How to post on Craigslist quicky and effectively

I have been a Craigslist junkie for over a year now. For those who have not heard of craigslist.org or are new to this site it is a free classified site.  Craigslitst is garage sales and flea markets meet the Internet. It is a great place for bargain hunters. Craigslist has local pages for many of the cities/areas of every US state, plus a long list of countries has joined the site. Craigslist or CL (as frequent users refer to the sight as) has message boards, job listings, business ads, personal ads, and classifieds.

For those new to the site you may be wondering how to effectively post your ads. Many people find Craigslist preferable to sights such as eBay where you have to deal with actions, fees, and shipping the item you wish to sell.  With Craigslist you will be dealing with people from your area. You wont be shipping the item and they do not charge a fee for placing adds or selling the item. Now more importantly you have some stuff taking up space in your garage or attic you need to get rid of. How should you go about posting a successful ad? Here are some tips I have found that work quiet well of from buying and selling on Craigslist.

Before you even post your ad grab your digital camera or a friend's. Take pictures of the items you wish to sell. Make sure they are good pictures and show the items condition. If there are any imperfections in the item take a picture of those as well. You can only post four pictures, but trust me you will get emails later asking for more if you don't have good pictures.  Be sure that when you take a picture of the item the area around the item is free from clutter. Just as with any other advertising image is everything.

If you plan on selling more than one item you will want to set up an account with craigslist. This makes posting and editing you ads much easier. If you do not have an account you will be sent an email to activate your ad and you must save the email if you want  to delete or change the ad.

Choose the best category for your ad. Placing your ad under the wrong category could cause it to be flagged for removal. The Craigslist community can be picky we monitor our own board and one of the big pet peeves is miscatigorized items. Not only this, but you want people to find your ad. So it should be placed in the most likely spot to find those items.  Don't place your ad in more than one category or in multiple cities your ads can be removed as spam.

Give your ad a clear title. Refrain from using all caps in your title or your post. For those who may not know but in Internet lingo all caps are the equivalent of yelling. Only give the most basic information in your title. Just like writing an article for hub pages you want your reader to know what they are looking at.

When you write your ad make it clear what you are selling, what condition the item is in, and how much you want for it. This will reduce the amount of emails you receive asking a million and one questions about the item. Not everyone that emails you will buy the item so it will save frustration on your part if you give as much detail about you item as possible. Make sure it is clear the method in which you want to be contacted. You will sell your item faster if you give a phone number to be reached at.

Keep in mind that most people on Craigslist are looking for a deal. You may want to check the site for prices on similar items. If you are asking too much you item may take longer to sell or may not sell at all.  Be reasonable with your pricing you may be able to get more selling your item with another site.  Just because you think your item is worth a lot does not mean your community does also.  So if you are trying to get rid of collectibles or antiques you may want to look in to other places to sell your item.

Don't get frustrated by some of the email you may receive. Some people will try to offer you a lot less than your asking price. Just kindly tell them you are not willing to accept so little. If your price is non negotiable you may want to state that in your ads.

After you have posted your ad you will want to do follow up by checking your email regularly. Craigslist has the option to forward emails from perspective buyers to your email account. This leaves you the option of keeping your personal email private. By having the email forwarded to your address it keeps your email address anonymous, but it you choose to respond the buyer will then know your address. I know some people who set up a new email just for craigslist. If you are serious about selling your item you will want to answer any questions in a timely manner.

Following these tips will not guarantee you will sell your item. Sometimes items just do not sell. Using these ideas though will help to make the process smother and more successful. I have not sold every item I have ever posted but I have sold the majority of items posted.