Effective and Safe Craigslist Shopping!

Hello Seedlings! Nichole here for my inaugural post! I have had several good finds on Craigslist recently but the one that I am most proud of happened today.

I love a good hunt! While shopping for yarn (another of my favorite pastimes) I stumbled upon a misplaced post for a Petunia Picklebottom diaper bag. One can only assume that the bag was placed in household items by error and that the seller did not care about the bag. I scored the bag for only $20.00… that’s right, a $175.00 bag for a fraction of the price AND in perfect condition!

Now that I have sufficiently bragged of my uber-find, I would like to tell you about the top 5 Best and Safest Craigslist practices.

The Hunt is On!

1.      Always take the time to place the item in the search bar on the home screen of the area you are shopping in. When you do this the nearest will show first and then the surrounding areas.

2.      Always look in the adjacent county. Often you will find people who travel to your county or are willing to meet half way.

3.      Hunt by keyword not the specific item. Most people don’t remember or know the name of the item they are selling so they list it by what they “think” it is.

4.      If you are looking for a specific item, try searching by brand instead. Often the people selling know the brand but not the name of the toy, bag, clothing item..etc.

5.      Don’t be afraid to expand your search to items unexpected. As I stated at the beginning I was searching for yarn and found my new bag. You never know when one search will lead to another, go with your impulse.

SAFE Practices:

1.      ALWAYS meet in a public place.

2.      NEVER invite someone to your home.

3.      Try not to let them see your car. I know it sound paranoid but if you think about it, a true crazy person will follow you.

4.      Take a buddy. I never shop alone, that includes Craigslist shopping.

5.      Research what the item should look like. Insist on a picture of the item. My policy, no home picture, no buying. I assume if they do not have a picture of their item, they must not own it.

The only other tips I will leave you with is to stick to your budget. I set a weekly limit for items that I search for. Once I reach that limit on Consignment Groups (a subject for a later post) or on Craigslist I stop for the week. EVEN if it is a stellar deal.

AND...

Most people post on Mondays (after a garage sale bust) or on Friday to help catch the Garage Sale hunters. Try keeping your budget down by negotiating prices. You never know if you don’t ask. Below is an example:

Typical Post:

Dresser $50.00 OBO

·         Once I follow my rules above, I ask if they will take !0.00 less if I pick it up in the morning the next day.

·         If no, then I ask if they will take $45.00 on the weekend. The extra $5.00 I save is gas money I spend going to get the item.

I hope that I have inspired you to have safe and thrifty Craigslist shopping!

Grow Strong young seedlings,

Nichole