Having massive success on Craigslist isn’t nearly as hard as you think. With a little effort, and making clear goals, you’re sure to achieve them with my help! While Craigslist sometimes gets dubbed the “C” word, a taboo to be avoided at all costs. Trust me, it was to me too. But that was a long time ago, before I learned the 12 *Easy* Steps To Craigslist Success how amazing it can be. What I’ve done on Craigslist so far is incredible, and it’s gotten me more than I ever thought it would. Whether you’re coming here having heard all about Craigslist, or are just wondering where to start, this is your guide, how to survive the experience and have fun doing it!
Most of the things you would buy or sell would usually be deemed “liabilities”. When they’re used to make a profit though, they become “assets”. My father talks more about the difference between assets and liabilities.
Buying
Where are you going to look?
So, you know what you’re looking for on Craigslist? Okay, now, let’s take a look at their homepage. At the top center, it should give an area that’s close to you, or your own city/state. If this info is wrong, then on the very right of the page, there’s a list of areas that you can choose from. These are areas close to where you’re searching.
There’s also a “US Cities” button, with a “US States” one below it. If you don’t recognize any of the listed areas, then click the US States button, and select your state. After that, some plus marks should pop up. Click the one closest to you, then repeat with the next set of pluses. You should arrive at a part of Craigslist *much* closer to home.
Now that you’re in your own area of Craigslist, you can start your search. There’s quite a few different categories, depending on what you’re looking to get. Looking to give money and get a thing? “For Sale” sounds nice. Looking to do a thing and get money? Try “Gigs”. Looking to consistently do a thing for money? Well, stripping is always an option, but “Jobs” is where you’d find that. Looking for someone to do a thing for you and you give them money? Well, prostitution is illegal.. But I’m sure you’ll find something in “Services”. How about a new crash pad? “Housing” is awful nice this time of year, I’ve heard. And if you’re lonely and have nobody to talk to? They even have some nice “Forums” for you to go talk about how your pet goldfish’s 401k has been doing.
What *Exactly* Are You Looking For?
Now that you’ve picked where you’re going to search, here’s the next question: What specifically do you want? The subcategories under each tag can help you get there. Looking for a nursing job? Jobs:Medical/Health would probably be a good place to go. What about a place to show off your new horror flick, the Vehicle Warranty Extension Call Center? Well, since talent is a relative term, Gigs:Talent might be a place to look (don’t worry, the “Talent” part of that isn’t a requirement). What about the most stereotyped car ever, a Toyota Prius? For Sale:Cars+Trucks.
Once you choose your category, you can go into even more detail via the search bar at the top center of the page. There are also filters at the far left of the page, that can change depending on the subcategory that was chosen.
Example
Say, for instance, I’m looking for possibly the most boring car in existence, the 1999 Toyota Corolla. Here’d my steps I’d go through to find it. First off, I’d go to my area on Craigslist, under “Cars and Trucks”. Then, in the search bar, I’d put “1999 Toyota Corolla” (I know this is revolutionary, but hold on, it’s about to get even better!), and I’d click the search icon or hit enter (holy hell it got better!). For my area, only one result came up, but it was exactly what I was looking for, a 1999 Corolla (why anybody would be searching this out specifically is beyond me).
Now, let’s take a look at what the ad page has. The most prominent feature is the picture(s) in the center of the page. These are part of the ad, showing what the car looks like. Just to the right of the pictures, sometimes there will be a map with a circle on it, showing approximately where the seller is located. Below the map is the details of the listing, such as make, model, mileage, drivetrain, and other details. Next to that is the important part, the description of the item.
Example Descriptions
Now, there are some things to look out for in a description for buying. Broken English is usually a bad sign, along with things such as only having one picture, using numbers in place of letters, typing in all caps, and other trends that just don’t seem like a human made the ad. When you’re looking at a description, try to picture the person typing it out. What do they look like, what have they done with the car, all of these things. The wording of an ad can give a lot more detail than just what the words themselves say.
A description should be, well, just that: descriptive. Like when I would’ve sold the Sebring. I would’ve made sure to say exactly what was in it. “2.7L V6, four-speed automatic”. I would’ve told them what body style the car was, since it came in many different ones, and the color. “Grey convertible with cloth interior”. Then, mileage is always important. My Sebring has 115,000 miles on it, which is abbreviated to “115k”. Past that, it’s whatever is wrong with the car, or in some cases, what’s aftermarket/performance parts. “Small rust spots on rear driver’s quarter panel.” Then, price. “$2000, O.B.O.” OBO means “Or best offer”, so they’re trying to sell it, and are willing to take lower.
