How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
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How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
Written and Published by: Daniel Herzner
Copyright © 2010 – 2011
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“How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
While Completely Eliminating The Risk Of Getting Ripped Off!”
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How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
Disclaimer:
Every effort has been made to make this document as complete and accurate as
possible. This report contains information on selling items on Craigslist only up to the
publishing date. Therefore, this document should be used as a guide only – not as a
definitive source of information on the above.
The purpose of this document is to educate, and not to provide or imply such provision
of any legal, accounting, or any other form of business advice. The author and publisher
do not warrant that the information contained in this report is fully complete and shall not
be responsible for any errors or omissions.
The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or
entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or
indirectly by this document.
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How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
Craigslist…
…is one of the internet’s largest and most heavily trafficked websites. It is a vast ocean of
classified ads and the site receives millions upon millions of visitors each and every month. And I have
found, without question, Craigslist to be a fantastic platform for liquidating many of the items I find
while out treasure hunting.
Just as is the case with most everything else in life though, there are both positives and negatives to
using Craigslist. Let’s start this report off by talking about the positives. But, be sure to read all the way
to the end. It is equally important to your success on Craig’s that you’re also aware of the negatives.
QUICK NOTE: you may be thinking that the subtitle of this report is a bit wordy. But, the only way
to make maximum profits selling items on Craigslist is also “Completely Eliminating The Risk Of
Getting Ripped Off!”
In fact, the negatives and the scams that are rampant on Craigslist which I describe in detail below is the
most valuable information contained in this report. Do you want to make maximum profit selling your
treasures on Craigslist while avoiding the pain of getting ripped off? Then read this entire document
carefully.
Before we get to the heart of it, there is one additional thing I’d like to mention regarding this report
you’re about to read. My intention is to try and keep the information contained herein as concise as
possible. I intend to keep fluff and platitudes out of it. Having said that, if anything you read is unclear,
please feel free to email me and my staff, we would be happy to answer any of your questions:
[email protected]
Now, without further ado, let’s get right to it; selling your treasures on Craigslist for maximum profit!
First, the positives.
The number one positive of posting items for sale on Craigslist is it’s…
FREE – it will cost you not one thin dime to post your ads on Craig’s. You can post as many ads as
you’d like to Craigslist classified listings and each and every one of them will be completely, 100% FREE
of charge. And, Craigslist has just recently expanded the categories of their “For Sale” section to make it
even easier and more efficient for you to list your items.
I’ve been advertising and selling stuff for a long time now and I remember well the bad old days of
placing expensive newspaper classified ads. The fact that Craigslist is free and that your ad will be
displayed almost immediately after it’s been placed – and to millions of eyeballs – is definitely its
number one feature. AND, you can edit and / or delete your ads with a few mouse clicks.
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How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
Cash transactions – let’s face it, in this world in which we live, cash is king. There’s just something
about being handed cash in exchange for whatever it is you’re selling. Checks, money orders, Pay Pal
and the like are all fine and each of these forms of payment have their place but none of them can
compare to getting paid in good ol’ fashioned CASH! About 99.9% of the items I sell on Craigslist are
completed as cash transactions and you will find the same to be true for yourself.
Craig’s is a great way to move the large, bulky items – in addition to selling on
Craigslist, I also liquidate a lot of my treasures on eBay. eBay is great for selling smaller items which are
easily shipped. But, when it comes to bulky everyday items (such as furniture or large appliances) it
makes much more sense to liquidate them through Craigslist. The large items will be purchased by local
buyers. Makes sense, right? Why would someone in Ohio for example want to buy a washer / dryer
combo from a seller in New York? The answer is he wouldn’t; it makes no sense to ship such an item a
far distance. And Craigslist is ideal for selling large items to a local buyer because, again, placing an ad on
Craigslist is free and the transactions are completed in cash.
