Katrinas point of view: How I sold an antique dresser on Craigslist - A Step By Step tutorial to listing an item on Craigslist

Craigslist is a wonderful place to sell items you don't need! I've sold dozens and dozens of large items on Craigslist: trampoline, skis, compost tumbler, bed frames.........you could say that I am an expert at selling. Even on eBay, but that is another post.

When my mom passed away, I found myself the recipient of this dresser below

This was my mothers dresser from her childhood. During my childhood, it was used by my sister. It has always been in my life.

But this dresser needs to be refinished, and I don't have the necessary skills. Even if I did, this dresser does not fit in with the danish modern/Ikea decor in the rest of my craftsman style modern condo. So it had to go.

There are 3 ways to sell a large piece such as this: garage sale, Facebook, and Craigslist. As I am not an accumulator, I've never had enough household items to sell at once to have a garage sale, and my 300 or so Facebook friends is just too small of a pool. Craigslist was the way to go.

Here's your step-by-step tutorial for Craigslist:

STEP #1

On the Craigslist home page, in the upper left hand corner click "post to classifieds".

STEP #2

Select the appropriate option. In my case it was for sale by owner.

STEP #3

There is a VERY long list of options, so many that I was able to get a screen shot of only about 3/4 of them. Read through them and select the option that pertains to you. For me, I selected "furniture - by owner". Click "continue" at the lower right hand side.

STEP #4

Choose your the location nearest you and then click "continue" at the bottom.

STEP #5

Here you simply fill out the form.

Contact information: I chose text, and I filled in my phone number in the blank provided for that purpose. In the past I've chosen email, specifically CL mail reply. CL mail reply enables buyers to email you without them knowing your email address. There is a box indicating that they can call you also.

Title. Title is very important. I put "antique dresser with mirror". I may have wanted to put in "antique dresser bureau with mirror". Buyers will find your ad one of two ways on Craigslist: through browsing randomly in the furniture category, or most likely by inserting "antique dresser with mirror", "old dresser", "dresser", "bureau" etc. So try to remember your synonyms and include them in your title.

Price. Before you list your item on Craigslist, do a Craigslist search and see what other items similar to yours are selling for. eBay is also another place that you can go to find items and what other sellers are pricing similar items for.

Specific location:
If you are in a rural area, just list the closest town. Small towns, just enter your city. If you are in a large city, enter the city and neighborhood.

Postal code: self explanatory

Posting body: Enter everything that you know about the item: Brand, Age, Materials, Measurements, item condition. Why you are selling the item, ( buyers always want to know! ) Don't forget to list any known flaws.

Show on maps: Do not click this. Once this box is clicked, the location of your residence will show up in your listing! I never click this. I do not want anyone to know where I live. I give out my address only to buyers who have convinced me that they are serious buyers.

DO NOT put your phone number, email address, or address in the listing. This is for your safety.

Cut off from the photo in the lower right hand corner you will find "continue". Press it to go to the next step.

STEP #6

It's time to add photos. Most items will not sell without photos. Most people will not even look at an ad that doesn't have a photo. You can add up to 24 pictures to your listing presently, ( previously you were limited to only 4 ). Upload the best picture first as it will be your thumbnail.

In my ad above, I only used 5 photos; but I encourage you to take advantage of all 24 photos allowed by Craigslist. Include all angles, front, back, sides, underneath, inside drawers, flaws up close and personal.

Take your photos and then crop out the extraneous background. Try to remove your household items that are not for sale from the picture frame. It is extra "noise" that competes with your item.

You will click "browse", and then click to your picture file. Double click on the picture you want in your listing. It will then upload. Repeat this process until all pictures that you wish to include in your listing are uploaded.

Now click "done with images" in the lower right hand corner.

STEP #7

You will now be able to see your listing as it will be presented to the public on Craigslist. If you find an error you may click on "edit text" or "edit images" located at the bottom left, or if all looks great you will then click "publish".

Communicating with buyers:

Closely monitor your email, text, or phone for buyers who are trying to contact you! In this age of smart phones, this should be easy. No more being forced to stay home when one has items for sale on Craigslist! Be extremely fast about returning texts, emails, voice mails. And if you've chosen to accept calls? Be sure to answer calls from unknown numbers!

Sell your items during times when your commitments are low. You need to be flexible about appointment and or rendezvous times with buyers!

Give your address out to only those buyers who have set a definite day & time to come to your home. Be selective, and if something doesn't feel right, then do not give out your address. See the section about personal safety below.

STEP #8

This page features a URL link where you can view your live listing, and a link where you can manage your listing. Your listing is good for 7 days. You may re-new any listing that is at least 48 hours old. This will put your listing at the top of the pile again. Let me explain, Craigslist listings sort themselves newest to oldest. So a 1 day old listing is on page one, and a 6 day old listing is on page 4 etc.

This is the manage postings page on Craigslist. These are a list of the items on this particular account that I've sold over the years. From this page I can re-post, edit, delete, and UN-delete.

You do not need to create a Craigslist account to sell on Craigslist. I've sold a few things that are not on the list above because I didn't log-in to my account when I created the ads. If you think that you may sell quite a few things, I recommend that you create a Craigslist account ( easy! ).

When your item sells, do yourself and buyers a big favor and delete the listing! It's very annoying for Craigslist to get crowded with items that are nolonger available!

Words of Caution:

Avoiding scams

Accept CASH only from a person that you meet face to face.

To read more information about avoiding scams on Craigslist please click here:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

Personal Safety

If buyer is coming to your home, make appointment time when you will have other friends/family to receive the buyer when they arrive.

If you are selling high priced merchandise such as jewelry or electronics, do not meet the buyer at your home. Instead choose a local coffee shop such as Starbucks. This is for your personal safety.

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