The selling of the stuff might be the most symbolic part of the process of moving out and moving on from your old life in the name of long-term travel.
I was initially dreading selling my furniture on Craig’s List. I figured it would take weeks, I’d be dealing with flakey buyers, and I’d have a hard time finding purchasers to haul away all of my unwanted furniture.
In actuality, the process was actually pretty easy and, dare I say it, thrilling.
I had originally purchased my furniture two years ago for around $700 secondhand. My final tally upon move-out was pretty close to $600.
Once I got the formula down, I sold off every last item of furniture, every dish, and every fork, in less than a week.
The following is my methodology for how to best engineer a Craig’s List sale:
First: Do A Little Research
To size up the competition, I did a quick search for each furniture item to get an idea of pricing prior to listing. Lots of people had cheap furniture for sale, but the bulk of the cheap stuff looked cheap, and the expensive stuff was mostly listed by people who must have no idea how Craig’s List works.
Even though I know my stuff could probably have fetched a little over what I was asking for it, I was willing to undercut the other sellers in order to get my volume up and make the process quick. As long as I could sell all of my stuff rather than having to figure out how to haul it away, it was worth it to shave off $5 here and $10 there (after all, storage and hauling costs add up).
This step only requires 2-3 minutes, tops.
Next: Market
Most postings on CL are crap with crap photos of crap stuff. It’s easy to get a leg up on the competition simply by using adjectives like “beautiful,” “chic” and “comfortable” in taglines to get people clicking. Once they’ve clicked, keep it very short, to the point, and informative – including item measurements and pick up requirements. Answer any obvious questions in the posting so that your email inbox doesn’t get bogged down with people seeking information.
Most importantly, have good pictures of your stuff. Just by taking pictures during daylight hours, making sure the furniture was spotless, and using instagram filters, I made my photos look about ten times better than the competition with very little effort.
I wrote at the beginning of each post “Selling everything I own to travel – your purchase helps me travel longer,” and, guess what?
Only ONE PERSON haggled with me.
Most of the time, the buyers asked about the trip and seemed happy to help my cause.
* If you’re not getting contacted within the first few hours, or certainly within the first day of posting, modify the price and post again the next day. Conversely, if you get a heavy response volume, raise your prices slightly and re-post the next day.
Then: Be available
Post the ads when you’ve got some down time to be responsive and available for pick-up. Most interested buyers using Craig’s List are interested right now, or maybe tomorrow. Being available to answer the emails and calls is important. If you don’t respond right away, someone else with a similar product will.
The same rule applies for being available for pick-up. Buyers are sometimes late or early. Being available as much as possible during the week of your sale is your best bet.
Lastly: Safe selling
I was living solo during the sale process and wanted to be careful about potential predators.
On each posting, I listed no personal information other than my city. Once an email came through, I’d ask the person when s/he wanted to pick up the item. If I got a response, I would relay my cell number and ask to be texted when they were available to pick up the item. I would then provide my address, leaving out my apartment number (if you live in a house rather than apartment, consider giving the nearest intersection). When the buyers arrived, I would meet them at the front of my complex. That way, I weeded out any potential buyers who weren’t serious, and nobody but actual purchasers ever knew my exact address.
Plus, I only sold during daylight hours.
Other Ideas
Go through your closets and be ruthless. What will you need abroad? What have you not worn in a year? What doesn’t really fit anymore? Cut your wardrobe down by half, then take the excess clothing that is still in good condition (and especially desinger) and try selling it to thrift and consignment stores. Options near me include Crossroads Trading Company and the Buffalo Exchange.
Have stuff that won’t sell on Craig’s List? If you’ve slashed the price yet can’t find a buyer, ask the Salvation Army to pick it up for you if you can’t drop it off yourself. This is one of few organizations I was able to find that would do this without a compulsory donation or fee.
I thought it might make me sad to see my things go. We’d had some good times together, my furniture and I.
In actuality, every time I got cash in my hand, the thrill of the deal had me excited for a good hour. With each item I sold off, I had a few dollars more towards my trip – another day in Thailand, another day of diving, another panang curry.
*cover photo from Beach Life Blog
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Have you ever sold everything you own to travel? Do you have some killer Craig’s List advice, or better yet, crazy stories? Do share!
