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eBay or Craigslist, local pickup only?

Mrv8q

Mrv8q

Audiofool
I've tried to sell speakers and audio components on BarterTown, local pickup in L.A. / SoCal, with a couple nibbles, but no bites.

Should I next try eBay or Craigslist for local pickup only? I've sold 300+ items on eBay over 15 years, but have rarely done local pickup, and am unhappy with eBay's increasingly heavy thumb on the scale.

I have never sold anything on the List du Craig.

I would appreciate any advice from those who've been there.
 
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CL or Ebay, local pickup only, expect about 2/3 of what you would get if they went to auction. CL is a mixed bag, by a huge margin. I've met a lot of very good folks from selling on CL, and a few that need to be taken to the woodshed. If you can weed them out before you meet you will be way ahead.
 
I've had only very good experiences on craigslist but - depending on your area - I can certainly appreciate your being apprehensive about meeting up with strangers at your home.
You can meet people at the local police department parking lot or other safe area.
 
w1jim said:
I've had only very good experiences on craigslist but - depending on your area - I can certainly appreciate your being apprehensive about meeting up with strangers at your home.
You can meet people at the local police department parking lot or other safe area.
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Hard to do (not impossible) with audio equipment.
 
Not really.
Tough to do a full demo, but I have seen people show it works by finding an outside plug or a D.C. inverter.
Worst case - set them up in your garage.
 
Mrv8q said:
I've tried to sell speakers and audio components on BarterTown, local pickup in L.A. / SoCal, with a couple nibbles, but no bites.

Should I next try eBay or Craigslist for local pickup only? I've sold 300+ items on eBay over 15 years, but have rarely done local pickup, and am unhappy with eBay's increasingly heavy thumb on the scale.

I have never sold anything on the List du Craig.

I would appreciate any advice from those who've been there.
Click to expand...
Craigslist. especially in L.A. eBay is a very last resort for me. I've bought and sold a lot of gear over the years and ran into few problems. my advice with Craigslist is to make sure you talk a while over email to get a sense of that person. I've met a lot of cool audio peeps over the years and had some interesting conversations and listened to some good gear. only one slightly shady dude in all that time.
 
I've had good results with Craigslist. However, If your temperament is such that low offers highly annoy you, then you may want to avoid that market. Low offers don't bother me in the least, I just laugh and say something to the effect that I, too, have seen [the item] in that condition. I don't discuss pricing over the phone, or via email - in person, only. Those who want to discuss it, all I reply is come and see, mine is in exceptional condition. I don't have a lot of folks show, but I can't remember anyone who did and then did not buy - at my price (or very, very near). And most of them offered much less, but I don't blame them for it - for all they know I'm hard up for cash and will accept less - dickering is the fun part, to me. The keys are selling items that really are in excellent functional and cosmetic condition, and not being rude when offered less. My two cents.
 
I advertise in both. With ebay, it's always local pick up, however, people always ask you to ship. I tell them only if they pay for everything including my time, and after it leaves UPS(I do UPS pack & ship guaranty) it's on them, no returns. An advantage on doing both is if you have a excellent rating on ebay, as I do, you can point a craigs list buyer to ebay(to see that you are honest), and vise-versa. You need to be careful, though, with craigs list. I did have 1 bad experience; selling a used car once, a guy calls and wants to check it out. He sounded alright, a bit mouse-y. He shows up with 3 other guys who look like Russian hit men. My sig 229 was clearly visible under my shirt. They gave it a half hearted look and left. Only bad experience, though. Just my 2 cents.
 
craigs list you almost have to let them in your house
30% never show up and your on the hook waiting
when they arrive they try to lower the price
but i have repeat customers who are into audio so i've met some nice folks mostly
and the odd one who didnt have a clue what they were buying other than it made sound
 
I've done and still do CL, Eprey, and local classified listings to sell stuff from time to time. One piece of advice for CL is to NEVER put OBO in the ad--every idiot seems to think that you need the money that badly that 10% OF the offered price is a decent offer rather than perhaps 10% OFF of the offered price. Eprey is a "last resort" since they started taxing the hell out of "final value" fees--including any shipping/packing charges. And there is NO "seller protection" anymore--it is all about " buyer protection", so all you have to do is file a SNAD claim and screw the seller--Eprey will pretty much always side with the buyer.

