Craigslist

Throughout the years I have had great success with my listings on Craigslist. Before we went sailing, we sold both our cars there. Over the years we have sold kayaks, a kiln, some paintings, pottery creations, numerous pieces of furniture, plus several one-of-a-kind obscure items and have even advertised garage sales. Back from sailing and preparing to barge into Europe, we have recently sold our satellite phone, folding bikes, un-needed luggage, a bistro table with eight chairs, and so on.

We have witnessed the slow disappearance of small secondhand furniture shops, antique stores and pawn shops. There are still some left, but many fewer. Replacing them are online places like e-Bay, Craigslist and Kijiji. 

In the past I used buy-and-sell or placed short ads in the classified sections of local newspapers. Every letter counted and had to be paid for. Abbreviations, often obscure, were used to condense it as much as possible. A photograph to accompany the ad was too costly. Newspapers relied on advertisements for for most of their revenue. The many small classified ads for buying and selling, for job hunting and housing have migrated to online sites. The papers are left with little else besides birth and wedding announcements and obituaries.

Now with Craigslist and other such sites we can easily list our items for sale, with full text descriptions and many photos, all at no cost. A quick search will find us what we seek, and we can often choose  from several. We can opt for the nicest, the least expensive, the nearest, the friendliest-sounding seller. There are housing and job listings, both available and wanted. There are even are free items, needing only carting away. An immense variety is available to be scanned at a glance. 

Still, precaution needs to be taken. I normally sell from my garage and move the item there with the garage door open for viewing. Otherwise a coffee shop or a apartment lobby. When I do sell from the home I am never alone. So far, we have met many interesting people, had some laughs, swapped stories about other items they have just bought. We have often assisted in moving the item. One young girl came to buy a Queen Anne chair, sat in it to try it out, stayed for two hours chatting then pick it up and left. We waved good-bye, close the door, count our money and smiled.

In the picture are some not-for-sale items, remnants from Michael's grandfather's secondhand furniture shop of the 1950s and early 60s, where the owner had first picks.