Selling on Craigslist might seem simple but to sell successfully on Craigslist, there are some things you need to keep in mind. The widely popular Craigslist service allows individuals to post advertisements offering just about every product you could possibly imagine. To stand out from the other sellers and ensure that your product sells quickly, and for the best price possible, there are a few key strategies you can employ.
Selling an item in a few days versus a few weeks, or even months often comes down to being familiar with how the platform works. Taking the time to learn how to sell successfully on Craigslist will help you to get your advertisements in front of more eyes so they gain more interest and you finalise the sale quickly.
Continue reading to learn four simple steps you can take to ensure you have success with Craigslist.
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Do Your Research
Due to the popularity of the Craigslist platform, there are quite literally millions of items posted each year, meaning you can easily get lost in the crowd. To be sure that your item sells, it’s wise to take some time to research the competition for your item. One option is to put in the time and spend hours on end sifting through the advertisements manually recording the information you need. On the other hand, you could use a Craigslist crawler to automatically crawl through Craigslist posts that meet your require and extract the information you need. This allows you to get a jumpstart on the competition so you can complete your sale successfully.
Provide The Right Information
When you are creating your post, it’s important to include as much relevant, accurate and useful information as possible. For example, if you are selling a piece of furniture, be sure to include the dimensions, rather than just describing how comfortable it is. If you are selling a TV, computer, phone or any other type of technology, be sure to include the make, model and detailed specs so the buyer knows what they are getting. It’s also important that you are honest in your descriptions, as you will eventually be meeting the buyer face-to-face to complete the sale so they will see the item you are selling in person and realise any misleading details then.
Images Are Crucial
If you were buying on Craigslist, you probably wouldn’t trust a seller who’s photos are dark, grainy or blurry. Instead, you are much more likely to buy from a seller who has bright, clear, professional photos of their offerings. Most buyers on Craigslist operate like this and will trust adverts with images first. How good the image is when they click through will go a long way to deciding whether or not to buy. When you are creating your ad, be sure to include high-quality images to improve your chances of success.
Maintain Top Position
Because of the way that Craigslist is structured, your ad will not stay at the top of the listings after it has been posted. The platform has systems in place to prevent you from simply boost your advert back to the top of the results, as spammers would take over the site if this were allowed. However, one way you can get around this, which most spammers won’t take the time to do, is to repost your ad manually each day. Simply edit your existing post and then copy and paste all of the content into a new post and publish the new advert. Then go back and delete the old one. You can do this every day to keep your ad at the top of the results.
Become A Craigslist Success Story
Selling on Craigslist can be very competitive but with the right strategies in place, there’s no reason you cannot succeed with your sales. Begin by researching the competition to find out what else is on offer in your niche and which posts are seeing the most success. With this information, you can create a post with the right information and excellent images to entice buyers to visit your advertisement. Once they find your well-crafted, professional standard post, your item will sell itself.