Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with craigslist and selling

Best Way to Sell Household Goods?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:26:11 -0800

In six months, I am moving to Alaska. What is the best way to sell my household goods? I won't need furniture, kitchen supplies, etc. up there. I currently have the standard accoutrements of a post-college, big-city young professional; most of my furniture is nice but of the Ikea variety, my dishware and appliances range from meh to nice, and I have tons of books. I'm going to be flying up, so I need to fit everything I take into three suitcases and a carry-on. My parents can take custody of some stuff (probably mostly books) but not furniture. I don't want to put anything into storage.

Of course I've thought of Craigslist, but is there a better way? I'd like to maximize the cash I can put away from selling my things. I'm also interested to know what the proper timeline is. Can I expect to get rid of a one-bedroom apartment's worth of stuff in a month? Two months? Two weeks? I live in a large East Coast city with a reputation for transiency. Any bonus moving to Alaska (Anchorage) tips also appreciated!

Anonymous because I haven't given notice at work, and won't for a while. Throwaway email: movingtoalaska10@gmail.com

How to buy a car from a person

exceptinsects — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:26:59 -0800

I am looking to buy a used car for cash from a local (CA) private party, not a dealer. What do I need to know? I am mainly looking on Craigslist, but other suggestions are welcome. I'm looking for a Toyota Echo, if it matters.

So...what should I look out for in terms of scams? (I am already aware of things like shipping cars from far away, etc.) I will of course get it checked by a mechanic but what else should I be aware of?

How should I actually pay for it? Certified check? Giant wad of cash? Goats? I'm expecting it to be in the $5k range.

I am also going to be selling my old car, which is a 1997 Corolla in "fair" condition. Is it better to try to sell it myself, or should I go to Carmax? If I do sell it myself, how should I ask for payment?

Warranty for Craigslist Item

theyexpectresults — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:22:18 -0800

I am selling a computer (macbook) on craigslist, and some of the potential buyers are asking about a warranty. What sort of warranty should I write? This is in Tokyo, and I've heard that asking for some kind of warranty/agreement about computers electronics is not uncommon in Japan. So if I told people that I wouldn't give a warranty, i.e. they would just come and inspect it for themselves, then I might not have many buyers left.

The machine is a 3 year old macbook, with a few upgrades. It's physical condition has been accurately described in the ad (few chips to the case), but I am worried that anyone could find something to complain about, since I can't describe everything. Battery life is poor, kind of erratic so I don't know how to put I figure on it (i.e. I can't guarantee 2 hours battery life or anything).

Any advice on how to write such a warranty is welcome.

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.

First-time car seller looking for best way to sell a car in NYC

dcjd — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:55:45 -0800

First-time car seller looking for best way to sell a car in NYC? I moved to Manhattan a few months ago, and I brought my car with me. I hardly ever use it now, and its costing me a lot of money and aggravation. I'm thinking that it might be time to get rid of it, however, I've never sold a car before.

What's the best method to get rid of my car and not get ripped off? Should I have the car inspected before listing it, or is that something the buyer would want to do themselves? I'd like to be safe, as I'm sure there are plenty of people on craigslist who might try to scam me out of my vehicle. The car is registered in NY, gets decent gas mileage, and I have the title to it.

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. :)

What's the best way to ensure safety when selling a physically large item via Craigslist?

loudguitars — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 20:10:13 -0800

What's the best way to ensure safety when selling a physically large item that cannot easily be brought to a neutral site via Craigslist? I want to get rid of an old PC and CRT, but I'm slightly concerned about having people I don't know come to my house. I just sold a laptop via Craigslist by dragging it to a coffeehouse that was very well populated, but that won't really work with a full size PC.

What have you found to be the best way to ensure you don't invite crazy people into your house when selling through classifieds? Meet them in public to verify sanity, then have them follow you back? Have a very large and intimidating friend hang out for the afternoon? Any suggestions welcome.

Avoiding scams selling expensive items on craigslist

freshgroundpepper — Mon, 28 May 2007 17:25:04 -0800

I'm about to list a relatively expensive item on Craigslist (asking ~$700) and have been reading up on all of the different scam horror stories and what _not_ to do. I'm only going to be dealing with someone in person, and I won't accept any wire transfers, cashier checks or money orders because of the high abuse potential, but I'm not sure what this leaves as viable alternatives for what I _should_ do to receive payment. Is it OK to ask for that much cash? Is there some other alternative that I'm missing? Anything above a couple of hundred dollars seems like a lot of folding money to me. Is there some sort of unspoken maximum amount where cash is no longer viable?

Should I be asking the person for some sort of identification (driver's license?) when I make the deal? Do I need to worry about counterfeit money and get one of those pens that I see some stores use on large denomination bills that identify counterfeits?

How have other people dealt with large items that they've sold on Craigslist (or a similar forum)?

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?

The intrinsic worth of IKEA

Big Fat Tycoon — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 12:56:30 -0800

How much is my used IKEA stuff worth? I'm about to move and I'm trying to sell my furniture on Craigslist. I bought most of it this March, and it's in practically new condition, all purchased from the giant furniture overmind IKEA. Now, I'm getting a ton of replies, but the prices I'm being offered (since I mentioned I'd accept "reasonable offers") are 50%+ off the original price. I realize this is IKEA stuff, but it's in great condition and some of it is quite decent. Should I be taking these offers? Or am I getting lowballed? Are there better places, besides eBay, to sell stuff and not get people trying to chizzle me?