Craigslist provides an abundance of goods and services. The variety is amazing and, if you keep your eye out, you can get goods, services, and tickets at great prices. Dealing with people on Craigslist eliminates the inflated fees of online buying services like Ebay. Craigslist takes you right to the seller through an extensive index listing of everything from arts & crafts to clothes, household items, electronics, toys, and more.
Once you access Craigslist, via www.craigslist.com, find your city, or the city nearest you. Click on your city and you will be taken to the index for your city. From there, if you are looking to buy or sell on Craigslist, check the “For Sale” listings. This is where you find items to buy, or list your own items to sell.
Tired of contracts, automatic drafts, and fees associated with tanning, I was looking for a tanning bed. I shopped around locally, but found prices close reaching $1000 or more. I didn’t need a new bed, just a good used one, so I turned to Craigslist.
I found two or three tanning beds on Craigslist. A couple of the sellers gave a detailed item listing and their phone numbers. Following up on the tanning beds took a phone call. There was also another tanning bed for sale which involved getting in touch with the seller via email. The basics were listed in the ad, but the seller only wanted interested buyers to call, so they added the extra step of communicating via email.
I spoke to all three sellers. I had to use good judgment and discernment about the sellers. The price was right on a couple of the beds, so I set up an appointment to look at them. Be sure, if you purchase and pick up an item on Craigslist that you do not go alone to meet the seller. In the case of a tanning bed, there was no choice but to go to the seller’s home to look at the tanning beds.
I had spoken to women on the phone, but for safety’s sake I took my husband along. We had no problems. However, this brings up an important point about buying from Craigslist. Never buy anything on Craigslist sight unseen. Often buyers will offer to send photos via email. That’s not a bad idea before your initial trip to look at the merchandise, but unlike Ebay or other auction sites you don’t have corporate backup in the event you buy a lemon.
Both the tanning bed offers were legitimate. Both of the beds were in the described condition. One tanning bed had been listed on Craigslist for $500. I looked at it first, really liked it, but wanted to look at one for $300. I expected the second to be older, or in worse condition. It wasn’t. It was in better condition. This points out one of the benefits of buying on Craigslist. Take your time, shop around, and you may find an unbelievable deal.
The tanning bed I bought was like new, bulbs included. It was the $300 tanning bed, similar to one I had priced from a dealer for $900. I couldn’t believe it the price. This is indicative of the deals you can get on Craigslist. Sometimes people just want to get rid of an item. They aren’t after a big profit. A lot of people use Craigslist to clean out their house. I don’t mind benefitting from that.
