The Ultimate Guide to Using and Saving Money on Craigslist

One of the most popular New Years Resolutions is to, “Get Organized.” With New Years just passing – one thing will be certain, people are going to want to unload their junk. And what better way to do that than through the most popular online classifieds: Craigslist. We’re bringing you the Ultimate Guide to Using and Saving Money on Craigslist.  Bookmark this page as we plan to keep it up-to-date. Any other top-secret Craigslist tips that you’re proud of? Let us know in the comments below!

How to Find the Best Deals on Craigslist

• Mobile Apps – CraigsNotifica for Android is a free app that sends you notifications for certain keywords and a preset budget.  Want a used BMW but only have $3000 to spend? With CraigsNotifica you can set up a feed, and be notified as soon as they’re posted. This is the single best tip for finding a deal on Craigslist, the best deals typically don’t last more than a day.
• Desktop Application – CraigslistNotifier.net is an option for desktop users, with options for notifications to your desktop, e-mail or mobile phone. It comes with a free trial and cost $10 afterwords. I bought it, but I wouldn’t recommend it as the mobile app is much more user friendly and free.
• Check for Misspellings – TypoBuddy.com and Misspellr.com help you do just that. Including a word bank for the most  popular misspellings, you can find an amazing deal on items like the Playstation 3. Combine this with the applications above for best results.

Android Mobile App CraigsNotifica

Best Practices for Selling  on Craigslist

• Renew – The ad will expire 45 days after you post it, but you can renew it anytime. Create an account and renew everyday for maximum views.
• Bigger (and more) Pictures – Pictures uploaded through Craigslist’s image uploaded are automatically re-sized and compressed, leaving potential buyers with small images. Want bigger pictures? It’s simple, use a little html: <img src=”YOUR URL HERE”>. You can upload photos to photo hosting sites like PhotoBucket, but here’s another trick that will save you a ton of time. If you’re one of the millions of users of DropBox, drop your photos into the “Public” folder, right click on your image, highlight DropBox, then select “Copy Public URL.” Use that URL in the img src attribute. If you need to re-size the image, use <img src=”YOUR URL HERE” height=”___” width=”___” /> or if you’re on Windows 7 use this image re-sizer which lets you easily re-size multiple images by selecting and right clicking.
• Keyword Stuffing – The act of stuffing keywords in your ad for more searches is a frowned upon technique that can land you additional views. If you’re selling an smartphone, adding keywords like “iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Samsung, etc.”

How to “Flip” on Craigslist

The art of “flipping” items on Craigslist has become popular as of late, watch the video below to learn how one teenager traded up to a Porsche.

Flipping Tips: If you own a PS3 and are looking to trade-up, type in “PS3 trade” in Craigslist’s search box and see what comes up. Often times you can find a more valuable product you can trade for. Trade for that item, and repeat the process! Works best with popular items. 

How to Avoid Scams on Craigslist

From Craigslist:

You can sidestep would-be scammers by following these common-sense rules:

• DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts on craigslist.
• NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service – anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
• FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.
• CRAIGSLIST IS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TRANSACTION, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer “buyer protection” or “seller certification”
• NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)
• AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES and know that ONLY A SCAMMER WILL “GUARANTEE” YOUR TRANSACTION.
• DO NOT RENT HOUSING WITHOUT SEEING THE INTERIOR, OR PURCHASE EXPENSIVE ITEMS SIGHT-UNSEEN - in all likelihood that housing unit is not actually for rent and that cheap item does not exist.
• DO NOT SUBMIT TO CREDIT CHECKS OR BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR A JOB OR FOR HOUSING UNTIL YOU HAVE MET THE INTERVIEWER OR LANDLORD/AGENT IN PERSON.

ex: Hi, I found it on Google for $100.

Negotiation Tricks

• Patience - There’s an old adage in negotiation, “The person who cares less, wins.”
• “The Dirty-Dirty” – This appropriately named hard ball tactic involves two e-mail addresses. With the first one, send an e-mail to the seller with something along the lines of, “…You can find these lower online, would you do $___ (insert low ball offer).” With the second e-mail address, e-mail the seller later with a price slightly above your original low ball. You’re psychologically fooling the seller into believing that his item his worth less.
• “The Salesman” – Let’s say you’re selling your old BMW. When you’ve met and are showing your car to a potential buyer, act like your answering a phone and say, “Hello… oh the BMW? Yes, I still have it. I’m currently showing it right now but I can give you a call back…” This can incite urgency for the potential buyer and will make it less likely he’ll try to negotiate the price down.

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