How to Make Money on Craigslist

Here are a few tips to use if you are looking to make some extra money. First, obviously, you need items to sell.

But, how do you get those items?

Look around your house or apartment. Look for some things you haven’t used in a long time.

Old TV? Old Furniture?

Did you upgrade your TV and your old TV has been sitting around for 6 months? Get rid of your old TV on Craigslist.

Did you buy a new digital camera and your old camera has been sitting around un-used? Learn how to price an item for Craigslist and then advertise it on Craigslist.

Do you have a dining room set you don’t want anymore because you want to buy a new one?

Use Craigslist to get some cash to buy the new set you want.

You get the idea.

Gather Ideas for Things to Sell

That should give you an idea for things around your place that you could get rid of for some extra cash. However, if you are looking for ways to actually make money on Craigslist for a profit, keep reading.

CL has a category where people can post things they want to get rid of for free. Yes, you can get items for free.

However, if you want to get those free items, you need to be ready and have a way to pickup the item as soon as possible.

Be Fast If You Browse the Free Section

You also need to be faster than other people looking at the same listing wanting the free item.

I have read stories about people that have had a hard time getting rid of stuff for free on CL because people will contact them, want them to hold the item for 2 or 3 days, don’t have transportation, want the person to deliver it for free, etc.

Don’t be that person.

If you are looking to get something from the free category, be sure you are ready to pick it up when you contact the person giving it away.

Also, be sure your vehicle is able to hold and fit the item you are picking up.

If someone is giving away a nice bookshelf in good condition, contact that person ASAP and tell them you are ready to drive to their location and haul it away in your truck.

Don’t Be a Troublesome Dick

Don’t show up in your Mini Cooper and be like, “OMG, I can’t believe it won’t fit in my car! We need to disassemble it so it can fit in my car! I am so sorry about the trouble!”

They are giving you the bookshelf. Don’t be an asshole.

Now, if you use the free Craigslist category in your area correctly, you should be able to find a few things that you can pickup, clean them up or fix them if needed, then resell on Craigslist for a 100% profit.

You have no cost (except gas money and your time) into the product.

But you will have a lot of leeway into your profit margin since you got the item for free. You can use my tool to search all of Craigslist nationwide or browse the page to find your state.

Sell Sell Sell

Maybe the bookshelf you picked up for free is actually worth $60. But, since you got it for free, you might easily accept a $40 offer, making you and your buyer happy.

In that case, you profited $40 and your buyer saved $20. Win, win.

Now, if you are really serious about doing some work and making some cash, here is my advice: Buy and sell what you know.

By that, I mean that you need look for items for sale that you know how to clean and possibly fix. Look for items people post for cheap because something is messed up with it or it’s a bit off.

Be an Expert at Specific Types of Products

If you are an expert in an area of products, know how to clean and fix them, then you can grab and post those products for a profit.

If you are an expert at refurbishing laptop computers, look for cheap laptops on craigslist that people might be getting rid of for cheap because of viruses, spyware, etc. that they don’t know how to fix.

You can re-install a fresh new version of Windows, upgrade the RAM, and make the laptop ready to buy. You could maybe buy the laptop for $120, fix it up a bit, then post it for $275.

Learn Cars, for Example

If you are a car person, check out each car ad in your area.

I have known people that look at every single car post in their area because they find cars they can buy for cheap from someone, fix it up, then post the car for a big profit. Find a rusty old POS and fix it up!

If you know how to fix broken flat screen TVs, you can find broken TVs online.

Buy Cheap, Sell High

Buy it cheap, fix it, unload it for a profit. This is how you can make extra cash using and selling on Craigslist.

Find an area in which you are an expert, find things on CL you can buy and improve, then hawk it for more than you paid for it.

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