Outsmart Craigslist: How to Buy and Sell

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It never occurred to me that people could really be getting used on Craigslist until a co-worker came to me for my "expert" CL advice since I'm a CL frequenter. Whether it be buying goods for more than they should be, or selling goods for way less than they could get, a person can really get "taken" on Craigslist if you aren't careful.

Note: I don't consider myself an expert, but these are the things that have worked for me in the past. Many of these things I've learned from experience with buying and selling on CL.

Selling
-If you're willing to wait it out, you can make more money --- I posted a stereo multiple times and people offered pennies compared to what I was asking. I just kept re-posting it and one day a guy offers full price if I would meet him within 15 minutes. SOLD!

-If your goal is to just declutter and get rid of the item, low ball the price --- This has worked for numerous items for me.  It will get rid of the goods quick. SOLD!

-Post the price higher than what you'd like to get --- With all bargain shoppers, they're exactly that, bargain shoppers. Everyone is looking for a good deal. I've posted things $50 or more above the price I'd like to get (for a big/expensive item) just to give myself some wiggle room with negotiations. SOLD!

-Do your homework -- Make sure you aren't posting at ridiculously high prices. Check out the value on eBay or other sites to see what it's typically sold for today. Most things aren't worth what you originally paid. Hardly ever actually. SOLD!

-Don't be afraid of negotiations --- Most people will try to talk you down even once you've agreed on a price. Stand firm on what you've agreed on, if you're adamant about getting that price.  SOLD!


Buying
-Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate --- Don't hesitate to negotiate with others. Many people post things higher because they're expecting you to counter offer back. CHEAP!

-Set Your Standards --- I recently purchased a dresser with a very long, picky list of wants, one of those to spend less than $50. It may have taken longer, but I got exactly what I wanted. CHEAP!

-Again, do your homework --- Don't be afraid to look up prices online before buying. Many people don't research the actual value before posting and will ask what they want to get out of it. It's much harder for them to argue with you if you can show them a printout from eBay with the current value.  CHEAP!

-Be willing to walk away --- If you can't get it for the price you want, the product isn't what you expected, or are uncomfortable with the transaction walk away.  CHEAP!


Additional Buying/Selling Smarts
-Last but not least, when buying or selling play it smart --- When possible, meet in a well populated area during the day if you can. Also never go alone.

-When having people come to your house, always have another person home --- Many times my husband will also walk people around to the garage or basement so they don't walk through our house looking for items to steal (hey, you never know!)

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 5 - FINAL!!!!

THE TV STAND IS DONE...

Check it out!!

What do you think??  Have you tried to re-create any old or secondhand products as something new?

Price Breakdown --

Dresser from Craigslist - $50

Uhaul to transport dresser - $22

Primer $7

Paint $5

Spray Polyurethane $8

Spade to drill holes $10

Total ONLY $101!!!

Price for a store bought similar dresser.... $800 or on sale for $400 on Amazon.

That means, I saved $700!!!!!!!  WHOOHOO!!!!

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Follow the Entire Dresser Turned TV Stand Project Series:

New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 2
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 3

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 4

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 4

So, we did one thing a little backwards with the dresser....

We hadn't purchased anything to cut out the holes for the back of the dresser, in order to be able to pull the cords through.

Long story short..... we were done with all the sanding, priming, painting and top poly coat, and realized we still had to drill the holes.  Ooops!!

We went out to our local Home Depot and purchased a 1 1/2 inch spade bit to drill the holes in the backside.

First, we measured halfway between each section, to be sure it was centered, then measured up one inch, so it was close to the bottom and would have a less chance of being seen.

Next, we taped the wood around where we planned on drilling, so we would have a less chance of splitting the wood.

Then we drilled holes from the inside out.  That way, if the wood happened to split or tear, we wouldn't harm the inside "pretty" pieces that we worked so hard to paint.

Once we were done drilling, we just vaccuumed out the dust and wa-lah, DONEZO.

Follow the Dresser Turned TV Stand Series:

New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 2

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 3

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 3

Last Post, I mentioned that we screwed up with the paint, which resulted in streaky paint.  So we went to the paint store and got some more paint.  Thankfully they register the product to our name, so they were able to pull up the exactly paint color we previously purchased.  

Once we had the new paint, we decided to go over nearly everything REALLY well to make sure we didn't have any streaks left from "the mistake."  

Once the 3rd coat finally dried, we decided to go ahead and poly the top. 

In the past, we've always purchased paint on poly, but for some reason, this time when we went to the store, they had a spray poly.  We mutually decided it was better to use the spray so we don't have to try to clean the poly after all the trouble we had with it last time.  Note: do NOT get polyurethane on your hands... it's a pain in butt to clean off!  We tried EVERYTHING in our house to get it off.... body scrub, alcohol, dish soap... nothing worked!!

