How To Sell Your Stuff Online: Kijiji & Craigslist
Have you ever wanted to sell your stuff online but weren’t sure how to do it? Or maybe you have tried it but weren’t able to sell much (if anything at all).
Making money from online classifieds, such as Kijiji and Craigslist, is not as simple as posting the ad and watching the money roll in. In order to make the sale, you have to be prepared to put in a little work.
Here’s how to advertise on Kijiji and Craigslist, plus some tips to help you sell your stuff online:
Take a Great Photo
Photos often sell the item for you, so make sure you have a very good photo of your item.
Even better, post multiple photos of your item from different angles.
If your item has any defects (scratches, stains, etc.), be sure to take a photo of those as well. It shows people you are honest.
Do Some Research
Before you post your ad, do a bit of research on the item you plan to sell.
Take a few minutes to see how much money others may be selling the same (or a similar) item for.
Ebay is great for this because you can also see how interested people are in that particular item by viewing how many bids have been placed.
Include a Catchy Headline
The very first thing people see is your headline (the title or item name), so you better make it good if you want people to click on your ad.
You want to pull people in without being obnoxious. For example:
Good Headline: Brand New Baby Boy 6-12M Clothes, NWT (new with tags)
Bad Headline: **Lots of boys clothes for sale!!!**
Another good example:
Good Headline: Solid Maple Wood Dining Room Set – Table, 6 Chairs, Buffet & Hutch
Bad Headline: Kitchen Set
Add as much information about the item into the headline as possible so people know what to expect when they are viewing your ad.
Include Lots of Detail in Your Description
Finally, you must add a description of your item. It’s best to be very descriptive.
Be sure to include dimensions, colours, scents, and make note of any damages (if applicable).
You may also want to include your nearest intersection (or nearest intersection of the place you plan to meet), so that people know if you are close enough to them to make the deal worth it.
If you offer delivery, let people know. If you don’t, mention that as well.
Act Fast to Inquiries
When you receive a phone call or email about your item(s), be sure to respond in a timely manner.
The longer it takes you to get back to an interested party, the less likely it will be that you end up making the sale.
Be Prepared to Negotiate
Many people treat online classifieds as online yard sales. Just as most people would haggle on prices at a yard sale, you can expect the same thing from your online sales.
Not everyone will try to get a discount, but there are quite a few people that will (myself included!). Be prepared for this and price your items accordingly.
Keep Information About Everyone Interested
If you get interest from more than one person, be sure to keep the contact information for everyone until you have actually sold the item.
It’s not unusual to have someone tell you they are interested in your item and then not show up to buy it when they say they will.
Because of this fact, it’s important to keep a list of “back-ups” that you can contact to purchase the item instead.
Re-list Your Items Weekly
Since Craigslist and Kijiji are free websites, there are thousands of people posting on them on a regular basis.
Your sale items will never stay on the main page all day. It doesn’t take long for more people to post – bumping your items further and further away from the main page.
Make a habit of re-listing your items once a week for 4 weeks. After that, consider donating them instead.
Selling online is a fantastic way to make some extra cash, but it can take some time to actually sell the item(s) that you are listing.
Make a deadline for when things need to be sold (4 weeks is the norm for me) and if they don’t sell by that date, they probably aren’t worth selling. Perhaps a donation to your local thrift shop would be a better idea.
Craigslist vs Kijiji
Since both of these sites offer a free option, instead of comparing one over the other, use both! It will take a bit more organization to stay on top of your listings, getting messages from different places, and being sure to go and both sites and mark the item as sold.
Since both sites require nearly the same information in your listing, you can be more efficient by writing your title and description in something like Word or Notepad and simply copy your text into both sites and then upload the same images.
Do you have any tips for selling on Kijiji or Craigslist?
Comments
which one do u prefer or got better results with?
Usually how long does it take for an avg item to sell, that is, not an hot item.
