Craigslist is a modern-day community bulletin board, filled with classified ads where you can buy and sell items for free. That's in contrast to sites like eBay, where the site generally gets a cut of the sale.
Posting an item for sale on Craigslist is easy, and you can create an ad in just minutes. You don't even need to create a Craigslist account to start selling.
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How to sell an item on Craigslist
1. Open the Craigslist website in a web browser. It should automatically default to your locale, but if it gets it wrong – or you want to sell something in a different location – use the list of locations on the right side of the page to pick the right city. You can browse by city or state at the bottom of the list.
2. On the left side of the page, click "create a posting."
3. On the next page, you might need to fine-tune your location. If there are sub-boards in your city, click the one that best matches your location.
4. Answer the question "what type of posting is this" by choosing the correct option, which is probably "for sale by owner."
5. Choose the category of item you want to sell. If in doubt, click the link to see the list of prohibited items (you can't sell firearms, alcohol, or tobacco, among other items), but otherwise pick the category that best suits your for-sale item.
6. On the form page, enter as many details as possible. Give your item a descriptive title, the price you want to sell it for, and a description of the product. In the "contact info" section, enter your email address – this will not be published online, but Craigslist will direct replies to your ad to this email address. For your security and privacy, it's a good idea to not share your phone number in the phone/text section.
7. When the form is completed, click "Continue."
8. A lot of people may see this ad, so to help them know if you are in their area, fine-tune your location on the map. You can enter a nearby major cross street to help potential buyers. Click "Continue."
9. It's easier to sell an item if you have good-quality, current photos. Take some pictures and then add them using the "Add images" button. You can drag images around to change their order.
10. When you've uploaded and arranged your photos, click "done with images."
11. If you're happy with your ad, click "publish."
12. The screen will display a message: "Important - Further action is required to complete your request!"
13. Within a minute or two, you should get an email from Craigslist asking you to confirm the posting. Click the link in the email to confirm. After that, the ad should appear on Craigslist within about 15 minutes. You should keep this email to easily find the online ad again later to update, refresh, or delete the post.
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Freelance Writer
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.
