Selling On Craigslist: Your Comprehensive Guide In 8 Easy Steps

For eCommerce beginners, selling on Craigslist is an unfamiliar strategy. However, many eCommerce experts have utilized this platform and achieved proven success in sales and reaching local consumers. 

So, what is Craigslist exactly? How does it work? And how can eCommerce store owners like you can effectively increase sales on it? All will be revealed in this article!

What Is Craigslist?

Craigslist is an online platform for classified ads organized by city or region. It allows users to post and browse listings for various items, services, jobs, communities, events, and housing around their area. The buyers are mostly around your local area. 

The site is divided into various categories, while the most popular one is selling a car on Craiglist. Most listings are free to post and view, however, there are paid accounts where users can benefit more. 

The unique thing about Craigslist is that it does not involve digital payments like credit cards or PayPal, unlike eBay or Amazon. They discouraged this payment method to the point that many users stated that its algorithm would flag posts including words like ‘shipping.’

Instead, the seller and buyer will exchange items through direct transactions like meeting up and paying cash. That’s why when accessing this site, they will automatically locate where you live and display the local domain of your area. 

So, simply put, this platform is like a digital bulletin board for local communities to buy, sell, and connect.

Craigslist is a platform for sellers and buyers to transact items. (Source: Craigslist)

Is Craigslist Free Sellers?

Yes, most postings on Craigslist are free. However, some categories require payment, such as:

• Job categories in US and parts of CA —$10-75 (fee varies by area)
• Cars/trucks, RVs, and motorcycles by-owner in the US—$5
• Cars/trucks by-dealer in the US, Vancouver, BC—$5
• Apartment rentals in Boston, Chicago, and NYC areas—$5 
• Commercial real estate in the US—$5
• Gigs in the US and selected CA areas—$3-10
• All for sale by dealer categories in the US—$5
• Furniture by-dealer in Vancouver, BC—$5
• Services in US and CA—$5

This platform also offers paid posting accounts, where you will have access to more advanced tools like invoices. But for small businesses, the free version of Craigslist is good enough! 

A Comprehensive Guide For Selling On Craigslist

Although selling cars on Craigslist is most common, many eCommerce owners have used this platform for free advertisement and to reach local audiences. Here is how you can sell on Craigslist:

1. Building your own store

First of all, those who haven’t had an online selling site yet can simply create one with Shopify. This is one of the most popular eCommerce hosting platforms globally, offering from basic to advanced features to support eCommerce businesses. Many popular brands, like Red Bull, Fashion Nova, and Sephora, also use this platform to host their sites. 

For the quickest store creation, use page builders like GemPages. These tools offer diverse templates for various store purposes, so you can easily create with a few drags and drops. Or even if you already have a store, optimize it before going live on Craigslist for the smoothest user shopping experience. 

Now that your online store is officially ready, let’s sell on Craigslist.

2. Set up a Craigslist account

Craigslist is not a selling platform but an item exchange site. Programs like membership or royalty are not available. 

Therefore, creating an account on Craigslist is particularly easy. Users only need to set up using an email, and they are ready to transact. 

To create an account, access Craigslist.org, click on the ‘My Account’ button, then ‘sign up for an account’, set your password, accept the Terms & Conditions of use, and you are all set!

Create an account on Craigslist with an email. Source: Craigslist

3. Post an item

Now that you have an account, let’s post your brand products. 

You can choose to list all of your products or pick a few best-selling items.

After creating an account, Craigslist might ask for your location. Or, in some cases, you will notice that the platform has automatically located your city/state (check the URL domain). 

Post an item on Craigslist. Source: Craigslist

4. Choose a post type

As previously mentioned, Craigslist will require users to define precisely their post type, such as for sale by who, what you are listing (service/cars/houses/etc), and many others for them to categorize your listing.

Choose a product type. Source: Craigslist

Be aware that there are prohibited items that cannot be sold on Craigslist. Carefully check that list before posting to ensure your products are not among them. 

5. Categorize your products

Craigslist takes it seriously when it comes to categorizing your listing. 

After you choose the post type, it’s time to choose the item category. For example, if you choose ‘For sale by owner’, you will need to select the exact category your items belong to (clothing/cars/household items/etc).

Categorize your items when posting on Craigslist. Source: Craigslist

6. Fill in the product description

This section is where you will fill in all of your product information, including:

• Posting title - which usually the names of the product
• Price
• City or neighborhood - where you want to sell them. Locate your position on the map to be detailed (which is displayed on the next page).
• Zipcode - for the platforms to exactly define your location
• Posting details - the product details (size, width, condition, payment method)
• reply options - how the buyers reach out to sellers
• Location info - if you want to exchange directly with the buyers, tick on the ‘show address’ box to set the location for meeting up. If not, you can skip this part.

Fill in the product description. Source: Craigslist

7. Take a photo

Uploading images of your items can significantly enhance the buying process by allowing buyers to have a realistic look of the item. 

Therefore, take good pictures of your items, and be as clear as possible. Craigslist allows up to 24 photos to be uploaded, so take advantage of it. 

Uploading images allows buyers to have realistic looks at your items. Source: Craigslist

8. Published

It’s time to go live!

Craigslist will display a draft of how your product will look like when publishing, hence, double-check all the information and check for the quality of the images. You want to create great impressions among potential consumers.

If you make a mistake, you can always go back and change it by clicking the “Edit text” or “Edit Images” button. But try not to!

Then, hit ‘Publish.’

Publish your items. Source: Craigslist

Be aware that Craigslist is a big community with thousands of posts every single second. Therefore, your post might be visible at the top of the list for only a short period (usually 15 minutes), and the platform’s algorithm will refresh it. It’s a competitive market, after all!

Is Selling On Craigslist Worth It?

This platform is amazing for exchanging products or services and for a brand to reach more potential local consumers. However, that doesn’t mean there are no scams on Craigslist when selling.

The most common versions of scams are buyers are too far away to meet up, like living in different cities or states, the buyer keeps making excuses not to meet face-to-face, or unusual payment methods like Craigslist guarantee (which doesn’t exist)

For instance, a buyer acts super eager to buy your item. They say they can't meet you and offer to pay by check. You get the check, ship the item, and then find out the check was fake. Now you've lost your item and might get in trouble for depositing a bad check!

This scam has different versions, but the idea is the same. To protect yourself:

• Learn about scams on Craigslist's info page.
• Only sell to local buyers.
• Ask for cash when meeting to exchange the item.

Remember, the safest way to sell is to meet the buyer in person and accept cash. If a deal seems too good to be true or feels off, trust your gut and walk away.

Conclusion

In short, selling on Craigslist is a simple strategy that anyone can get started with. It has a large community, is customized to specific locations, is free to use, has diverse categories, and is safe as well (as long as you are aware of scams). 

So, eCommerce owners should utilize the platform to promote their products or at least try to guide them to your online store. Be consistent, and it will be all worth it!

FAQs about Selling on Craigslist