Any scary stories that you can enlighten us with?
no scary stories here!
i get better results with craigslist. you can usually sell an average item within a week.
i didn’t really read all that you wrote, i kinda skimmed it over but can you make a video of how u sell stuff on kijij?
Steve: I actually don’t really sell too much on Kijiji anymore, but if I start up again I will try to remember to make a video. 🙂
I LOVE Kijiji. I have purchased items on there and re-sold them for the same price or more years later. I follow all of the steps listed above. One more good tip is to delete and re-post the ad sometimes frequently because it can easily be pushed to the 30th page or more due to the number of ads posted everyday. If it’s not a huge item or taking up a ton of space in your home then it’s okay if it takes a really long time for it to sell because eventually it will be money in your pocket instead of an item you don’t use that is collecting dust. I prefer Kijiji over Craigslist because you can see the ad along with a picture as you scroll down the page, whereas I find Craigslist to be messy, unorganized, and you must click on each ad to see the picture which takes too much time! Posting an ad is super easy! You click “Post Ad FREE” at the top right of the page. It doesn’t get any easier than that!
Does anyone buy items at thrift stores and garage sales to sell on-line?
Susan; I have done that before and had success with it. I found it time consuming, though. It also took up space in my home until I sold the items, so I quit after awhile.
My issue with Kijiji is people lying in their ads! Stop wasting my time and just tell the truth!! One example: A single mattress is advertised to be in excellent condition. I email seller, asking him to confirm the advertised condition of the mattress, asking if there is anything at all wrong with it?, if there is anything we need to know not posted in his add?… Letting him know I had to arrange transportation, he was located at the very end of town, that the person driving me would be doing so after a long workday, we’d have two tired toddlers in their car seats, cost of gas, it’s pouring rain out … I tell him, we don’t want to go through all that only to find out that the item is not as advertised!! Over and over again he confirms the item is in perfect condition, no damage… An hour’s drive, we arrive to be shown the mattress which is sitting out in the pouring rain, is filthy dirty, is covered with jet black mold, is a total piece of junk, and this guy is still ready to sell it for $50. Unbelievable!!! Some people are just plain nuts! And there are lots of them out there, unfortunately! This kind of thing has happened to me MANY times over. And I really wish these sellers were blocked from Kijiji.
Hi,
I read a lot about selling the items and how to post it on kijiji but I haven’t seen anything on how the payment works once the seller and the buyer comes to an agreement. Any tips?
Thank you.
You can invite the person to your home for the purchase, or meet in a private area (suggested, for safety). Accept cash only – don’t take cheques.
Can’t you just use a internet service to pay on Kijiji like Paypal or something?
Nope, they don’t offer this.
Cassie – thank you for this article it was really helpful. I do ave some questions about an Etsy Store – do you have an article on that? I have lots of questions 🙂
Thanks for the article.
I’ve been seriously considering kijiji as my main sales channel for imported goods, but I don’t want a physical store front, if I expect to have a moderate volume of sales is it really feasible to sell out of my apartment? Or would it be safer to just meet each potential customer individually?
Trend trunk is my new fave site for selling clothing and accessories!
Just a reminder if you have somebody coming to look at what you are selling or coming to pick it up, have another person there with you. Better safe than sorry!
Good post. A price that you can negotiate with can be tricky… Don’t go too high expecting people will haggle the price down, as a high price can also mean people don’t look at your ad. Stay fairly close to what you want.
I have a separate email for K&C, and will keep correspondence in a file created for that item. I don’t delete it… It’s my backup should anything criminal arise.
I’m NEVER home alone, and people don’t come inside. If they must, leave your door open and stay at the door to negotiate.
I never give my phone number. It’s a bit more of a pain communicating by email, but my number usually stays private.
And you’re absolutely right about keeping a list of back up purchasers. I tell people that the item has been conditionally sold. If the sale DOES go through, I send another quick email saying thanks for your interest, but the item sold. I’ve actually had people email back, thanking me for this little courtesy.
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