How are you going to get it?
Now that you’ve established that you’re interested in the item you’ve found, how are you gonna get it? Well, let’s use the example of my Sebring to keep going. Craigslist requires every user to put in an e-mail for contact through their mail relay service (for anonymity’s sake). They also have a phone number slot, which almost everybody uses. You can also put contact info in the ad itself, which can lead to probably the highest conversion rate of all the contact methods. No matter which you find, reaching out asap is vital.
Now, what questions should you ask? Well, let’s ask this: What do you not know? There are some things you need to know before you buy what you want. I’m gonna keep going with the car example, but this time, let’s say we’re buying an 2002 Audi B5 S4. Well, it’s an older car, so we’re gonna want to know the condition of the body and engine. Any noises in the motor? What about rust? Is the car tight (meaning it’s not sloppy, the joints are holding together well, etc.)? How many miles (if it’s not listed)? How about the interior, any rips/stains? These kinds of questions are definitely good for older cars.
A very important thing to note is that every car will have their own unique problems. Keeping the example of the S4, the twin turbos (for the V6TT) will go out. It’s not a matter of “if”, it’s a matter of “when”. Thus, ask the previous owner if they replaced the turbos, and if they did, are they OEM? If not, what are they, and who tuned the car? Another common, maintenance-related issue is the timing belt. If this service hasn’t been done every 50k miles, then it’s running the risk of jumping timing. Due to the engine being an Interference Engine, the valves and the piston heads can occupy the same space. If timing on the engine changes, then the valves are left open while the piston head is supposed to be there, and they collide, welding them together with the sheer heat and force. Not a good scenario, make sure you know what to look for!
For any car though, knowing mileage, body condition, whether it runs smooth, if there are any noises, and whether or not it’s been in an accident are good to know. The more you can know about what you’re buying, the better.
Talking to the person that has what you want
Now that you’ve spoke to them over the phone, or through text/email, now you’ve gotta meet with them. Where you meet them is your choice. Generally the safest option is somewhere public, like a gas station or a parking lot or something of the sort. I’ve personally met at my house, at their houses (depending on the item), and at gas stations. I prefer the gas station in almost every scenario.
Now you’re at the location with them. You don’t have to be awkward and stuff about it, it’s just two people meeting because one has something the other wants. Just breathe, relax, and talk like a normal human being. Introductions are always a good way to start. Make sure that if you’re meeting in a public place you specify you’re the one looking at their item. 
I’ve had that confused before, and things get really awkward when the real person shows up and you’re trying to sell the car to someone else.
Really, it just comes down to this. Connect with the person you’re buying from, learn more about the item. Hell, try it out if you can. Take it for a test drive. These are just a few things to do during a sale, but honestly, it boils down to you being a human, and them too. Find similarities, buddy up with them, and maybe they’ll knock off a good chunk of the price for ya. You never know until you ask.
Now you may be wondering to yourself “But, you’ve only talked about buying! How do I sell on craigslist? Now hold your horses, little Timmy, I’m getting to it.
Selling
What do I have that others want?
I know, I made buying seem easy. And well, that’s because it is. And selling is just as easy as buying was, if not more so! It’s simply a matter of finding something to sell, listing it, fielding calls, and actually meeting the person. Simple, easy, safe, GG no re.
First step is as follows: What do I have that someone else would want? Looking around typing this, I can count three things: An RC car, some DDR mats, and a nice computer monitor that I don’t have hooked up. It’s not necessarily hard, it’s just a matter of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, and asking one question. Would someone else want to pay for this? If the answer is “yes”, then you’re in luck! You’ve got a salable item. And that’s the first step to selling, is having something to sell.
How are they going to hear about it?
Now that we’ve got your item that you’re down to sell, we’ve gotta get the word out about your item for sale. So, we need to post it to Craigslist. Now, for simplicity’s sake, I’m just gonna say you’re selling a car, since that’s where a lot of my experience lies. So, let’s just go with it being a car I’d want to drive, a 2002 Subaru WRX STI sedan. Now, we’ve got some information we need to give. We should start off by telling exactly what it is. Start off the ad with something like “ ‘02 WRX STI for sale”.