Now I mention all of this about selling bulky items because even though I engage in many different
forms of treasure hunting, my preferred method is storage auctions. When you buy abandoned storage
units at auction, the entire contents of those units are yours. Frequently the storage units you buy will
contain furniture, major appliances and other types of large items. And again, Craigslist is your number
one tool for selling those large items which are not easily shipped or simply cannot be shipped.
Craigslist makes giving away items for free a cinch – some of the things I’ve come
across would’ve been so difficult to get rid of if not for Craigslist. Let me give you an example: I one time
came across several large boxes of record albums. There must’ve been 600 albums total. Trouble was,
the albums were in pretty rough shape; they had not been well taken care of and most were warped
and scratched.
I posted an ad to Craigslist to sell the entire lot for $200 and received not a single call. When the ad
expired I relisted the lot but this time the price was $150…and still not a single call. This went on until
the last ditch effort ad I placed had a price for the entire lot of $25 and still no calls. I figured that if I
couldn’t even sell the collection for $25 then it had no value. I then posted an ad to the “Free” section
and the inquiries came in like a tsunami. That very day I had somebody stop by who took them all of my
hands. I was thrilled because I couldn’t stand the site of them hogging up valuable space in my garage
anymore.
There are a few more VERY important things I’d like to mention to you about listing in the “Free” section
but I’ll save that for a little further along in this report. Yes, believe it or not, there is even a correct way
to give stuff away on Craigslist.
So what I’ve just laid out for you are what I believe are the 4 major positives of selling on Craigslist. At
this point, let’s get into some detail about how to actually list your items. What I’m about to share with
you has enabled me to be very successfully sell on Craig’s and if you heed my advice, I’m sure it will do
the same for you.
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How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
The first thing you’ll want to do is create your own account. Just like posting ads on Craigslist, creating
an account is free.
Now, why would you want to create an account? What are the advantages? Because after all, it is not
mandatory that you have an account to post on Craig’s so wouldn’t this just be an extra, unnecessary
step?
Creating an account provides you with a dashboard where you can manage all of your ads and account
activities. Once logged into your Craigslist account you can not only see all of your ads in one location
but you can easily updated them, renew them, delete them (in the event the items been sold) and so
on.
Without an account, every time you post an ad to Craig’s the site will send you an auto-generated email
with a link that you’ll need to click on to activate the ad. You will also need to hold onto the email in
your inbox in the event you’d need to update, edit or delete the ad. Let’s say you post 13 items you now
have 13 emails you’ll need to hold onto in order to manage your listings – it just becomes a big, fat
hassle.
The bottom line is this – create an account in order to sell on Craigslist! It’s
free to do so.
Ok, so at this point you’re now familiar with WHY you should be using Craigslist and that you need to
create an account. Let’s now get into HOW to list your items for maximum juice.
What I like to do is once I’m logged into Craigslist I’ll click on the “for sale” link on the homepage. From
there you will see a “post” link in the upper right hand corner of the page. Next you will choose the
appropriate category for the item you’re listing and then you will choose the geographic area for where
you would like to post your ad – most likely the location nearest you.
The next step is where you will actually set up your ad; the title, the price of your item and the town or
city where the item located. So far this is all pretty straight forward stuff. But now, this is where we’re
going to get creative and really make our ads work for us. The next step is to set up the description of
your item which is crucial to all your Craigslist selling.
But, real quick, before we get into the best way to structure your description, let me just mention a few
important points about the title of your ads.
Put yourself into the shoes of the person who might be interested in what you have to sell. Would your
item appeal to different buyers? Could it serve more than one purpose?
For example I’d recently sold this fold up dog crate. But, I realized this crate could also serve as an
iguana cage or even a bird cage.
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How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
So, the title I put on the ad read: “Fold Up Dog Crate, Iguana or Bird Cage w/ Slide Out Bottom Tray”.
The point is, be creative with your title and try to make it appealing to as many potentials buyers as
possible.
OK, now onto the description of your ad. I created a template in MS Word which I use for virtually all of
my listings. Here is what the template looks like and then just below I’ll break it all down for you and
provide an explanation of each part. By the way, you should be able to copy and paste this template into
Word (or whatever word processing software you use) so you can begin to use it for yourself.
