Need Extra Money? Sell Some Stuff!
I'm a big Craigslist fan!
Not only is it a fantastic place to find practical, used items for great prices, but it's also an ideal way to sell things that you don't need anymore.
Back when I was decluttering my house this spring and early summer, I made the decision that I had a few larger ticket items that I would like to sell, rather than just donate to a thrift store, as I did with the rest of the stuff that I was getting rid of. Listing them on Craigslist has been on my "before baby to-do" list for quite some time, and just yesterday I finally got around to taking pictures of everything and posting it all up.
It takes a little bit of time to get some good photos and create some well thought out ads, but it's been so worth it! Since the ads went up yesterday evening, I have already sold 3 items (a children's double bike trailer, my old bike, and a bike rack to go on a car), made $140 and I still have people interested in my other items!
The beauty of this right now is that I am working hard to put aside any little bits of extra money to go towards buying summer berries and fruit, to preserve and freeze for the upcoming year. When I found out earlier this week that my previous source of free, unsprayed raspberries was no longer available this year, I briefly panicked. Where would I get the extra $100 I would now need to purchase them, not to mention the money that I was still working to save up for all the other fruit we need?
Suddenly my goal of posting items on Craigslist became a little more pressing! 🙂
I've still got another bike trailer/double stroller (don't ask why I have two and don't use either), a tent, an air conditioner and some beautiful old Denby dishes that I'd like to sell, plus my hubby has an organ he's decided to part with. It feels great to not only clear out some things that we just don't need/use (but would gladly be used by someone else), to know that those people are getting a good deal, we're putting a little extra money in our pockets, and the landfills aren't getting any fuller on our account!
Are you a Craigslist (or Kijiji or any other type of online community ads) fan? Do you use it primarily to buy or sell stuff? Any other creative ways that you've found to make money when you need it for special purchases?
More Frugal Friday tips at Life as Mom!
(Gulp) Your husband has an organ he’s decided to part with?
This is an organ like a piano, right? and not at all like a kidney??
😀 Thanks for the chuckle!
I also laughed about the un-needed organ hehehe.
I live on a military base in Europe. We have a Yahoo group that is for swapping. While we don’t make money we get rid of things and get things we need for free! And anytime one of your friends moves you are destined to get some stuff for free, too.
We LOVE Craigslist, in fact, that is where we’ve found all our cloth diapers as well, for a fraction of the price!
We’ve used it for two years and have made over $1000 on it!
Weirdest thing we sold: A completely totalled truck (the front end literally up to the windshield) for $400!! Someone wanted it to take the front off and have it’s bed used as an open trailer….works for me!!
Sarah M
Yes, I’m a huge Craigslist fan. I’ve used it to buy and sell things, as well as look for jobs and apartments. The only other ways I can think of that I’ve made extra money are the occasional garage sale (hubby HATES doing them) and picking up some freelance work.
I love Craigslist. I have bought and sold many many things on that site. I even advertise for my garage sales on that site.
EBAY!! And a GREAT thing to sell on Ebay right now are GIFT CARDS… awesome because you can mail with just a stamp so offer free shipping of course and gift cards go most of the time for close or at face value. So, if you have a card for a place that’s not in your area, you don’t think you’ll use or you just need the cash instead… put it on ebay for a 7 day auction, start it at $.99 and watch it move!
We love Craigslist too. My stuff sells better when I pay attention to how I word stuff. Finally got rid of a brush guard bumper after I learned what it was really called (was calling it a deer guard bumper, since that’s what we were using it for!). I just bought a double stroller off of Ebay since I wasn’t able to find one on Craigslist after a month of searching
This is when I’d like to live in a larger town/city. 🙂
We have a small online classifieds but its very small and encompasses a huge area…so you might find things listed on there that are several hours from where you live. We have yet to find or sell anything on there.
Back when I lived in a city we used the city’s online classifieds all the time, mostly to sell things. It was great!
The organ comment made me laugh right out loud. 🙂
We recently bought a new house and wanted to change out some things like appliances, light fixtures, etc. We took out the old stuff, sold it on craigslist, then bought replacements … on craigslist! We were a little out of pocket, but not like we would have been if we had bought stuff all new at a store…
LOL! I never thought the organ comment would sound that way, since I had in my mind a picture of a big brown Yamaha organ that’s sitting in our garage. Every once in a while, I write something that comes across in a way that is totally different from how I intended it!
I thought about changing what I wrote so that it made more sense, but since everyone’s getting a good laugh out of it, I think I’ll just leave it up there! 🙂
I love Craigslist! We just recently purchased a much-needed kitchen table and chairs for a fraction of the price of a new set. I just love it too. You can often find deals on things that people would just like to get rid of for a little money (not looking to get their purchase price back). We have also sold a few things too with. I have found the more pictures the better and be completely honest about all flaws. If it doesn’t sell within the first 2-3 days then something is wrong with your wording, you are asking too much, or you are not selling it in the right season. It is so much fun to get money back on something you were going to give away anyway!
We just did some declutter too. Got rid of a kids table and chairs plus an unneeded bike rack. Sweet!
I find garage sales the QUICKEST way to get rid of things. Get together with your neighbours, all chip in for a newspaper add, and you get tons of people in. However, because you’re not exactly attracting a “niche” market (as you would get on Craigslist when people look up specific thing), you have to sell at lower prices. From talking to people and our own experience, I find Craigslist a good way to get the BEST PRICE on a used item, but sometimes it takes a bit longer, or you have to make more of an effort to get rid of it (i.e. transport your items to the new location). YAY! I’m glad your stuff sold quickly!
I mostly use ebay to clear out the extras and love it! I made $300 this spring on sales and then was able to purchase some things we were needing/wanting around the house. Yeah! I like amazon for selling books.
Wish I could use craigslist more, but as we’re in a remote area, it’s hard to find buyers for items…and I don’t want to have to drive an hour to meet someone. But I have bought some great stuff on craigslist while visiting my parents.
It makes me feel better about getting rid of something, knowing that it’s going to someone who really wants it- you never know if you’re dropping it at a thrift store.
Where do you life again? I could use a new organ…the Yamaha kind that is! 🙂
I totally agree that Craigslist is a great way to go! Both parties win, one wants to sell/make money and the other wants something inexpensive, not pay full price.
We just sold a trailer about 3 hours after being listed! Amazing:)