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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: lsalinas on October 21, 2015, 09:58:23 AM

Title: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: lsalinas on October 21, 2015, 09:58:23 AM
I have 15 month old twins who are rapidly growing out of their infant things (I have two of everything!).  I need to get rid of all of this stuff.  It seems that the Mustachian thing to do would be to sell all of this on Craigslist . .  .

But I am introverted and it seems to me that talking to random, extra flaky, potentially dangerous strangers in Los Angeles to negotiate price and times/location for pick up would be my own special hell.  Are there good alternatives?
Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: Platypuses on October 21, 2015, 10:15:28 AM
Take the items to a consignment shop. Likely won't get as much, but better than nothing.
Also could use eBay for the nicer items and ship them.
Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: MandalayVA on October 21, 2015, 10:23:34 AM
Ditto on the eBay.  I'm borderline extrovert and in a much smaller city than L.A. and CL scares the crap out of me too.
Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: catccc on October 21, 2015, 10:31:59 AM
For name brand stuff in good condition, ebay.  Selling in lots is easiest for baby clothes.  It'll get you a little less, but there are fewer listings/transactions, and that is easier.

If you use facebook, you can also try to find a local yard sale group.  Less sketchy than CL imo, because it is less anonymous.

Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: elaine amj on October 21, 2015, 10:47:41 AM
consignment store. Or an Mom2mom type sale that is done in a department store setup (so you don't have to man your own table). A bit biased...because I used to organize all the mom2mom sales in my area :)
Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: lsalinas on October 21, 2015, 11:35:02 AM
Thank you for the ideas.  Everything is clean and gently used, but none of it is especially nice or brand name.  Most of it is Fisher Price or similar. 

I am going to try to find a local yard sale group or a mom2mom sale because ideally I would be able to sell all of this stuff in one place instead of piecemeal between different venues.  I looked up some consignment shops near me online and it looks like they don't take car seats and the travel system (2 Chicco infant carseats, 4 seat bases and a double snap and go stroller frame) is taking up the most space.  I have never bought or sold on eBay before.  How does the shipping work?  It seems like the items I have like a ginormous twin breastfeeding pillow, 2 sit me up floor seats, the travel system, etc are oddly shaped and bulky and wouldn't be easy or cheap to pack or ship.


Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: elaine amj on October 21, 2015, 11:39:39 AM
How old are your carseats? With the whole liability in selling used carseats, I'm not surprised your local consignment store won't take them. I would prioritize selling those first, through craiglist if you have to. They "expire" after 6-8 years.

I'm in Canada and found this interesting: It is also important to note that if you own a car seat or booster seat made before January 1, 2012, under Health Canada’s Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, you may not be able to advertise, sell, or give it away because it may not meet the latest requirements set out by Health Canada.

I remember not being able to sell my crib because it didn't meet the requirements at the time. So I gave it away.
Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: lsalinas on October 21, 2015, 01:10:42 PM
I know there were expiration date stickers on the back of the seats and I can't remember what the date was, but we bought the seats new about 17 months ago so they should still be okay for a while.   But yeah I was thinking it was probably the legal liability that consignment stores wouldn't take them because they can't guarantee the seats were never in an accident. 
Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: AZDude on October 21, 2015, 01:32:59 PM
Try a resale store. If you take store credit instead of cash, it will usually be enough to buy a new set of clothes that actually fit. Not a one-one ratio, but maybe 5-1. We regularly take in a load of clothes to the resale shop. Even better, we used to stop at one store, sell, and then hit up another right afterwards with anything the other shop did not want. Because we had an only child, we would get tons of clothes from both sets of grandparents, overwhelming our little one's closet. Letting them wear stuff one time so grandma could see(or just take a pic and post on FB so they think they are wearing the clothes), and then selling them was almost a necessity.
Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: jaye_p on October 21, 2015, 06:33:35 PM
See if you have a buy/sell/trade Facebook group for your neighborhood.  Far less flakiness than Facebook, and since the members have to be invited by a current member and everyone buys from and sells to each other, there is a certain amount of social pressure to be honest, timely, courteous, etc.  I've stopped using Craigslist since I joined our neighborhood's buy/sell/trade group.
Title: Re: Alternative to Selling on Craigslist?
Post by: mrs sideways on October 21, 2015, 06:52:59 PM
I looked up some consignment shops near me online and it looks like they don't take car seats and the travel system (2 Chicco infant carseats, 4 seat bases and a double snap and go stroller frame) is taking up the most space.

I gave my travel system and car seats to a local (and non-profit) home for young/single moms. I even got a write-off receipt!