How I Get Better Rates When Selling on Craigslist
I don’t sell on Amazon like Shawn does and the fees on eBay can be too steep for some items. I also don’t want to deal with eBay fraud or PayPal scams when selling expensive electronics etc. That is when I turn to Craigslist for my reselling. You can also go the Facebook Marketplace route but I find people to be more flaky and rude on there. Which is surprising because you can see who they actually are. My preferred route is Craigslist and I have a tip that I think leads to be getting better rates when selling on Craigslist.
The Location Matters, In My Experience
I don’t mean the selling location, which matters as well, but you can not really help where you live. You could list the item in a more populated area a little ways away but that could be counterproductive unless it was only done occasionally.
What I mean is that the meet up location is important and I consistently get higher prices than similar items listed because of my choice. If the item has value, over $100 usually, I select to meet at a local Police Station. I have 4-5 within 15 minutes of my house so I give the buyers options and let them pick which one works best. Some police stations even have designated peer to peer selling locations. These will have better lighting and cameras for the transactions.
Why Does Location Matter?
I think that by saying I will meet at a police station it gives me credibility. Someone who wants to scam a buyer would not want to meet at a police station. It also helps keep away scammers on the buyer side since it is counter intuitive for them to commit a crime on tape in front of a police station.
I think that people are willing to pay a small premium for that extra security. I recently sold a Nintendo Switch for $10-$15 more than anything else listed in the area. And I think them seeing that I wanted to meet at a police station instead of a Target parking lot etc. was the difference.
Final Thoughts
If you like selling bigger ticket electronics on Craigslist, like I do, try meeting at the local police station and see if that improves your rates. You can find a list of police stations that have a dedicated selling area here.
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Do you mention in your listings that you will meet at a police station? How do you word it? Do you have a link to one of your listings? Would love to see it. Thanks!
I mention in the description that I will meet at one of 4 police stations to ensure both of our safety and to avoid scams.
This was a great help. I had no idea this was available. You might let the website know there is no place in MS. named Tulepo. I am sure they meant Tupelo,:)
Glad you found it helpful Adrian 🙂