<h2>
This doggy cage is in great shape. It is for a small to medium sized dog. It easily folds up for convenient
storage and the entire bottom is a tray which slides out without having to open the door. It measures
23" X 24" X 36"<br><br>
This item is also ideal for use as an iguana cage or even can be used as a bird cage.<br><br>
For details please call 914-XXX-XXXX<br><br>
I have lots of great listings right now -- a very wide variety of different items and everything is priced to
sell -- so please check out my other merchandise here on Craigslist by searching for: tri state treasure
hunt<br><br>
Or click this link (or copy and paste into your browser address bar):<br>
http://newyork.craigslist.org/search/?areaID=3&subAreaID=&query=tri+state+treasure+hunt&catAbb=s
ss<br><br>
</h2>
<h1>tri-state treasure hunt</h1>
<h1>for sale</h1>
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How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
<h1>fold up</h1>
<h1>dog crate</h1>
<h1>iguana cage</h1>
<h1>bird cage</h1>
A breakdown and explanation of the above template:
<h2></h2> - this is what’s known as an html headline2 tag. This tag enlarges the text of your ad thereby
making it much easier to read. Without enclosing your ad in this tag the default text will be much
smaller and more difficult to read.
<br><br> - these 2 tags insert a double line break between the paragraphs in your ad again making the
text easier to read.
Tri state treasure hunt – I sell all of my items under the handle of “tri state treasure hunt” and I make
that clear in each ad. That way a person can search Craig’s for that term which will display all of my ads
as a result. That way a buyer can browse through all my listings at once because, who knows, maybe
there’s something else I’m selling which they just might be interested in.
Creating a handle is something you absolutely must do if you’d like to get maximum juice from your
listings but DO NOT use your full name as a handle (using your first name or your initials is fine). Come
up with some other creative, easy to type in handle.
http://newyork.craigslist.org/search/?areaID=3&subAreaID=&query=tri+state+treasure+hunt&catAbb=s
ss – this provides a second option whereby the user can see all of my ads at once. Rather than them
having to type my handle into the search box they can simply click the link.
Once you have come up with a good handle to use, run a search for that handle. When the search
results page loads, highlight the entire URL from your browser’s address bar and paste it into your
template as I’ve illustrated above.
NOTE: you will have to post your first ad with the handle in the ad before you can run this search.
Once you run that first search and copy and paste the resulting URL into your template you’re good to
go. You will never have to do this step again and Craigslist will make the link clickable by default.
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<h1></h1> - this is an html headline1 tag. Finally, place short, descriptive keyword phrases between the
<h1> and </h1> tags which will make the ads even easier to find in both in a Craigslist search as well as
in a Google search.
(When you’re in the process of setting up the description of your item you will be able to see these tags.
But, when the ad is actually displayed the tags become invisible. When a potential buyer is looking at
your ad, all they will see is text and pictures of your listing. Click the link above to check out my own ads
on Craigslist and you will see what I mean.)
The last thing you need to do to make your ad complete is to include pictures of the item you’re selling.
Craigslist allows you to include up to 4 pictures of your item – you will want to include at least one
picture. There are two very important reasons to include pictures in all your ads –
1. People like to see pictures of what it is they’re interested in buying. Pictures can increase your
ad’s response rate markedly.
2. When you include at least one picture in your ad there will be a small “pic” indicator to the right
of your ad’s title. Frequently a person won’t even click on the ad link if they don’t see that
indicator.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!
If you do list an item for free, simply run a plain ad, be sure to include at least one picture and DO NOT
include your phone number in the ad – DO NOT use the template I’ve just given you.
Why wouldn’t you want to list your phone number? Because chances are really good that you will get
hammered with phone calls and I’m sure you wouldn’t want that to happen, not for an item you’re
giving away for free at least.
Instead, in your ad instruct people to email you with their phone number and you will call them back.
