Ebay or Craigslist?

[Red Storm]

Squirrel, the question was about selling stuff. I do occasional shopping on ebay as well. Being a buyer there completely changes the perspective.

Agreed. I have no qualms about buying on eBay (though Amazon has served me well enough that I haven't even checked eBay for things). Selling stuff is a completely different matter.

 

[airdata]

I Prefer ebay so that my item just sells and I don't have to put up with meeting some strangers who have dumb questions about something that's been properly described in a listing.

People on ebay also don't show up with $10 less than the listing price and put you in a position to either lose $10 or accept that you've wasted valuable time meeting with some asshole who thinks $50=$40.

 

[coloumb]

Craigslist for the large items that are too costly/bulky to ship.

Ebay for everything else. [knock on wood] I've yet to encounter any issues with ebay other than the "mafia" style fee system that ebay and paypal run [ebay fee when your item sells, then another fee for using paypal]. I mainly only sell items within USA/Canada with a few worldwide without any issues.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

eBay has fees but is somewhat more convenient.
Craigslist all too often ends up in "Hey, I'm interested!", "Okay, what time/place works for you?", "..." conversations :|

 

[7window]

ebay for buying cheap stuff. craigslist is hit and miss. On cragislist once, a guy contacted me about the glove I am selling and told me that his sons glove was stolen. I met with the guy and all he wanted to see if I was the guy who stole his sons glove. I cannot confirm his intention but I had a strong feeling that was the reason he was there. He was dead set on his email that he was interested in buying my glove without seeing the picture. Glad I didn't go to his place to make the transaction. We met on a neutral place but piss me off that I waisted my time.

 

[God Mode]

My craigslist (NYC) sucks for what I need. Useless spam, cheap fucks that get angry when you ignore or deny their lowball offer, people selling trash pentium 4/Socket 775 'fastest gaming' pc's with an absurd 'firm price', rebate items with questionable warranty for more than brand new retail etc.

I listed some things for half the price I would get on ebay or even AT FS and I still get dumbasses that want it for less. Craigslist is a sorta good if it works out but I'm not holding my breath kinda deal.

 

[Locut0s]

In total I've only sold maybe 6 or 7 items, most of them on Ebay. Haven't had any major issues. Just sold a laptop on CL without issues either. I'd say they are both good, depends on what you are selling, where you are and your perspective audience.

 

[Soundmanred]

Craigslist. Don't have to deal with shipping, paypal, or any fees. I've made hundreds of craigslist transactions both buying and selling and never had any issues beyond the occasional buyer flaking out.

Same here, I love CL.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I haven't sold on Ebay for some years. I used to sell 100's of items a month. Sounds like it's really went downhill.

 

[blinblue]

Depends largely on the item. Items that are difficult/impossible to ship of course go on Craigslist. Things that just don't sell online (used clothing for example) go on Craigslist. Most other things I sell on Amazon.com. Unique items (ie, ones that aren't sold on Amazon) are sold on eBay.
And on items that could go anywhere, whichever one has the highest going price. I've sold brand new things on Amazon.com for 30%+ more than the going rate on eBay. You'd think that people would shop around, but that often doesn't happen.

Amazon.com is by far my preferred method of selling things. No listing fees, reasonable selling fees, feels a lot less scammy than eBay. Oh, and no Paypal to deal with.

 

[j&j]

Just as everyone else says, totally depends on what you are selling. Sometimes I really throw some stuff on Craigslist and Ebay (I only use Buy it Now auctions) and that is nice as I'll usually ask a higher price on Craigslist and try for some higher profits.

 

[mjrpes3]

I'd rather sell on ebay, but they take too big of a cut. So CL it is for me.

 

[DaWhim]

if you are in big metro area like nyc, it is no reason not to use craiglist.

 

[Tsaico]

I generally only do Craigslist. eBay is only for the hard to find collectible type buying. If I am buying something used then CL, if I am buying new, then I just use amazon, newegg, standard online shopping.

 

[Vikki]

Craigslist. Made 435 bucks in a week selling stuff before I move, all cash paid in hand.

 

[DrPizza]

I must have incredible luck. I've never been ripped off on Ebay (though I find the risk of being ripped off to be higher than on Craigslist.) Also, I've never had a problem with selling items (or buying items) on Craigslist. I think the "oh noooes! I'm going to get robbed" angle is fearmongering nonsense. Last thing I sold was my son's old car that I was just going to take to the scrapyard if it didn't sell. Advertised $700 firm, was paid $700 in cash. The only inconvenience was having to hunt down 2 properly sized screws in my garage for the license plates - my son's fault for removing them when he took his plates off.

 

[rh71]

ebay for new stuff, CL for used stuff. The latter because I can see it in person before I say yes.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

I've dealt with guy on several occassions that I met from CL. He deals a lot with retro games & systems. After 6 exchanges of stuff I'm mildly saddened that I can't get him to handle the deals over GTZ so it's on the books & stuff.

 

[Ns1]

no reason for them to be mutually exclusive.

 

[janas19]

no reason for them to be mutually exclusive.

Most people prefer not to list an item for bidding on Ebay, then create a Craigslist listing for the same item and take calls while it's on Ebay. But maybe you're different.

 

[Ns1]

Most people prefer not to list an item for bidding on Ebay, then create a Craigslist listing for the same item and take calls while it's on Ebay. But maybe you're different.

why not?

If I can sell it on CL before the eBay auction ends I will sell it on CL and then cancel my eBay auction. I prefer to get rid of my items as fast as possible at the highest dollar amount possible - extra work be damned.

 

[janas19]

why not?

If I can sell it on CL before the eBay auction ends I will sell it on CL and then cancel my eBay auction. I prefer to get rid of my items as fast as possible at the highest dollar amount possible.

After you've taken bids for it?

 

[Ns1]

After you've taken bids for it?

I can cancel bids up to 24 hours before an auction ends - sorry, item is no longer available.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

I always handle all my CL exchanges at gunpoint to ensure it's nothing less than a smooth transaction.

 

[janas19]

I can cancel bids up to 24 hours before an auction ends - sorry, item is no longer available.

Wow. That's kind of douchey though