Making Money Online – Part 2
This is the second entry of a series about my experiences with making money online.
Last year, I began experimenting with a few ways to make money online. I think it will be a good exercise for me to evaluate these methods, assess where I’m at, and make goals for 2010.
Second Method – Craigslist
Well this isn’t really generating new income online, but I started selling some things I was getting rid of anyway on Craigslist. The plan is to make a little extra money while getting rid of clutter and things I never use anymore.
What I Did
I’ve gone through my house a few times and set aside stuff I don’t want or need anymore. I am planning to have a garage sale once Spring comes. I pulled out a few items that I thought would make enough money to be worth bothering with individually, and photographed them. I listed a handful of items on Craigslist a couple months ago, including an obsolete electronic, two pairs of champagne flutes, and a bunch of Boyd’s bears that I’d gotten as gifts and can’t really stand.
Outcome
I got responses on every item, but only actually sold one pair of flutes. I did get my full asking price for those, and had a good experience meeting a nice girl at a local coffee shop. I got quite a few inquiries on the electronic, but no one ended up buying it. I got a pretty low offer on the bears from some lady that now I’m thinking I should have taken, but it was really only about 10% of what I think I could sell them for. They’re still collecting dust now, with no new offers.
Recommendations
Based on my experiences I put together a few Craigslist selling tips which I wrote in another article. Here’s an abridged version:
Accurately describe your item. Provide pertinent details such as brand and model, size, and color. Give information about when it was purchased, how much it’s been used, and describe any wear and tear. Describe what it’s used for if it’s not obvious. You should be honest about it’s condition since prospective buyers will most likely see it before they buy it. Be descriptive in your title as well and be sure to include the price in your heading.
Once you’ve described your item as accurately as possible it’s a good idea to include at least one picture. If you item is very straightforward one photo is probably enough, but it’s helpful to include several photos, as many as you need to accurately portray your item. Be sure you photos make your item look great! Stage it nicely with plenty of light, and the item is clear and in focus. Nice photos will entice Craigslist surfers to want your item.
Pricing your stuff correctly is very important for selling on Craigslist. It’s a good idea to browse through your local Craigslist and even other cities to get a good idea of what items like yours are going for, and check other sites like Ebay and look in local classified ads. Your item needs to be priced competitively to sell, but you also shouldn’t underprice – unless you really need to sell quickly. It’s also recommended to price your item a little more than you really want, because most Craigslist buyers expect to haggle.
Once you list your item on Craigslist, you’ll begin getting emails from people interested. Be sure to reply promptly and answer any questions they have. It’s not uncommon for people to contact you then never hear from them again. If someone is interested in buying your item, make arrangements to meet them if your can bring it with you or allow them to come to your home only when you are not alone. Beware of scams offering money orders and requesting that you ship your item – it’s best to use Craigslist locally.
The Future
I’ll keep using Craigslist because it’s free. In fact, I have several items I plan on listing in the next few days. I am going to try re-listing these items every so often if they don’t sell, so Craigslist browsers can find my stuff without having to search.