Because I’m moving soon, I’ve been unloading excess items. To help me do this, I decided to use Craigslist. Maybe you haven’t heard of it before, but Craigslist is a free, ugly, non-user-friendly but extremely popular online classified ad site. The lists are run by city/area and you can only post something for your local area (try to do mutliple cities and your ad will be deleted).

Setting up an account is easy enough and posting an item for sale is a snap. One particular challenge with Craiglist is that you have to set your price. This is not an auction system like eBay. In the beginning you’ll need to decide a reasonable selling price and be prepared to revise it if you don’t get any buyer interest.

From experience selling seven items, Craigslist should definitely be on your list of ways to make money online. So where does the futon come in? I had nice wood futon with an eight inch mattress I wanted to sell. I listed the futon at a reasonable price and my phone wouldn’t stop ringing. I was getting calls for the futon from people 120 miles away. It was almost enough to make me want to start a futon business! I had one guy almost cry when I told him it was already sold.

Tips for selling on Craiglist:

1. Research your price
Look at other listings and check completed auctions at eBay for similar items. Also factor in “haggling”. Leave a little room for people to suggest a lower price. It makes them happy.

2. Always use pictures
A lot of people don’t include pictures! You will stand way above those people, especially if your item is in good shape. You will also save a lot of phone and E-mail time since you won’t have to answer tons of questions about color, size, etc. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words. Craigslist gives you the ability to upload four free pictures with each listing.

3. Include a telephone number in your listing.
People want to talk to you and will need directions to come pick stuff up.

4. Be willing to lower your price
If you don’t receive any interested inquiries within the first two days, consider revising your listing and lowering the price. I had one item that would not sell at 40 dollars but did sell when lowered to 35 dollars.

5. Be a salesman
When someone does call, even if they decide they aren’t interested, try and sell them some other item. I suggested other items in a friendly manner, and it was well received.

6. Always be on the lookout for bargains
My experience with Craigslist showed me there are a lot of buyers out there. Keep an eye out for bargain items that you can resell easily. There are NO listing fees with Craigslist so don’t sweat trying to sell there. Try different copy and different prices. You have nothing to lose.

Now where can I import futons for dirt cheap…