I've never used Ebay, but Craigslist rocks!

[David]

Over the course of the past year, I've taken a few curious peeks at Craigslist.com. A few days ago a neighbor mentioned it took just a few days to get a response to an ad he placed, so I thought what the hell, I've never done the Ebay thing (guess I'm old fashioned...well maybe NOT...I DO have an iPod), but I wanted to sell a tool I just relegated to the corner by purchasing a new and improved model. Besides which, that'll soften the blow when the credit card bill comes in.

On Thursday I went to Craigslist, read their help section, composed the ad, got stuck for a bit on adding a picture until I saw a link at the bottom of the page, and "published" my ad. Damn if I didn't get the first response in 20 minutes!! All together I got 8 emails and several phone numbers. The first guy that I contacted said he'd take it and Friday mid morning he came by to exchange some green for a tool. Nice guy. My trusty saw had found a good new home. I hope his wife wasn't expecting him home sooner; we chatted quite some time! I emailed everyone else that the item had been sold.

Ok, so that was pretty painless. Let's go for ad number two (Friday night). An hour or two after the ad appears, my inbox shows "new mail". Cool! The fellow included a phone number, but he didn't answer when I called. This morning I call again, and he answers on the first ring and says he'll be by this afternoon. He calls for directions mid afternoon and arrives shortly thereafter in his big contractor pickup. Hell of a nice guy too. Why can't my all my neighbors be this nice? Some are, but then we've got some screwballs that should be hospitalized. Anyway, turns out I may be able to use him for a home improvement project next year and he gave me the name of a reliable sharpening service, so the few dollars I made on the sale is overshadowed by the value of meeting him.

I need to go through the attic soon to see what else I can advertise on Craigslist. oh, yeah, I've been hoarding about 15 cans of R12 since

1988. I know that stuff is quite pricey nowadays and should fetch well over $150.

Dave

[Toller]

Craigslist is great for things difficult to ship, or for things you just want to get rid of for a token price. I don't know anything about R12, but if it is easy to ship you will get three times as much on eBay as Craigslist.

[Todd Fatheree]

I recently upgraded to a larger lathe, the cost of which I had to justify to SWMBO by telling her I would sell the Jet Mini Lathe. Since the mini lathe is still quite heavy (~80 lbs), I wanted to take a shot at selling it on CraigsList to a local buyer rather than get it ready for shipment. I sold it for the same price I would have netted from eBay (and by the way, the same price I bought it for on sale from Amazon). I always wonder what type is going to pull up in this kind of transaction. Turns out the guy is your normal dentist who wants to make shavings in his condo.

todd

[David]

I think there are restrictions on shipping Freon, if I'm not mistaken. I would not have wanted to box up the CMS for shipment that I sold yestgerday. Craigslist was relatively painless and quick. :)

Dave

[Ralph E Lindberg]

..

In the USA, there are also restrictions on the buyer (but interesting not the seller). The EPA says the buyer has to have EPA 609 certification, but I can't say I've every heard of a regulation on the seller.

[Dave Balderstone]

Unless you're manufacturing the stuff, you have to buy it even just to sell it, n'est ce pas?

[Ba r r y]

You live in the SF Bay area. It's a regional thing. Craigslist is lame in my area.

[Ralph E Lindberg]

Not if you bought it -before- the regulations

[No]

I have some stuff up on e-may now (Delta 6" jointer and some DC connection accessories). I just learned about Craig List a couple of weeks ago and didn't think of them when I went to try and sell this stuff. Check out