Color Sneak Peek......

Follow the Dresser Turned TV Stand Series:
New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1
Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 2

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 2

After the primer dried, the next day we decided to start painting.  Of course, painting seems to take forever, especially since we did 2.5 coats and had to wait for it to dry in between.  We wanted to be sure it dried completely before putting another coat on top, so we only painted one coat per day.

Now, I say we did 2.5 coats because we did 2 coats over the entire dresser, but the last coat was meant to go over sections we felt needed additional coverage.  HOWEVER..... we were scrimping by on the last little bit of the paint and apparently it had a bit of white in the bottom of the can, so of course this means the last couple of sections turned out blue streaky.

Ooops!!

Once we realized what happened, we decided to go get another small can of paint, but since the paint store was already closed for the night, and we wanted the paint to dry completely, we decided it would have to wait until the next day....

Follow the Dresser Turned TV Stand Series:

New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1

Dresser Turned TV Stand - Day 1

So as I mentioned in my last dresser post, we bought a dresser and have been rushing this week to get it done since we have ZERO extra storage space in our apartment.

When we first started, we were going to completely sand it down to the bare wood and prime/paint from there. Once we got started and realized our time crunch, we thought we'd try just lightly sanding and priming/painting over that since we read somewhere online that its possible.

The first night, we decided to lightly sand and prime. We also purchased 3 pieces of wood to add to the top row of the dresser. Without the wood, the consoles we are putting in there would have nothing supporting it. Now, you may be wondering why we used 3 pieces of wood, but that was the only way to fit them inside since there are wood support bars in front.

Below is the dresser once it's been lightly sanded and with the piece of wood.

Stay tuned for additional updates...

Follow the Dresser Turned TV Stand Series:

New Project

New Project - Dresser Turned TV Stand

I'm soo soo soo excited right now!!  The husband and I finally found a dresser on Craigslist that's exactly what we've been looking for.

For us to buy the dresser, it had to fit into the following criteria:

• Cost less than $50
• Have a bit of an antique look or character
• Not too modern or sleek (I never thought I'd say that)
• Must be solid wood, not press board
• It had to be a long horizontal dresser, not a vertical chest
• Wanted to do work to it....
• But didn't want the drawers falling apart.
• Drawers that pulled in and out easily
• Be able to organize drawers easily with DVDs and/or gaming controllers etc.

After holding out for months, we finally found exactly what we wanted... AND it has all my picky specifications above,

Stay tuned for the next.  big.  project.  :)

We Paid Cash!!!

I always hear about how paying cash for goods can feel so freeing.  And truly, we don't carry cash, so I never really thought it was something we would do.  It's not that we use credit cards for everything.  We actually hardly use them.  We tend to pay with debit cards.  Which is still a card, and the realization of how much money is spent doesn't quite sink in, the way it does when you're writing a check out or handing over each bill for payment.

Before Christmas, my husband and I realized truly how bad of shape our bed was in.  The sagging was something we could no longer avoid... or try to fix with extra "egg crate" padding.  It was quite obvious that neither of us were sleeping at night, and we were both exhausted.

So we decided to throw in the towel and purchase a new bed!!!  Whooohoo!!

We started our search almost immediately and looked at nearly all the retailers in town.  We finally found a bed that we loved.  It's a plush top (oh yessss!) mattress, that's flippable, which most aren't anymore.  Being a flippable mattress we should get more time out of the mattress, since not only can we rotate end over end, we can flip.  Any place I can save a little bit of money, or buy some time, I love!

Anyways.... back to the point of this post..... CASH!

WE..... PAID..... CASH!!!!

We saved every spare cent we had for over a month.  Then, asked for ONLY money for Christmas.  Once we had enough money, the hubbs went to the store, and purchased it right out of pocket.  No credit card.  No interest rates.  No borrowed money.  I just have to say.... it's LIBERATING!!  We own our bed outright!  And we don't even miss the extra "stuff" we didn't get this year for Christmas..... probably because we're enjoying our bed so much, and enjoying all the ZzZzZ's!

Needless to say.... I was so worried that we'd have such a tight budget while trying to save that we'd feel strapped and like we were missing out on activities going on around us.  However, it was actually the opposite.  I was excited to be saving for something.  Happy to be paying for something out of pocket, instead of using a credit card for such a big purchase.

I definitely recommend saving money for a purchase, instead of slapping it on a credit card.  Start small with your next clothes purchase, then build up to bigger things, such as furniture, then even a car!  My goal is to pay cash for my next car!  I can only imagine how liberating I will feel after that kind of purchase!!

My question to you..... what will your next cash purchase be??