It is fortunate, or in some cases, unfortunate, that I live in the middle of nowhere (so you are driving a bit to get to me, or I am driving a bit to get to you) for local inspection/pick-up. Kind of minimizes the "tire kickers" and just generally insane characters--due to fuel costs and time involved, but also forces me to invest time and fuel to go look at something elsewhere.
 
Selling on CL for most transactions goes smooth. Just price the gear to move and it will. First and only rule in general, they who leave name and number show up when expected. Other nameless ones who ask if it is still available or price negotiable, late night inquires are tire kickers.

Only have done a few local PU's off ebay. The item sold with shipping and offered local also. Only due to if selling local go CL due to the fee's.
Barney
 
Ebay usually nets better prices, but shipping on speakers the size of Large Advents or bigger is brutal.
Local pickup on eBay usually results in far lower prices too, so it can be a crap shoot.
Plus eBay and Paypal take fees and offer protections that can be abused by the unscrupulous. CL has no feedback or protection, so once the cash changes hands, it's basically a done deed.

I really don't get why folks are spooked by CL as it's basically an online classified ad which folks used for decades. I buy and sell a lot on CL and would recommend it for big heavy items in most cases.
 
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CL works but it might take a while. Like in my case, about a year to sell some large speakers. Tried e-bay first and they did sell but the buyer wanted shipment to Korea. He did not like the $800 fee then wanted just the drivers shipped to California. I told him to blow.

US Audio Mart - also worth considering. If in Canada, then Canuck Audio Mart.
 
Are you sure you gave Bartertown a fair shot? I see ads all the time mentioning 'local pickup' without ever mentioning where local actually is.

If so then a move to Craigslist seems reasonable. There are also some pretty popular phone applications like Letgo and Close5 that are geared towards local sales. Easy to put up ads and no fees involved.
 
Well, if you don't like the EBay fees, then that pretty much points you towards either Bartertown or Craigslist. Craigslist will get you a much bigger local audience than Bartertown. I've been burned twice on BT and never on CL. The trick to CL is to do the best you can to screen out the loonies or potential thieves before you give them your address. Then make sure you have some 'beware of dogs' and NRA stickers where they can see them.

bs
 
I have had nothing but good experience selling on Craigslist.

With speakers, you are going to need to demo them. It will be up to you to decide whether this means in your house, or in your garage.

One tip: I always have a conversation on the phone with people who are going to come to my house. I like to try to get a feeling about them to make sure they seem genuine and maybe somewhat knowledgeable.

My experience has been that about 80% of those who have come to purchase audio gear have paid my asking price.
 
I live in a pretty good area, and buy only on local CL I have made some great deals on good quality equipment that the owner, was willing to sell at lower price, because I made sure I was on time, and paid cash money with no hassles.
I was very surprised when a close friend sold some Bozak 4000's said that he had a loaded gun ready if there was a problem.
It is necessary today for most of us I guess, I just wish it wasn't.
 
I have sold on Craigslist and have found that if you want the best price for your gear, it will sit there for a while.
If you want it gone and price it accordingly, it will sell fast.

I always put OBO, but then, I also ask more than I want. The buyer feels good getting it for less than the asking price.
If I want $100, I'll ask $125 OBO.

Also, I always respond to "still have it". One time it turned out to be the guy that bought it, and a repeat customer.

When I sold on E-bay, I allowed local pickup on all items. I can only remember one time someone wanted to pick it up.
I met them in a parking lot of a busy store.

Rob
 
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