Craigslist tips

[kudy]

I am trying to sell a car on craigslist.... I'd love advice from this community about the best sales techniques, details to include, etc. regarding selling vehicles and other things on craigslist... any experts out there?

[Grigory]

Include all the relevant details, but keep it short - you want your buyers to get the basic information, not a 10-page-long consumer report. Attach pictures - the more the better. Make sure to mention that it has a clean title, registration and passed a smog check. You wouldn't believe how many craigslist sellers try to get rid of stolen/illegal cars and wait until the last minute to say "Oh, by the way, it doesn't have a title." :(

One more thing - look at other people's car ads and see what you like about them.

[BZB]

lifehacker has a recent article on this
http://lifehacker.com/5906573/selling-stuff-online-remember-the-important-details-and-avoid-sounding-like-a-scammer-with-this-checklist

[Bakari]

Set up an automatic filter on your email that sends any incoming message from Craigslist with the terms:
"what is your best price"
"what is the current condition"
"my agent" 
"my client" 
"money order"
"certified check"
"wire" "transfer"
"country" (as in "I will be coming to/out of the country")
"advert"
"shipping"
"fund"
"account"
"provide me with the following information"
"send you a check"
"make arrangements"
"pick up"
"best price"
"asking price"
"HUMAN VERIFICATION"
"robot@craiqslisf.org"

Any of these keywords is one of the foreign country scams.
They are easy enough to spot from the poor grammar/spelling, vagueness, and not being local, but it is tedious, time consuming, and discouraging when you get 10 scam emails for every one legit email, so setting up filters once is worth it.

[mindaugas]

When I sold mine I had a basic description and then a link to my blog with ALL the details and tons of pics. I didn't give my exact address either, just the corner streets where it was parked and then I met the buyer there.

[carolinakaren]

I need the filters that Bakari suggests.....Thank you!

[igthebold]

Another option that I have used when hiring a freelancer is to include, "Please inquire via email and include the statement, 'I am a human,' in your response."

Not sure how well that would work over Craigslist, though.

[etamme]

Instead of black list filtering a bunch of phrases I would just create a single filter for some arbitrary phrase and have people put it in the subject.  Otherwise if it is from craigslist, it gets deleted.  For instance you could say in the post:

"Please respond with 'Super Monkey Man' in the subject, otherwise your email will be deleted"

[kudy]

That's what I did, worked well!

etamme, I noticed you're moving to Ft. Collins in 1.5 weeks, how did you decide to move here?

[chopperdave]

I've sold two vehicles on craigslist in the last two weeks, and this is what worked for me:

Wash the car thoroughly and then take it somewhere nice about 1/2 hour before sunset to photograph it.  Include MANY high resolution photos of the car that make it look really appealing, but also include photos of any problems with the car.  Use some photo hosting service other than craigslist and write HTML code with IMG tags.  The photo hosting provided by craigslist is not adequate.

Before the potential buyer comes to see the car, tell them about any problems with the car, even things they would not be able to figure out by examining and driving the car.  Letting the buyer know that you want to be honest about the vehicle puts you MILES ahead of most other sellers.

Have the recent smog check paperwork and title handy, along with a bill-of-sale, and whatever else is required by your state.  Being professional, and having an ad that shows you won't be a hassle to deal with will help you sell it quickly and for a good price.

[cbr shadow]

I've gained a reputation from family and friends for selling cars very quickly on craigslist.  I've sold 14 cars on craigslist in the last 2 years, mostly for friends and family.  Almost all of them sell within just a few days.  This may have a lot to do with where I'm located (Near Chicago) but these tips will work anywhere.

1) Include ALL information in our original posting.  Think "If I was looking at this car, what would I ask?" Some of those are:
- Clean title
- Newer parts list (brakes tires etc)
- Condition of current parts "tires have about 1/8" tread left", "Brakes were replaced last season"
- Overall condition (interior and exterior)

2) To keep spam from comming type "No scammers".  It's unreal that this works, but it does.  Maybe they figure you put that text in there because you're aware of the scammers and that's enough to discourage them

3) Say "Absolutely no trades" unless you want someone offering you their hotdog stand for your car

4) Add to your posting "If this ad is still up then the car is still available - I will take down this posting as soon as the car sells so please dont ask if it's still available".  This will cut your emails down by 50% (in a good way)

5) Say at least 1 thing personal about the car to seperate your ad from dealers.  Things like "I've used this car to get to/from work for the last 5 years and have gotten 32mpg average the entire time".

6) Respond to emails QUICKLY.  This is one of the biggest things.  People see your ad and get excited about a car so they email you and then they continue to look at other cars.  24 hours later when you decide to respond to emails their excitement has completely worn off and they're way less likely to purchase your car.  Even better, say "text is preferred" and post your phone number.  I do this with all of my cars.

7) Respond in full sentences.  Too many people respond with "yes come look @ it" or something simliar.  If a person is too lazy to type out an intelligent response to an email, how well are they goign to take care of a car?  Responding in full sentences or fully answering questions will cut down on the number of emails that are sent, and will get the person to come see your car sooner.

8) Your posting is allowed 8 pictures - use them!  Clean up the car so that it's impressive when people come to take a look at it.  Vacuum it out, clean the windows, and give it a good wash.  Then take some nice pictures of the car.  Also make sure that the crack house or adult book store next door isn't in the background of the picture!

9) Be realistic about the price.  Check kelly blue book, other craigslist postings, autotrader, etc.  See what people are asking for a similar car to get an idea of what they're going for.  Just because you really loved your car doesn't make its value 30% higher than the rest of the cars on craigslist.

Hope this helps - Good luck!