‘02 means 2002, that’s usually a common abbreviation. Then we give the model and trim, WRX STi. With a car as iconic as the STi, there’s no need to specify Subaru, though it may still be a good idea. Then after what it is, what it has. Does it have a sunroof? What kind of engine does it have? Any modifications to it? What transmission? All of these are important to know. Here’s an example of how I’d list a WRX STi with some engine mods on it, original rims, and a 5-speed manual (not that I’d ever sell one if I had one looking like that. Too beautiful.).
Example Listing
‘02 WRX STi for sale. 112k miles, AWD, 5-speed manual, no problems at all. On stock BBS wheels. Car is tight, no noises from engine or suspension. Various engine mods, including 20GXT-R turbo and SQV4 BoV, full list upon request. Hasn’t been taken off road, no rust or anything. Call or Text for more info, (Insert Phone Number Here). $15,000 O.B.O. Trades will be considered.
There, it specifies all the important parts of the car, what’s been done to it. Also shows that the car is in good condition, but pics will show that as well (I’ll talk about them in the next section). Then contact info, putting it in the ad is a good thing. And finally, the price and conditional. Accepting trades is just a thought, but for sports cars and such it’s much more prominent. People looking for a toy might have a toy that they’d be willing to give in exchange. Either way, you can specify that you want no trades as well. That’s 100% fair.
Show them what you have!
Now that we’ve got the wording for your ad pretty much together, they’ve gotta see what they’d be buying. How are you gonna show them? Well, pictures of course. Craigslist ads have slots for lots and lots of photos, and the more pics you have the better. And especially important is what the pictures show. If there’s any body damage or rust, it’s better to take close-ups of it to be truthful about it. Show the interior of your car, too. Basically, look at your pics, and ask yourself one question. Would I want to ask for more pictures if I were buying this?
Try to show every angle of the item, really give them an idea what they’re buying before they even get there to see it. That’s the best way to ensure a sale, is to show them what they’re coming to look at, so they don’t come with expectations of something completely different. Them picturing exactly what you have, and being willing to buy that exact item, is key to making a sale. The item is usually sold before the buyer even shows up.
This was my lead photo for my 240SX. It showed one of the best angles, and was striking enough to stand out and catch people’s eyes.
Playing Call Center!
Now that your item is listed and on the market, what’s next? Well, the phone’s probably gonna get to ringing. So you’ll need to get to talking. Usually this is the easiest part. It’s a matter of answering their questions about your item. I don’t even really need to explain how to do this, really. It’s more having to watch out for scams than anything. Here’s a few popular scams that you’ve gotta be careful of, at least that I’ve seen:
- People trying to pay with checks: Seriously, don’t even entertain it. Odds are you won’t get the actual money, and the item will be long gone. Just a recipe for disaster.
- People claiming to be in the military and wanting to send someone else: Also not a good situation, this can be a lead for scam one.
- Arranging shipping: People, along with the scam of trying to send checks, will try and offer to have their shipping company pick up the car. This is also something to watch out for, they are very bad, and you will lose your item, your time, or your entire bank account form providing them the info they need to do it.
- Sending more money than you’re asking and requesting a refund: If you’ve been paying attention to any of the other scams, I’m sure you can see where this one happens. The check they send bounces, but only after they’ve received their “refund” from you, and turned tail to run. Usually it’s just a lose your money type scam, but still not fun.
- Being baited to a place: Very, very dangerous. If the person you’re trying to deal with seems to want you to go to them very strongly, AVOID. This is pretty self-explanatory, but still needs to be mentioned, being easily the scariest scam on this list. I’ve almost fallen for this multiple times, and it’s still scary to me. The whole idea of this is to lure you to their territory. Then, once you show up with the item, you’re vulnerable. They can do whatever they want to you, take your money, your item, worst case scenario kill you. Seriously, AVOID IT.
Meeting your buyer, and the sale
Now, after deciding on a time and place, you need to go and meet the person. The same things from the buying section pretty much all apply here. Be a human being, talk like one, and it’ll go great. Now, the odds are that your buyer is going to try to talk your price down at least some. That’s perfectly normal, this is a private seller thing. It happens across almost every platform, including Facebook Marketplace, LetGo, Offerup, and Craigslist. Just make sure that you have a number in your head that you won’t go any lower than. If that number doesn’t match the buyer’s, then tough luck, there’s always another buyer. Don’t go below your number just because of what a buyer says though.