Matthew Karsten says
Excellent tips Ava! I agree that good photos can do wonders on Craigslist.
Kristin Addis says
Thanks Matt!
Laura says
When I moved out of my last apartment I sold everything on Craigslist and it was so easy! No one tried to haggle with me but then again I gave very reasonable prices b/c I wanted to sell everything in a few days. Glad you got everything off your hands and almost recovered all of your money too! Impressive!
Ava Apollo says
I gave pretty reasonable prices for the same reason. I kind of love CL now.
John says
Wow really great tips. I’m in the process of selling a bunch before moving and this is super helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Ava Apollo says
I wish you epic deal thrill
Mary Ann says
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
Ava Apollo says
Thanks Mary Ann!
Alexa Hart says
Impressive how you sold your stuff so quickly. GREAT tips!
Ava Apollo says
Price it to sell, that seems to be the real trick
Charles Kosman says
Nice post Ava!
We’ve bought and sold almost a complete house worth of furniture twice in the past 5 years using Craigslist and Kijiji. Good pictures, a realistic price and a nice tagline all make selling easier. Sitting on the floor for the last 5 days you’re in the house without a chair kinda sucks though. 😉
Good luck on your travels and Thailand rocks. Don’t worry, you’ll love it there and they’ll love you!
Ava Apollo says
Oh man, I don’t exactly want to have to do it again, but I’m glad it was so easy. In fact, I don’t know if I ever want “stuff” again. I had to make do for two nights without a bed, or chair. Never again!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Melanie says
Great post. I’m so glad you had a good experience, because I have the same worries you did before you gave it a try. I won’t be selling everything off, but definitely have a few things I could get rid of to free up storage space and make money to extend my trip. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Ava Apollo says
Please do!
Jodi says
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
I don’t know who you are but definitely you’re going to
a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!
lisa says
hi i just want to sell our used wooden bedframe and matresses..
Eileen says
This is amazing! I haven’t ‘hit the road’ permanently but I have moved apartments every year or so just to spice things up – it feels great to rid yourself of things and clutter.
Kristin says
I used to do the same back when I lived in the States full time. It’s so much easier without a bunch of belongings
Riedy M. says
Thanks for the tips! I’ve used a consignment shop twice, which worked out well once, but it is good to have options when I can’t find a good consignment shop. A lot of them don’t like to do anything online, so their not ideal if you are moving away from the area. The good one I used was The Find in Naples, FL. Here’s a link: http://www.thefindconsignment.com. I had bought some items there, so I think they were more likely to take my stuff when I was on the go again. Good idea about texting especially… one of the reasons I avoided selling on Craigslist.org was because I lived alone and didn’t want someone to find out when I was or wasn’t home. Clever idea of asking them to text you! Moving again at the end of the year, so I’ll try that this time… Again THANK YOU! Great blog.
mark kuhn says
Doing the same thing right now.
Moving to Trang Thailand in October:) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Kristin says
Good luck! Let me know how the sale goes 🙂
Biche | ChickAboutTown.com says
Wow. Reading about your experience made me relive the experience I went through 8 years ago. Like you, I quit the corporate world, sold all my stuff, started a blog and then jumped into the adventure of life. My feelings were not all quite as positive as yours. When I sold my fridge, which was one of the first electronics I’d purchased (and loved!), I called my Mom, and then had to go to bed and call it a day. Thanks for sharing your experience.
P.S. Enjoy your stay in Mozambique. I am one country over in Tanzania! 🙂
Kristin says
It is quite sobering to realize, “okay, it’s the end of an era, and I’m moving on now, no turning back.”
I want to see more of Tanzania! Certainly loving the beaches out here. They’re beautiful.
Christina says
Smart move to eliminate items with a ruthless attitude, deciding only to keep what you absolutely need. Your process of elimination to get rid of those who were not serious and contacting you via Craigslist was also quite smart.
Crystal Le says
Craigslist can be so great (and also super creepy). Completely advocate safe selling practices such as selling during the day and being cautious about people you interact with. I also love the line about telling readers your intent for selling (such as traveling). Not only does it spare you from some haggling, it also makes you feel like there’s a real person writing the ad on the other side of the computer.
Chrissy says
Thanx good tips ?