The merits of Craigslist

Since taking ownership of Purgatory we have used Craigslist to rid ourselves of many things left by the previous owners or that things we found we didnt need.  We have also used Craigslist to pick up a few needed things.

Case in point, the tired old golf cart we got with the house–it and all the garden equipment was written in to the deal. It died shortly after we moved in, but thanks to Craigslist, not only did I find someone willing to pay me $250 to cart it away, we also found its replacement. We actually need such a vehicle as the main driveway in to the house is about a quarter mile long and while we don’t have city water, sewer or gas, we do have garbage service.  That means we have to get the garbage cans out to the end of the driveway once a week.

Enter the mini-truck.  Agent Smith found it for sale on Craigslist last summer.  Not only does it help us take the garbage out, it’s great for hauling around all sorts of stuff, getting up to the well tank or just taking a Sunday drive around the place.

Other items we’ve managed to get rid of on Craigslist run the gamut. Example: just last week I sold off the very heavy metal lids and collars for the old septic tank for $50.

A while back  I listed the old water softener salt tank for free and it went away to be used for who knows what.  Some guy came and got it into his trunk (with bungee cords holding the trunk lid down.)

Then there was the plethora of random kitchen stuff and old phones they left behind.  This stuff ended up being donated to a friend who’s stamp club was having a white elephant sale.  Basically a mishmash of random mixing bowls and soup bowls/plates plus a few old telephones.  We’re not sure if they just left the bowls or if they forgot to pack a couple of the kitchen cabinets.  Whatever the case, we ended up keeping a set of pyrex bowls and some colanders that were also left behind.

And then there was the old rack.  Back when we lived in SF this guy was super useful as it housed various servers, the router and modem, etc.  We had a commercial line with 5 dedicated IPv4 address and Purgatory.org as well as the other domains were run literally out of our garage.  Since moving in here it had been taking up space in the garage, but thanks to CL I found a guy who needed it for his company and thus it was given a second, if not third or fourth life (as Agent Smith got it used to begin with.)

And then we still have four stalls worth of random junk in the stables to sort out including some snow skies, old real estate stuff and a bunch of random brass knick knacks. All of that will end up on CL I’m sure.

Then I will turn my attention to the dozen or so old bathtubs that are scattered about the property.  When this was a working horse ranch, I’m sure they were used as troughs.  Here are two of them and a wash basin–these sit behind the stables but there are many more scattered all about.

But getting back to the use of Craigslist, I’m somewhat of a pro at moving stuff using the site. Here are my tips.

First off, don’t be a greedy wretch. If the same thing is listed on eBay for $100 and I can get someone to come to me and to take it away I will sell for well under that:  say $60-75. eBay is great for finding specific odd things, and sometimes you can find cool and unique things on Craigslist, but if you just want to recycle your random possessions out to people who will make use of them, not being greedy is the most important thing to remember.

The next thing to do:  make an actual account on the site.  It doesn’t cost a thing and makes managing your posts and viewing your history a lot easier.

Thirdly: post a minimum of two clear, in focus pictures, even if it’s something simple like some septic covers and collars.  Pictures spark interest.  I’ve sold cars on CL and the more pictures the better in that sort of listing.  Also avoid back lighting at all costs when shooting outdoors.

Lastly be patient:  you can repost a listing once it expires with just a few clicks.  Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 passes before an item sells, but it will eventually find a home. Case in point, I currently have the old pantry shelving up for sale.  May take a week or two but someone will want it.