The Wonderful World of Craiglist
July 31, 2005 – 11:35 pmPaul recently wrote an ode to Craigslist, and after today’s experience, I must join him.
I sold my very first item on Craigslist today: a computer desk I bought two years ago when I moved to California. With the move to the new apartment, I found that a smaller computer cart would work better than the larger desk I had. I placed the ad this afternoon, and within ten minutes of posting it, I had an email in my inbox. A woman from Burbank offered to buy the desk from me immediately, in the sense that she would drive out to Pasadena within the hour to pick it up. I told her “sure, come get it”.
Within two hours of posting an ad for my desk, I no longer owned it. I was amazed at how simple and painless the transaction was. You don’t have to set up an account or anything. Write a description, add a picture of the item if you’d like, respond to an email, and click ’submit’. That’s it. You’re done.
And I’m $30 richer because of it.
3 Responses to “The Wonderful World of Craiglist”
You know, you should have checked with your friends to see if they needed a computer desk before putting it on Craigslist. I’m hoping to replace my current desk with one that is actually intended to be a computer desk. The desks that the Catalinas are furnished with really suck. Using one of them for long periods of time is a surefire way to get carpal tunnel syndrome.
By Adam on Aug 1, 2005 at 1:13 am
You’re right, in another world where I was perfectly considerate, I probably should have tried to see if any of my friends needed the desk. There are a couple of problems with that idea in this world, however:
1) I probably would not have received a response within ten minutes of my first call.
2) I almost definitely would have not had someone come pick it up out of my apartment within two hours of my first phone call.
3) I would have had a hard time asking a friend of mine for money for the desk. That would have been better for you, worse for me.
4) I would not have learned how to sell something on Craiglist. Eventually I may sell my old laptop, and I definitely feel more comfortable doing that now that I’ve tried my hand with a less valuable item.
By jjk on Aug 1, 2005 at 9:34 am
Definitely let me know about the laptop before you sell it.
By Adam on Aug 1, 2005 at 7:32 pm