collected Beanie Babies from many years past, the other containing collectible Christmas Hess trucks.

The beanie babies are in good condition, and probably would be acceptable to anyone who wanted them in pristine condition. As far as numbers, there's some 203 of them, some duplicates, and definitely some of them are "rare". My only idea is to put them one by one onto eBay, but I really don't want to spend the time taking pictures of them and typing it all up. That leaves what, a bulk sale on craigslist? (I'm in the South SF Bay Area - Santa Cruz, fyi)

Then comes the Hess trucks. Christmas presents from years past, these might actually be worth something more than the little plushies? Would it be worth my time to list these individually on eBay? Or again, one bulk sale? There's less of these - 10 - from 1989 to 2000. These are definitely used, and not in mint, collector's condition though..

Any thoughts on how to painlessly turn this into cash? eBay? Craigslist? All together? Separately ? Something else entirely?

Thanks for the advice!

Why would someone pay $500. or more for an unmodified iPhone when they can get the same thing from Apple for $399.?

jorlando — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:27:31 -0800

Why would someone pay $500. or more for an unmodified iPhone when they can get the same thing from Apple for $399.? I'm thinking about getting an iPhone. I was at Apple store today and they sell them for $399. On Craigslist and Ebay, I see a lot of iPhones that are still in original condition (not unlocked) where sellers are asking much more than Apple. Is it because they have older firmware that CAN be unlocked? What am I missing?

I don't want my life to sit around gathering dust.

miss lynnster — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:43:19 -0800

Simplifying life and purging my junk. I'm exhausted and I haven't even started. How to make it easier, less painful, and maybe even profitable? So, I live in a huge 1440 square foot place right now. In the future, I don't plan to. But I own lots of junk. Generations of collected things (large & small) as well as a zillion books that followed me home from thrift stores. I own some treasured stuff, but also a lot of stuff I never give a second look to, which bothers me. I'm looking to move in six months or so and I'd like to streamline my load considerably, hopefully gradually and without having a nervous breakdown or regrets (In my former life I was a sentimental pack rat who would clutch Bing Crosby 78s and scream, "But... I may need this someday!" I've gotten better over the years but it's still stressful).

I'd like to be zen about it, but right now all I see is how much work it's going to be. I don't even know where to start. Should I sell things on ebay? Craigslist? Is it not worth the hassle & I should just throw my belongings on the side of the road? I could use some money but I'm really not sure how much to even ask for things or how to go about it methodically. I've never really done this before. I have a big ol' back injury so I'm also trying to figure out how to do this without working so hard I put my back out from stress or lifting crap.

Soooo... what has your experience been? What works? What doesn't? I need all of the advice & help I can get.

Thanks in advance. :)

Best places (beyond ebay & Craigslist) to sell old PowerBooks and other used tech gear?

lorimer — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 23:24:34 -0800

Right now, what are some good places -- in addition to ebay & Craigslist -- to sell used tech gear (such as old PowerBooks and any other excellent-condition but old stuff)? As a current example, I was given a Wallstreet G3 and a 1400cs that I want to turn into cash. (I'll test them well, but so far they seem to be in excellent operating/cosmetic condition with various upgrades beyond factory specs -- in other words, for me to buy identical models on ebay or a used-Mac site would be c. $300 for the Wallstreet and $130 for the 1400.)

Ebay could work (I have a 100% positive rating with 30+ sales, but it's only from selling cheap stuff like my books and CDs), and right now I'm spending my time in active Craigslist cities (mostly Detroit & NYC). Where else should I be looking to sell? Broader suggestions would also be much appreciated, since I often get or salvage other such things I could sell.

How to sell my violin?

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 19:49:57 -0800

How should I sell my violin? (I'm posting anonymously so it doesn't look like the answer is "on metafilter!")

So I just had it verbally-appraised at Shar and they told me:

1. It's a high quality student violin that's worth, ballpark, $1000.
2. It has a label that says John Juzek, but the label's an obvious photocopy.
3. It was made in Germany in the '80s.

I don't really want to pay to sell it; I've tried Craigslist but no bites (not surprising; the Craigslist where I live isn't that active). I'm thinking about Auctiondrop, but I don't want to pony up the $20 for "Premium" service and the $1 minimum scares the shit out of me. I've long since lost contact with my old violin teacher. Suggestions?