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Selling a television through Craigslist
noir_blood
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I moved to a new apartment and one of the things I did was buy a new 47 inch tv, which we now have in the living room. I'm playing with the idea of getting rid of my old television and trying to make my room into a bedroom/office type place.
I'll probably put it up on craigslist, and was wondering about how best to protect myself. I'm sure the seller is going to want to turn it on and make sure everything works, but at the same time, I'm uncomfortable with having a complete stranger come into my house. Has anyone sold an item like this through CL?
Also, what should I ask for the tv? I bought it about two years ago for about 900 bucks. It's a 36 inch, with HDMI and all that stuff. I'm at work right now, so I can't remember the brand name, but it's not the 'big' ones.
I'll probably put it up on craigslist, and was wondering about how best to protect myself. I'm sure the seller is going to want to turn it on and make sure everything works, but at the same time, I'm uncomfortable with having a complete stranger come into my house. Has anyone sold an item like this through CL?
Also, what should I ask for the tv? I bought it about two years ago for about 900 bucks. It's a 36 inch, with HDMI and all that stuff. I'm at work right now, so I can't remember the brand name, but it's not the 'big' ones.
noir_blood on
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It's either you show it at your house, or you show it at his house. Both will be uncomfortable. Just make sure you have some friends over with you.
yeah it'd be a pain in the butt to lug around a large TV, but you'd protect yourself against possible physical harm and against fraud.
also insist on either cash or a bank or post office money order. checks are too sketchtastic for anything above $100.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
See if you can find your TV from best buy and amazon and see what it sells for new. You don't say if it is LCD, Plasma, CRT, flat panel, DLP or what. Think of it this way. Why the hell would I buy your crappy 36" TV when I can get a brand new Samsung 37" LCD HDTV for the same price.
In short: Research the value of your TV. It is not worth $900
Definitely research what your TV should be worth now, and understand that folks on CL aren't looking to spend a ton of money on electronics. If they wanted to spend upwards of $900 (not that that's what you're asking for it, I realize), they would probably feel more comfortable going to a store and buying one with a warranty new out of the box.
Make sure to have a photo in the ad. List the price you want, and explain that you are firm on it (or at least, relatively so). Field a few offers, and find the person that actually wants to buy the TV, not just stop by, look at it, and then leave. If it helps, tell the people who respond that you have a few other offers, so if they are really interested, they'll need to make a decision right away. That helped me to actually get people in the door who wanted to buy.
Have a friend or two over if you feel uncomfortable having someone in the house with you, and make things short and sweet. Have it already plugged in, and give them the remote so they can turn it on and off and change the channels. It shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to get them out the door with your old TV.
For reference, mine was a 26" Sony flat screen CRT (bought in 2003 maybe?). I think I got about $100 for it. Possibly a little less. I received several emails about the ad, but only had one person come by the house. One was all it took.
When I sold our tube TV, I dragged it down to our condo lobby and plugged my camera into the S-Video port to show it powers on and the colors are OK. Told him to call within 24hrs if there were any problems. I included a bunch of cables too, sold as, "everything you need!!"
Could you set it up in a garage if you didn't want them inside the house?
If it was $900 two years ago, you could certainly try a few hundred, but decide ahead of time what's your absolute lowest price. also, CASH ONLY!!
He showed up at my house, looked it over (I played a DVD so he could see what it looked like). He agreed to buy it. He came back 3 days later on a weekend and I helped him put it in his truck. He paid in cash.
Everything I've sold on craigslist I always just have the person come to my house. Tents, furniture, whatever. If I'm giving away free stuff on craigslist or freecycle, I just put it on the porch and say "come get it whenever."
I've never had any problems.
The thing is, if you post up something really expensive on craigslist, sketchy people will see it and assume you have more nice stuff. If you post pictures, theyll see in the background that you have more stuff. And if you invite them in theyll see that its worth breaking into your home while youre gone to steal your stuff. Surprisingly craigslist is pretty popular with theives, especially in the Cars and Electronics sections. Ive heard so many horror stories about fraud or getting outright robbed by the guy youre trying to sell to.
As for the price, id probably ask 300-400 dollars. Looking through the weekend ads, thats a bit less than a 36" tv sells for nowadays. Youll probably get lowballed at 100-200 dollars, you can decide if youll take it.
And if it doesnt sell in a few days, drop the price.
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Good luck!
VG
Webmaster
beforethedarktimes.com
To much shady shit to many shady people on Craigslist.
I don't know if I totally agree with this- had I not posted my bike on CL, it would still be in my garage. On CL it sold in a week.. just my 2 centavos..
VG
Webmaster
beforethedarktimes.com
2 college-aged gentlemen came and tested it, gave me the cash, then they were off.
i know there are a lot of untrustworthy people on the internet ... but there are also a lot of the opposite.
Totally agree. If you are looking for a much safer scenario, can you maybe donate the TV and get the tax credit for it? Maybe to Goodwill or something? That way you can totally bypass having people come to your home. Just another thought.
Webmaster
beforethedarktimes.com
You should take basic precautions, but don't let the urban legend horror stories scare you away from a perfectly valid method of doing business.
PSN: TheScrublet
i hock stuff on craigslist all the time and have never had an issue.. you put up an ad, screen people via email, and then give out your phone number... they call, you arrange a meeting, and they bring cash to your place
I've noticed that the significantly more metropolitan areas use craigslist more commonly than anywhere else. It's the same in DC, heck, the only way to find a cheap place to live is CS. If the OP is from a major CS-using city, it's a great solution. Apparently he should not use it if he's from Dayton.
But yeah. She recently sold a serger to an expecting mom, who was gonna use it to sew cloth diapers. Harder to get more wholesome than that ;D
i've had friends get in to some unsavory situations via selling things through craigslist.
it's not paranoia, it's common sense. and you've been very lucky so far.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
I'd like to see the statisitics of Craig's vs. Classified for total days listed, listed s. sold price, and even robberies/frauds. Crazies can use libraries for "net access, but free newspapers are everywhere.
Otherwise, use it as a gift.
But, yeah, I've had about 5 sales of random stuff via Craig's List and have had nothing but positive experiences. Everyone I've met are just normal people looking for a deal. I've sold a lot of video games through Craig's List and typically it's just a mom or dad trying to get a gift for their kid.