That Craig and his List.
I don't know who Craig is but I love the fabulous creation of his list. It is genius!
I am a purger (not as in binge and purge - just purge, as in I can't stand having things in my house that are no longer used so I regularly go through and box them up).
For years I have taken my items to the closest Salvation Army or thrift shop. I load up a box or bag and keep in my car until I pass by one. I'm also a huge fan of just giving stuff away. A lot of the things that I have and am ready to toss were hand-me-downs, so I feel good about carrying on the tradition. And twice I have brought some stuff over to a garage sell and people actually paid me for my junk er gently used items.
But my new favorite thing is Craig. I don't ever have enough stuff to have my own garage sale but I do have some big items that are totally worth selling on Craig's list. That my friends is a fabulous situation.
There are some drawbacks to Craig's list though. The first is making contact. After setting up the ad, there are usually a bunch of emails that come through. Quite a few people just say "is it available?". Then follows emailing back and forth and finally setting up a time. I have had 10 -12 emails for things before and still nobody committed to buying, but most of the time someone puts their cash in my hand a few days later and the item is gone.
The second drawback to Craig's list is the people. There are some weird people out there. I'm not talking about the murderers and rapists. I'm talking about harmless weird people. One lady casually said "I'll be by after I run my errands". She wouldn't commit to a time or anything. Lucky for her I was going to be home all night, but clearly that isn't good CL behavior. Once she arrived, she seriously pulled $40 out of her bra to pay me. Another lady came to pick up glass coffee and end tables we had ( Matt got them for free in Korea) and she spend about 45 minutes trying to cram them in her Maxima. That was fun. A few days ago a lady bought something for $25 and paid me $10 in bills and $15 in dimes and quarters. Really people, I couldn't make this up. And finally, last night a guy emailed me 2 times to buy an old carseat. I got home around 11pm and emailed him to let him know when he could come get the seat. This morning I woke up to another email stating he called last night and got no answer. What? I checked my cell and he sure did. Who calls a random stranger at 11pm to talk about picking up a car seat? I guess he figured I was awake because I had just emailed but still. He must really really want this seat.
Don't worry mom, Matt is almost always home when the buyers show up and I have the item right by the front door so the person is never invited in to my house.
I have a few more big items that I plan to get rid of on the old list in the next few weeks. We'll see what Craig will drag in.
I am a purger (not as in binge and purge - just purge, as in I can't stand having things in my house that are no longer used so I regularly go through and box them up).
For years I have taken my items to the closest Salvation Army or thrift shop. I load up a box or bag and keep in my car until I pass by one. I'm also a huge fan of just giving stuff away. A lot of the things that I have and am ready to toss were hand-me-downs, so I feel good about carrying on the tradition. And twice I have brought some stuff over to a garage sell and people actually paid me for my junk er gently used items.
But my new favorite thing is Craig. I don't ever have enough stuff to have my own garage sale but I do have some big items that are totally worth selling on Craig's list. That my friends is a fabulous situation.
There are some drawbacks to Craig's list though. The first is making contact. After setting up the ad, there are usually a bunch of emails that come through. Quite a few people just say "is it available?". Then follows emailing back and forth and finally setting up a time. I have had 10 -12 emails for things before and still nobody committed to buying, but most of the time someone puts their cash in my hand a few days later and the item is gone.
The second drawback to Craig's list is the people. There are some weird people out there. I'm not talking about the murderers and rapists. I'm talking about harmless weird people. One lady casually said "I'll be by after I run my errands". She wouldn't commit to a time or anything. Lucky for her I was going to be home all night, but clearly that isn't good CL behavior. Once she arrived, she seriously pulled $40 out of her bra to pay me. Another lady came to pick up glass coffee and end tables we had ( Matt got them for free in Korea) and she spend about 45 minutes trying to cram them in her Maxima. That was fun. A few days ago a lady bought something for $25 and paid me $10 in bills and $15 in dimes and quarters. Really people, I couldn't make this up. And finally, last night a guy emailed me 2 times to buy an old carseat. I got home around 11pm and emailed him to let him know when he could come get the seat. This morning I woke up to another email stating he called last night and got no answer. What? I checked my cell and he sure did. Who calls a random stranger at 11pm to talk about picking up a car seat? I guess he figured I was awake because I had just emailed but still. He must really really want this seat.
Don't worry mom, Matt is almost always home when the buyers show up and I have the item right by the front door so the person is never invited in to my house.
I have a few more big items that I plan to get rid of on the old list in the next few weeks. We'll see what Craig will drag in.
Comments
I, too, love Craig's list. Mostly I buy stuff off there. But I am a purger - though you may not know that if you stopped by. Having an importing/shipping business is no good for keeping things tidy, that's for sure.