San Antonio Craiglist (Austin, Post: for sale, consignment, house)

[lgly]

I put a post on craiglist - baby+kids to sell our kid's stroller and other stuff. Guess what I found, there are about 500-700 posts every day in the baby+kids section. My post quickly been sank to the bottom of the list. What's the luck people can sell their stuff in this section? Does anyone have any experience/strategy?

[ItsTheTruth]

Be patient. Nobody scrolls through the entire list. People search and will find your ad if they're looking for what you're selling. Alternatively, you can take it to a baby re-seller like Kid 2 Kid and get 25% of the original price or less.

[tortuga29]

Put "tick" words in the title and description. Don't be vague. If you know the make, model, brand, etc put those. Most people will search for either a specific item or a particular brand of item.

And again, patience.

[pobre]

Yes, serious buyers will search, not scroll. be patient, price well, add photos, be honest in your description.

[Willsatx]

I had some collectibles that I put on there, about a week later sold them. Be patient.

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Most things that I'm selling, if the price is right, I sell it within a day. If I'm asking a little more than I really think I can get for it, it may take a few days or a little bargaining. I usually price a bit higher than I really want, then they can ask me to take a little less, feel like they got a deal, and I get what I really wanted for the item.

The baby/kid section is really full. You can help your ad stand out by taking a good picture of what you're selling, and putting the brand in the title. Even though it's tempting, don't keep deleting and reposting your ad to put it on the top...people will notice and start flagging it whenever it shows up.

[Rapscallion]

Last year I sold a ton of stuff out of a house I am working on using CL. I even managed to find someone to buy all of the literal ton of auto parts in one go.

The one thing I didn't sell? A Peg Perego convertible pram/stroller in absolutely perfect shape. They go for a good clip on fleabay, but despite dropping the price to $50, it still wouldn't sell. I relisted it the entire summer. I still have it.

The other thing I had a tough time selling? An antique highchair that converted into a desk. It was beautiful and I didn't want to sell it. It would have gone for a good clip in an antique store, but I ended up selling it to a lady who drive down from Austin for $60. I also had an antique child's folding rocker. I ended up donating that to St. Pj's (they love me there).

So, yeah, that section is pretty much a dead-end for sales. I think most moms either get their stuff at showers, from mom, the many resell/consignment shops, or hit the garage sale circuit. The antique items weren't even listed in the kid's section but a couple of times, yet still were ignored. I figured someone's grandmother might pick one of those up. It's a buyer's market in that section.

[Sonny Chiba57]

I have gotten rid of stuff by posting in the general section and again later in another section depending on what it is. I.E. computers, automotive, garden, etc. Posting a pic of the item helps too.

[dpantle]

Keywords, pictures, listing in multiple sections, all of these ideas help. List the items specifically. Honestly, if you have quality things that people want (and it sounds like you have those things), you'll be inundated with calls.

[nismospec]

keywords are a must.
also, no one knows what you're selling or the condition, but you have to imagine that craigslist is just a digital garage sale. and in garage sales, you usually have to be ready to deal.

so if you bought a crib for $199 and are trying to sell it for $189....good luck. while such sales can be made, it'd probably take you much longer than if you sold it for a little cheaper.

everyone wants to make a buck, but if you really want to sell it, then you have to give fair value.

also, it's not craigslist related, but if you have facebook, you could just post to your friends and then can tell their friends, etc. it's all networking.
recently got rid of some chairs that way.