Craigslist and Ebay...

Craigslist for your city is a great way to sell items that you no longer use. It is free and quite effective. I use this option for large or heavy items that people would not want to pay shipping for or items that would sell locally without the need to reach a larger group of buyers. I actually started selling off of craigslist this past summer and was really impressed in how much response I got off of things just laying around the house. I knew right away that there is a certain amount of danger in selling in person and meeting strangers. I never scheduled to meet at my home and always planned a location that was a public place, had lots of people nearby and in pure daylight. In each listing I made it clear that my price was firm and the only payment I accept is cash. I also bought a bill verifying pen at the local office supply store to make sure I was not receiving counterfeit bills.

Ebay - there are fees and I usually reserve this for hard to sell items. When you sell on ebay you are reaching out to a world of buyers but there a things that you must do before getting started.

Know how you plan to ship a item. I really like shipping priority mail since you can order the shipping supplies for free off of a ebay link. This saves you time and money in looking for or buying boxes and packaging. I do not offer another shipping method and my buyers have always been happy to pay a bit more to get their packages fast. I also include a "shipping & handling" fee that is appropriate to the amount of the item. I do this due to gas prices being so high that it would not be cost effective for me to run to the post office to ship a $3 item. I, personally stay away from international shipping since it is just problematic to me and not as safe. There is too much fraud in other countries and I don't want to hassle with trying to determine if I will get paid or not. I set my listings to require immediate payment and most of the time I sell as "buy it now" to get the job done at the price I want.

Research what you have and what it is worth both locally (craigslist) and nationally (ebay), then determine what you will charge for your item. Pricing items beyond their common selling point will lead to no bidders and a waste of your time and effort.

Research your resources. Does your city have something that others want? Do you have a factory or plant that manufactures goods that are in demand to others? If so, see if you can access it and find out what the items go for. Two years ago, I sold a ton on ebay. I did not make a income to support my family, but I did make enough to pay off a larger credit card that I had. You would never guess the niche that I found! People love "Silver" brand jeans! I would go to Goodwill and buy them for $3.99 and sell them at $12.99. One of the first things you must learn about selling clothes is to find the most common size that people wear. In this case it was women's jeans. I found that sizes 7,9, & 11 sold fast and smaller sizes took forever to sell. I also found out what days / dates Goodwill had sales to decrease my spending on the jeans and increase my profit margin. I made just over $3,200.00 selling jeans that I bought a Goodwill!

*Tip; if you buy jeans always make sure they are boot cut or flare. The other styles are much harder to sell.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make while selling on craigslist or ebay is how they advertising their items. I, personally don't even look at the ads without photos. We are in the technology age and a cheap digital camera can be a incredible investment for selling both on craigslist and ebay. Clean and neat photos are attractive to the buyer. Try to get only the item you are selling in the photo without your dirty clothes pile in the background!

Create a need and spell out how the item you have can be used. I worked in sales for years and know that there are certain tactics that work for selling a product. Never ask yes or no questions and tell the prospective buyer that they need the product. Tell them how it will benefit their life and create a illusion of need. Watch commercials and notice how they spell out for you what you can use the product for. They don't just say, "Buy xyz." They tell you that you need xyz to be happy and make your life easier. They give you ideas of how you will use xyz. They tell you that xyz is cheap in comparison to (whatever it pertains) and that you should buy it now.

Now that you know what you will write you need to make it look good as well. I always pay a few cents extra for the pretty templates that surround my listings. I always choose the simple and classy ones to add appeal. I also suggest adding as much information about the item as you can. Sometimes I create a story. I know it sounds weird but it works. With the jeans that I sold from Goodwill it certainly worked! Here is how my story went;

Teen Diva's wardrobe for sale. (in bold on top, centered)
My loss is your hot look. (centered)

I am the mother of 2 teen fashionistas who refuse to wear anything more than a few times. Update your closet without paying retail prices. If you know fashion, you realize the deal I am offering in this listing. Picture these jeans with a cute pair of boots or sandals and you are ready for any occasion. (ramble on but be careful to not use trigger words like "sexy.")(Aligned left)

Buy it now! (centered)