Selling "stuff" online via Face Book/Craigslist etc. Vent

[mdurette]

I occasionally would sell higher priced items on Craigslist. A friend mentioned to be that FB marketplace gets a much better response. Ok...makes sense, more people are on FB that CL I would assume.

It started a few weeks ago as I was decorating for what I have already announced is my last Halloween open house. I had many items that didn't make it up and I thought, what the heck and posted them. All went great. I started to list more items that I have around the house that I haven't touched in years.

My vent is the amount of people that message me "is this still available". I message them back "yes, would you like to come see/pick up the item" and then never hear back. Why bother asking if you are not interested enough to reply back?

 

[WinniWoman]

So funny. Same with me. As you know I emptied our entire house pretty much using the Facebook marketplace. Would make me crazy when they asked if is is available. It is a default option they can just select when responding so many just do that. You say yes and never hear from them again. Crazy. LOL!

That said, posting on Craigslist I got only a handful of dead responses. Facebook is the way to go, though people want everything practically for free. I think we made only around $3000 for all the stuff we sold. A shame really.

I also sold my car on Facebook and did well with that also.

 

[Luanne]

I had the opposite when we were moving back in 2012. I sold just about everything on craigslist, didn't try listing anything on FB. Sold our dd's car, a piano, beds, etc., etc. What we couldn't sell we gave away on freecycle. Love that site.

 

[Cornell]

Even worse are the people who are "interested" and you make an appt to show what you are selling & then they blow you off. I wasted so much time w/rude people like when I sold lots of stuff. Of there are buyers that get all bent out of shape if you can't meet with them "immediately" or around their schedule.

 

[clifffaith]

Nextdoor is often a pain, especially when people realize I live 25 minutes surface streets from them. Nextdoor uses "neighborhood designations". We are in Vista del Oro. If you don't live in our area you might not realize we are in San Pedro instead of Redondo Beach or somewhere else "local". At times I feel like putting in my ad "just so you know, Vista del Oro is in San Pedro, for those of you who think San Pedro is the ends of the earth". Twice I had people ask me to meet them half way -- and both of those people lived in Palos Verdes, the same freaking peninsula we live on!

Today I went through the once a year (or less) baking items that had migrated to the downstairs kitchen because no room in the upstairs kitchen. I immediately got a hit from Nextdoor for my angel food pan. She then asked if I had a bundt pan, and as a matter of fact I have a "fancy" one I never use. I now have $11 in my pocket. Then I heard the ka-ching sound from my purse which meant I'd sold something on eBay. Finally after almost three years sold a pewter coffee-sugar-cream set my aunt gave my parents as a wedding gift 66 years ago. Could not sell that thing for the life of me (nor could others trying to sell the same thing last time I looked). Happy with my $5 (before eBay and PayPal take their cut). I know the only reason it sold was because the gal lives in Laguna Beach and it only cost her $8.50 shipping for four pounds Priority Mail. Hopefully she'll leave feedback -- I've been sitting at 996 feedback and want to get to 1000 (which means I've sold maybe 3000 items since December 2011 because less than a third of buyers leave feedback).

 

[WinniWoman]

I had the opposite when we were moving back in 2012. I sold just about everything on craigslist, didn't try listing anything on FB. Sold our dd's car, a piano, beds, etc., etc. What we couldn't sell we gave away on freecycle. Love that site.

2012 was a long time ago. LOL!

In the past we always sold stuff on Craigslist. Not working for us anymore.

 

[mdurette]

Ugh....had my first theft yesterday. I knew there was the potential, but it still is bothering me. Nothing major, just a $25 bag of toys.
Buyer wouldn't commit to a time for pick up, so I left on the porch and told her to leave money under the mat. I have done this numerous time with no issue.
When I came home last night, I noticed the bag was gone...but no money left. I checked messages and the buyer had sent me a message around 7pm with "sorry I'm so late, is it still on your porch?"

So...she either came and helped herself to the item or just a random porch pirate (which is hard to believe in the area we are in, but possible)

 

[klpca]

Ugh....had my first theft yesterday. I knew there was the potential, but it still is bothering me. Nothing major, just a $25 bag of toys.
Buyer wouldn't commit to a time for pick up, so I left on the porch and told her to leave money under the mat. I have done this numerous time with no issue.
When I came home last night, I noticed the bag was gone...but no money left. I checked messages and the buyer had sent me a message around 7pm with "sorry I'm so late, is it still on your porch?"

So...she either came and helped herself to the item or just a random porch pirate (which is hard to believe in the area we are in, but possible)

That is so annoying! Other than waiting around all day I don't know what the solution is unless you have a security camera?

