selling on craigslist

Dear people who sell things on Craigslist,

Having both sold and purchased items on the giant site, there are a few tips I can offer to make the world a better place:

• Spell check. You would think people would know this by now, but it’s worth repeating since about 2/3 of the world seems to have missed the memo. It’s hard to search for an item that’s spelled wrong.
• Include the price in the subject or in an easy-to-find place within your post.
• Include contact information. If you’re not going to check your email, please put down a phone number.
• List the brand of the item you’re selling if possible. And the color. “Neutral” is not a color.
• Post your listing in the appropriate area. More people are going to see your furniture listing in “Furniture” than in “General” if they are looking for furniture.
• Email people back. If you get a quick reply, email the next person to tell them the item is spoken for but you will contact them if it falls through. And do so either way.
• The above can also be potentially avoided by actually removing the listing once an item has been sold. No item? No posting. Amazing how that works.
• Include dimensions. Another easy way to avoid emails to which you then must reply: just put the information in the posting.
• If you have photos, post them. Don’t say, “Please email for photos.” It’s easier to post them than to attach files to a bunch of emails.
• When you email people back, make sure you refer to the item they inquired about. They may have sent 5 emails to people selling similar items, so make it easy for them to buy your stuff. You do want to sell it, right?
  

Is that so difficult?