And of course, mention in your ad – first come, first served. I’ll bet that on the first or second call you’ll
have somebody ready, willing and able to come and take your item off your hands. And what would you
rather have? To make a few return phone calls or have to take 30 or 40 calls?
Believe me on this one. On items you’re giving away for free, this is the way to go. I had to find this out
the hard way – NEVER put your phone number in the ad!
One additional and very important step I recommend you take is to maintain a buyer’s list.
Every time I sell an item to somebody I put their name and phone number into my established buyer’s
list along with a note of the item they’d purchased from me. That way when I come across a similar item
in the future I will contact that buyer directly to let them know I have something else they may be
interested in.
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I cannot tell you how many items I’ve sold stuff to one of my established buyers without having to run a
Craigslist or eBay ad!
If you follow these simple steps I’ve outlined above you will find Craigslist to be a very powerful selling
tool to turn your treasures into cash quickly.
OK, now for the negative side of Craigslist
As I’d mentioned previously, there are a number of negatives to selling stuff on Craigslist. BUT, as long
as you’re aware of what these negatives are, you can avoid them thereby making your overall
experience positive and profitable.
Understand that there are A LOT of con artists who troll for victims on Craigslist. It is much easier for a
con artist to take advantage of those who post for sale ads to Craigslist rather than posting ads of their
own. So you – the seller – are the potential victim of theft.
The primary tool a con artist will use to try and rip you off is email. As a general rule, people who are
interested, legitimate buyers will pick up the phone and call you directly. BUT, this is only a general rule.
I have gotten many legitimate emails from real buyers but the con artist emails I receive outnumber the
legitimate ones by about 10 to 1. Whereas the legitimate buyer phone calls I receive outnumber the con
artist phone calls by about 100 to 1.
Con artists are little weasel scumbags who opt to lurk in the shadows and remain as anonymous as
possible. Hiding behind an email is definitely their preferred method of trying to rob innocent victims. So
the number one thing you need to always keep in mind is be very aware and leery of every email you
receive from a Craigslist buyer. Heed what I’m about to tell you and you will be able to easily spot these
weasels.
There are many different types of email to be on the lookout for. The following I’m sure is only a partial
list as con artists are constantly coming up with new methods to try and rip people off.
CON 1 –
The “I’ll send you a money order for your item and send my shipping company to come and pick it up”
con – this rip off attempt is initiated by the con artist sending the seller a very basic, non-threatening
email asking if an item is still available for sale. If it is, the seller will naturally respond with a yes. The
con artist will then send a follow up email announcing that they’d like to move forward with the
purchase and will send the seller a money order. Frequently the con artist will even offer to include
something extra in the money order. They will ask for all of the sellers contact info in order to send full
payment. An unsuspecting seller will comply and send the con artist their mailing address.
The next step – maybe a day or 2 later – the con artist will send an email stating that a mistake had been
made and the money order sent for the item was for more than the agreed upon price. They’ll go on to
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instruct the seller to deposit the money order they’ve sent and ask that once the funds settle into the
sellers account, would the seller please wire the difference back to them via Western Union.
To the unsuspecting seller, all of this sounds pretty innocent so far. But here’s the real rub: the money
order sent will look 100% legitimate but in fact it is a fake. It looks so legitimate that the bank will
actually accept it and deposit the money into your account. Once the unsuspecting seller sees the funds
in their account, they will wire the difference back to the con artist.
It’s usually a full 7 – 10 days later that the bank will realize the money order was a fake and they will
suck the money back out of the seller’s account. It is ultimately the seller who will be out, not the bank.
So what’s happened here is the con artist sent a fake money order but the seller had wired real money
and that real money will be gone for good.
This has become a pretty common con on Craigslist and one you should be able to spot pretty easily.
The methodology may vary from how I’ve described here but the chain of events are spot on as I’ve
described. Also, WHENEVER anybody offers to pay you more than your listing price or offers to pay you
for an item without having talked with you about it first or having seen the item for themselves, it’s
100% a con.