Finally, the best way to ensure a sale, is to work with the buyer. They’re trying to save a couple bucks. Let them feel like they got a bargain, while you still got money out of it. That way, you get both a sale and a good experience on both ends.
Trading
Let’s get a posting out there
Now, what if you’ve decided that you’re not wanting to buy *or* sell? Well, let’s take a look at our final category, barter. 
You may not know what barter is, but let me reassure you, it’s my favorite thing since sliced bread. The basic principle is that two people with items of similar value agree to swap possessions. And that’s it. Sometimes money will be added onto one side or the other to even values, but generally the swaps are fairly even. I’ve gotten some tremendous value increases out of trades (i.e. the Porsche to the Crossfire and S2000 to 240SX. To read more about how I got these, click here). It may sound a little far-fetched, but if I had to pick something to classify as an actually working “get rich quick scheme”, it’d be barter.
Listings for barter are almost exactly the same as for selling an item. The only difference is that instead of listing a price, you list what kinds of items you would be interested in trading for. Sorry the content was so short here, but it’s pretty simple. So yeah. Bang. Education.
Info grab, what do they have?
You’ve got your post out there. Someone comes into the picture, and offers you their item. You know nothing about it though! Big problem! You need to ask plenty of questions in order to figure out everything about their offer, and whether you’ll want to trade your item for theirs. For some example questions, see the buying section.
One good way to find out the value of what they’ve offered you is to go to eBay. Their “sold” section provides real-world data on what that item has sold for on eBay before. Generally, you’ll find the lowest prices on eBay, meaning that the values you see listed are your worst-case scenario. You’ll get more money for your item selling on another platform, such as Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. You just limit your market by listing locally.
Part of the beauty of trading (as opposed to selling) is the potential for dramatic increases in value. For instance, with my Porsche 944 and Chrysler Crossfire. When I had the 944, it was quite frankly not a valuable car. If I had sold that car, I would’ve been lucky to get $3,000 for it (what I had in the car, between purchase price and a full set of tires). However, putting it in for barter, someone offered me their Crossfire, with a couple aftermarket items (lighting, paint, exhaust, and intake).
That car stock would’ve sold for roughly $4,000, however, those modifications upped the value to well over $6,500. The curb appeal of that pavement prowler was immense, and I got that in almost a straight trade. Had I gotten the $3,000 cash for the Porsche, I couldn’t have bought something as nice as the Crossfire! The key is to know more than the other person, and use that to your advantage.
Meeting your trade partner, and agreeing on terms
Now you’ve got your partner, and you’re meeting at location X at time Y. Things are chugging along nicely it would seem. Now comes the fun part. You’ve gotta look at the items, and decide whether or not they’re of equal value or not. As I’m sure you could imagine, this isn’t an easy process. It’s a mutual feeling from both parties, agreeing that two items are equally valuable, or deciding how much money should be added to a deal.
Now, sometimes coughing up a couple hundred dollars to even values may seem like a lot. Especially if the overall value of the items in question is smaller. For instance, you’d be much more keen on paying an extra $200 to get a nice car than spending an extra $200 for a pencil sharpener. Keeping in mind the current value of both items, as long as your trade’s net value is less than theirs, you can safely assume you got a good deal. Make sure you’re basing your numbers on real values, not just your asking prices. This happens all too often with the 240SX, where people are trying to sell a $3,000 car for $7,000. They’re self-inflating their prices, and unfortunately, it sometimes work for them.
Another big lesson for Craigslist is that it’s okay to say no. There’ll always more people out there that want your item. It’s not the end of the world if your first buyer doesn’t work out. It happens, guys! I didn’t immediately sell everything, and I *sure* didn’t buy the first thing I called on! Sometimes deals just don’t work out, and that’s okay. Don’t be afraid of saying “No Thanks”, seriously. It’s okay to say it sometimes. Just make sure you won’t regret saying it later.
Conclusion
Now, Craigslist can be a scary place, I get it. But with the knowledge I’ve given you, it shouldn’t be nearly as scary as before. The three main different areas of Craigslist, Buying, Selling, and Barter, should make much more sense to you now. After reading this Craigslist guide, it’s not as scary as you once thought it was, right? Now, go get ‘em, tiger!