Someone in our fb buy/sell group had the same issue. Ours is a closed group which requires a personal referral plus a donation to a charity that my decorator runs so that we have some sense of knowing who we are dealing with, but problems still happen.

 

[presley]

I got so tired of people who would initiate contact and then not follow through on my CL ads and when I'd have a yardsale, the people coming by and stealing stuff that was marked super cheap.... I started just putting stuff on the curb with a sign that says FREE on it. Even then, I had to add Do Not Disturb Resident because would knock on my door to ask if I could drive the item to there home for them. I think the worst one was a guy who was getting a bookcase, 4 dining chairs and a TV for free from me. He knocked on my door and asked if the TV had a remote. I said no, just buy a universal remote and he acted all bothered by it. If you don't want a free TV, for God's sake, don't take it.

 

[klpca]

I got so tired of people who would initiate contact and then not follow through on my CL ads and when I'd have a yardsale, the people coming by and stealing stuff that was marked super cheap.... I started just putting stuff on the curb with a sign that says FREE on it. Even then, I had to add Do Not Disturb Resident because would knock on my door to ask if I could drive the item to there home for them. I think the worst one was a guy who was getting a bookcase, 4 dining chairs and a TV for free from me. He knocked on my door and asked if the TV had a remote. I said no, just buy a universal remote and he acted all bothered by it. If you don't want a free TV, for God's sake, don't take it.

We started putting free stuff on the curb that I knew that I couldn't sell - mostly leftover tile from jobs done 20 years ago etc. It's too heavy for the regular trash pick up (ask me how I know, lol - orange sticker on the can that says "no construction debris" and our can left full instead of being emptied. I guess the arm of the truck must be able to weigh the can). I can't get over the stuff that people will take but it's a win for both of us. I usually put it out with a sign when we are heading out for a few hours and it magically disappears while we are gone. If someone has wanted to ask us something we haven't been around to find out.

 

[Luanne]

We started putting free stuff on the curb that I knew that I couldn't sell - mostly leftover tile from jobs done 20 years ago etc. It's too heavy for the regular trash pick up (ask me how I know, lol - orange sticker on the can that says "no construction debris" and our can left full instead of being emptied. I guess the arm of the truck must be able to weigh the can). I can't get over the stuff that people will take but it's a win for both of us. I usually put it out with a sign when we are heading out for a few hours and it magically disappears while we are gone. If someone has wanted to ask us something we haven't been around to find out.

Have you ever tried freecycle? We got rid of a lot of stuff that way. When someone expressed interest I'd give them our address and say it would be out front.

 

[klpca]

Have you ever tried freecycle? We got rid of a lot of stuff that way. When someone expressed interest I'd give them our address and say it would be out front.

I always forget about freecycle! Good idea.

 

[heathpack]

We started putting free stuff on the curb that I knew that I couldn't sell - mostly leftover tile from jobs done 20 years ago etc. It's too heavy for the regular trash pick up (ask me how I know, lol - orange sticker on the can that says "no construction debris" and our can left full instead of being emptied. I guess the arm of the truck must be able to weigh the can). I can't get over the stuff that people will take but it's a win for both of us. I usually put it out with a sign when we are heading out for a few hours and it magically disappears while we are gone. If someone has wanted to ask us something we haven't been around to find out.

Lol when we moved from NC to LA, we sold a bunch of stuff on CL. I’m at work when Mr H texts me a picture of a lady driving away from our house with her pickup truck loaded like the Beverly Hillbillies’ truck.

I’m looking closely at what stuff she bought and I see an old carpet that we were throwing away because the cat had peed on it.

I text him, “Did you sell that lady the cat-pee carpet?!” Yes, he tells me she was leaving the house and at the last minute she asks what he wanted for the pile of stuff on the porch. Mr H tells her $50, which she agrees to. He doesn’t tell her that’s the pile of stuff he was planning on taking to the dump.

Saved him a trip and we got $50. Sweet.

 

[WinniWoman]

Lol when we moved from NC to LA, we sold a bunch of stuff on CL. I’m at work when Mr H texts me a picture of a lady driving away from our house with her pickup truck loaded like the Beverly Hillbillies’ truck.

I’m looking closely at what stuff she bought and I see an old carpet that we were throwing away because the cat had peed on it.

I text him, “Did you sell that lady the cat-pee carpet?!” Yes, he tells me she was leaving the house and at the last minute she asks what he wanted for the pile of stuff on the porch. Mr H tells her $50, which she agrees to. He doesn’t tell her that’s the pile of stuff he was planning on taking to the dump.

Saved him a trip and we got $50. Sweet.

We have had the same thing with old dirty, hairy peed and puked on dog rugs. Put them out and people took them. We could not understand it. On our recent move, a woman took an old dirty garage rug we had put out. Told my husband it was perfect for her dogs.