CON 2 –
This con is similar to the one above but the con artist will ask you for your Pay Pal email address so they
can send you money. Like I said earlier, nearly all legitimate transactions will be completed in person
with cash. Or, at the very least, the person sending a payment via Pay Pal will call you about the item.
I’ve sold many items on Craig’s and have gotten paid via Pay Pal BUT BUT BUT those sales have ALWAYS
been preceded by a phone call. So any email without a prior phone call asking me for my Pay Pal info is
an instant delete. Especially, again, when a buyer offers to pay you for an item sight unseen.
CON 3 –
The “click this link” con – DO NOT, under any circumstances, EVER click on any links sent in an email
from a Craigslist buyer. If you click on any link you can be sure that you will be inviting a virus, spyware,
malware or a Trojan horse onto your computer.
IF YOU EVER RECEIVE AN EMAIL FROM A CRAIGSLIST BUYER ASKING YOU TO CLICK ON A LINK, DELETE IT
IMMEDIATELY.
Here is some of the crap a con artist will say in the email to try and entice an innocent victim to click a
link –
I want to buy your item but I’m not sure if it’s the same one I’ve been looking for. I’ve created a
video of what I’m looking for so please check out the video by clicking this link and let me know
if what you’re selling is the same thing.
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This may sound weird but you seem pretty cute in your ad. I’m new to the area and am looking
to meet some fun new people to go out with. I’ve created a private profile on this web site so
you can go and see what I look like for yourself. I promise you will not be disappointed with
what you see.
(If you’re selling any type of motor vehicle) – I want to buy your car for my husband but I have to
first make sure we can afford the insurance. Can you please go to this web site and run a free
insurance quote and let me know what it would cost for us to insure this vehicle.
The above 3 examples are the major con attempts which come my way frequently but like I said, there
are always new ones that come along. Bottom line is be very, very cynical when it comes to emails you
receive from Craigslist buyers.
One last word about receiving emails – Craigslist will send you an occasional email. The only email that
can really be considered legitimate is the one they will send to you every time you post a new listing; it
will arrive in your inbox almost immediately after posting a new ad. Otherwise, be aware of any email
purportedly sent to you from Craigslist.
If you are ever unsure of whether or not an email is legitimately from Craig’s, simply log into your
account and see if there any messages or notifications waiting for you. It is very easy for a con artist to
spoof an email to make it look like it actually was sent by Craigslist so ALWAYS err on the side of caution.
Craig’s will NEVER send an email –
1. Asking you to delete a listing
2. Asking you to update or edit a listing
3. Asking you to update your account
And, they will NEVER get involved in a transaction between a buyer and seller. If you ever receive an
email purportedly from Craigslist asking for payment details to complete a transaction it is a fraud.
CONCLUSION
I do a lot of selling on eBay – maybe 4 times as much stuff I move on eBay than I do on Craigslist. But,
Craigslist has become an integral part of my business. I’ve gone through a lot of bulls**t and bad
mistakes before I taught myself the proper method of harnessing Craigslist for maximum profits. So, I
hope that by following along with what I’ve laid out for you in this report, you can accelerate your
learning curve and make some good money selling your treasures on Craigslist too all while, of course,
avoiding scams.
Treasure hunting and selling the treasures I find has enabled me to make a terrific monthly income and
it can do the same for you PROVIDED you know how to do it.
If you are interested to learn how to treasure hunt as a fun, money making hobby or even as a part time
or full time business, then I can show you how.
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How To Sell On Craigslist For Maximum Profit
I’ve authored a kit of resources which can get you up and running QUICKLY and profiting very
handsomely from storage auction treasure hunting. The kit is very comprehensive and is priced so low
that you’d spend way more on 2 movie tickets, a tub of popcorn and a diet soda. AND, unlike a movie,
my kit offers you an unconditional money back satisfaction guarantee!
To have a look at what the kit includes, please click on this image:
If you have any questions about anything you’ve just read within this report or if you
have any general questions about storage auction treasure hunting, please feel free to
send me an email here.
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