E-bay vs Craigslist

Updated on May 29, 2009
S.T. asks from Kansas City, KS
16 answers

Just wondering which one is better for selling stuff?? Pros and Cons!!

1 mom found this helpful

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J.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi S.,
I am a complete Craigslistaholic! I buy and sell constantly. CL is much less labor intensive than ebay and just easier since its all local. I used to live and die by ebay, but now hardly ever go there, just because you have to wait for the auction to end, then you have to wait for the item to be mailed or pack and lug it to the post office if you're the seller. There are definitely some things to be wary of using CL, for example I ALWAYS meet in a public place, unless the item I'm selling is too large then I only have people come by when my husband is home, etc.

Good luck!

Jenn

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A.C.

answers from St. Louis on

I prefer Craigslist b/c you are selling to a local market. You don't have to worry about shipping or fees. The only thing I don't like is that you do have to actually meet with people, which can sometimes be scary.

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H.H.

answers from Kansas City on

Craigslist you list your items for the price you want. Ebay is bidding and may not get what you want out of it then there is shipping costs to consider. They both work well but most of the time my husband lists stuff on craigslist it is gone within a few hours so we have had better luck with craigslist plus there are no fees for selling items. Ebay charges fees after an item is sold but is very small amount and you need to use paypal to have people pay you on ebay. If you don't use paypal a lot of buyers won't buy from you.

Don't list your phone number on craigslist, otherwise you get a ton of phone calls after the item is sold. Use your email address only and email your phone number to the person you are going to sell the item to if you want them to contact you by phone. That way when the transaction is complete you won't get 100 phone calls asking if you still have the item. You may get a lot of emails but they usually just contact you once and if they don't hear from you then they usually won't contact you again as they will assume the item is sold. As soon as you sell an item make sure you go back on craigslist and list the item as sold.

If you do sell items on craigslist make sure you aren't home alone when they come to get it. You can tell them what time to come by or even meet them somewhere if you don't want them to come to your house. Since we live outside the city my husband will meet somewhere on the way to work as it is usually more convenient that way because most of the time they live closer to his job than our town.

We have also purchased a lot of items from craigslist and also got a lot of things free. Some things were in good shape, other items needed a few dollars to fix, just depends on what you are looking for. It is a great way to find houses for sale or rent, cars, boats, bikes, baby items, and a ton of other stuff. You can also find garage sale listings with some describing items they will have for sale.

Only accept cash for craigslist items. There are scammers out there with some sort of phoney moneygrams and don't accept checks from anyone either. Most people pay cash but you may come across someone that doesn't and will try to talk you into taking other forms of payment or talk you down.

What we do when we have several interested in the same item is let the others know that we will contact the next person in line if the one doesn't show up or decides they don't want the item. Most of the time the first person buys the item but a few times we have called the next person and they usually came right away or went to the same meeting place to get it. If you stay in contact with the person that is willing to come see your item right away you usually have a good and fast transaction.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.A.

answers from Wichita on

If your trying to sell kids stuff don't forget consignment events. We have used Just Between Friends (JBFsale.com), but their are several others. You clean and price your stuff, but they sale it and send you a check for 70%. Its nice because your stuff gets look at by alot of people. Take a look at their sight.

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S.R.

answers from Kansas City on

E-bay is great because you have a wider span of people that you can sell to but it cost. CL is good also you just have to deal with the people that say thay want to buy it and never show up. I have used both and have had good luck with both. I do CL now because I don't have the extra money to pay the ebay selling prices, and I don't have to go to the post office to mail anything. Just make sure if you use CL to take only cash.

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B.H.

answers from Springfield on

ebay you have to pay them to join and pay them part of what you sell. People from far away can buy it too though and will pay for shipping. Craigslist you just do on your own and is free and you post it based on the area you're in.

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A.N.

answers from St. Louis on

I have used Craigslist a lot for buying and selling things, and have never had a problem. In fact, I've met several nice, interesting people. You don't have to deal with paying fees or shipping things all over the place. That being said, I'm always very careful when dealing with people off of Craigslist, because you just never know. I try to make sure that I'm not home alone when people come to look at things, or even meet in a public place sometimes. The only other problem with Craigslist is people will sometimes arrange a meeting with you, then not show up. That has never actually happened to me personally, but it's happened to friends of mine. Just something to keep in mind. Overall, I've been really pleased with using Craigslist.

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M.S.

answers from Kansas City on

I have no personal experience with Ebay, but know people who successfully use it.
Craigslist...I have had two bad experiences, one was a now show after a few conversations and confirmations, then would not respond to call....fell of face of earth I guess. I know others who have had no problems.

The biggest thing is fraud. Be sure you ARE DEALING LOCALLY. DO NOT USE MONEYGRAM'S.. there will be no recourse. I received check on a transaction, took it to bank, WAITED for CLEARANCE like 7 days, their bank checked out as legitimate and supposedly funds were there, but the check was phoney. Thank goodness I only lost $10 on the bad check, not the $1200 they tried to get, by "overpaying accidentally" so I would refund their amount.
My bank said this is very common and that most requests to use moneygrams are fraudulent. BEWARE!
Good luck!

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S.H.

answers from St. Louis on

not sure where you're located, but for mid-Mo....we use RollaNet Grapevine. Ads are free & you sell to local consumers. We've bought & sold on RollaNet....so is there a similar service for your area??? Good Luck!

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L.B.

answers from St. Joseph on

Hawkstress had some really good sage advice for Craigslist...I'd just like to add...that if you have something of value...say a name brand, collectible or wanted toy (like some Little Tykes, Step 2, American Girl, etc.) stuff you can make quite a bit more from ebay than you can on Craigslist. I've seen stuff at garage sales for a couple of dollars go for over $100 on ebay starting at .99! You CAN also set a minimum for the sale on ebay...that if bidders don't get to that limit the item won't sell...

Bottom line is how much work do you want to do? You will never get the prices out of Craigslist that you could possibly get out of ebay...most people shop Craigslist looking for a deal...I have a friend who shops exclusively for American Girl deals so she can flip them on ebay...she got 3 AG dolls and some 20 outfits and multiple pieces of AG furniture for $200 cash off Craigslist and flipped it for over $1000 on ebay. Name brand clothes, well taken care of day care stuff (esp in lots) sell really really well on ebay...in fact, I'd encourage you to just go shopping for something similar you are looking to sell and just put it in your watch bin and see what happens to it. It'll give you a good idea of the market. Also, never, never sell anything that isn't in season or close to the upcoming season...if it's out of season (i.e. your selling winter clothes now) you will NEVER see the earning potential you could have if you sold in season.

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K.B.

answers from Wichita on

Good Morning S., I am not sure about Craigslist, I know eBay charges a % of the sales or fee for placing ads. I have eBay account but have only used to a couple of times to purchase something long time ago. :)) Radiator from Canada for son's truck....lol My bro in law uses eBay all the time to buy things, but no idea if he sells also. My cousin used to sell on eBay, she lives in Bell Plaine. Not sure she does now though. She was paying a fee to list items to sell, no idea what the cost was.

You might check out http://www.fetchtoto.com/
It is supposed to be free to place ads etc. It's for Ks so you might be able to use it.

Be Blessed with a wonderful day..
K. Nana of 5

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J.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I would definitely check out www.kidscloset.biz for all children/teen/baby/maternity related items. The nice thing about Kids Closet is that you can transfer items to all their sales... and you only pay the fee one time and do not have to retag everything. I think there are now 13 locations in KS & MO. PLUS, they pay 70% to all consignors, and you dont even have to work the sale! I dont like ebay as much bc you have to take pictures, ship, correspond about questions, etc. And with CL you constantly have people trying to talk you down in price, no shows, pictures, emails, calls-- and it really isnt always safe. With a consignment sale such as Kids Closet, it is always safe to sell your items :)

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K.C.

answers from Kansas City on

Craigs list for hard to ship items, bikes, furniture, household goods
ebay for clothing, CDS, small items easy to ship by post office

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J.B.

answers from St. Louis on

Hi S.,
I've used both Ebay and Craiglist for buying and selling things. Here are some pros and cons for both:

Ebay Pros: people worldwide will see your item; if a lot of people are interested in your item, the price can go pretty high due to competitive bidding; you never have to actually see the other person so it could be considered safer; most funds are exchanged electronically via Paypal so no bounced checks or scams.

Ebay Cons: if there are a lot of items like yours, the price will probably be lower; you have to ship the item to the buyer (buyer can pay for shipping, but you have to make the trip to the PO); you pay Ebay a listing fee (sometimes) and a percentage of your selling price.

Craig's List Pros: items are picked up so no shipping needed; not much competition on prices

Craig's List Cons: see the buyer face to face - be smart and never be alone (you might even arrange to meet some place other than your home); buyers will sometimes try to haggle the price with you; transaction is often in cash or by check

I hope this helps! I've sold books, movies, musical instruments, and smaller things like that on Ebay. I've sold larger things like my husband's motorcycle on Craig's List. Think of Craig's List as the want ads in a newspaper, and Ebay as an auction that the whole world where the whole world can bid.

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J.F.

answers from St. Louis on

It depends mostly on what the product is! If you are selling good quality children's clothing then there is nothing in the world that beats eBay. Look at examples of the brand names and style of photography you have to have in order to fetch the top prices and if you can it's the best way to go. Same is true for rare or collectible items, and easily shippable packages. If you have an item you are wondering about, search for it on eBay and see what similar items are selling for. Be sure to write in plenty of allowance for shipping and handling - you are going to have to packing things up, drive to the PO...I've screwed myself by not asking enough shipping to cover my costs before, so aim toward the higher end.

As far as Craigslist goes, it's perfect for difficult to ship items and relatively easy-to-come by items that you can sell as a bundle. Cons are that you don't always get great prices, and a lot of time people make an appointment to pick things up and then never show, or show without cash, or other shenanigans. Try to get a telephone confirmation and make sure you state that you need cash.

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