In our limited experience, some furniture items sell fast and others don't attract attention. We sold a leather sofa and an original design leather chair pretty fast. But a good but old maple double bed (head board, foot board, rails and slats to support a box spring and mattress (not included) did not sell, so we donated it.

If you have the time and the space (and the patience), you might discontinue the ad for a couple of weeks and then put in a new one. Try to think up a new selling style. It might be you're just not attracting the right potential buyers. By the way, at the end of the ad, I always say, "Priced for quick sale. Cash and carry only."

Good luck.

HA! I tried to GIVE AWAY free a Queen Shifman Box Spring and Mattress on Craigslist. Made the mistake of putting my cell phone number in the ad. Got calls all hours of the day and night with the most ridiculous questions one can possibly imagine. Yet no one ever came and got the free set. Eventually I tired of the nonsense calls and pulled the ad, took the Shifman to the homeless shelter where they were glad to have it.

Craigslist works good for some things like bicycles and cars, but I've not had very good experience using it for home furnishings.

Duane Collie

Some tips for craig's list:

Free voice mail numbers and forwarding numbers are available (grandcentral.com for example) or for a small fee like Skype, which gives you a some control over who's calling and when. Generally you don't want a personal number posted in public on the internet, nothing good will come of it. If the interested party won't leave a message they aren't serious.

Be realistic about the price. You're also competing against Salvation Army, all the GOB sales, and the Chinese products at places like Jennifer Convertibles and Value City that are nice looking and pretty cheap - and new. Ask your accountant if you're better off donating it.

And always be polite about it in your posting and responses (verbal and written.) Remember, they're the ones doing you the favor.

I am convinced that some people respond to so many ads they don't even remember what item you are talking about when you give them an answer.

LOL... I can't tell you how many times customers have called us to check on an order - that they placed with another store! Sometimes they go to so many stores they can't even remember who they ended up buying from!

Besides overpricing, one frequent mistake I see in Craigslist ad, is not making USE of the free ad. For example, I often see something like this:

"Nice sofa, fair condition. $150. Call for details."

The ad may or may NOT have a photo.

A much better ad would include 2 or 3 photos, from different angle, maybe with a closeup of the fabric, and read like this:

"Very nice 94" long 3 cushion sofa in a silver taupe stripe damask. This is a very comfortable sofa from a clean home.
This piece is about 5 years old and we are only selling it so cheaply because we need the room for a new set of furniture. We accept cash only and are asking $100.
We are located right off Hwy 41 at the North end of town."

You answer most obvious questions in the ad, including measurements and condition. You appeal to the bank account by mentioning that YOU think it's priced attractively. And your photos should tell the rest of the story. I would not comment on pets in the home unless asked.

Now. I have a question for you on your pricing. You said, "I have already marked them down $150 from my original price." Please don't think I'm trying to be snide, because I'm not. But if you intended to put them on the curb for FREE, why in the world would you price them so high that you've already marked them "down" $150?? Sofas, used, 12 yrs old, are not in high demand. Put $100 or less on them, fix your ad, and give it another shot.

Wish you well......
Red

Well, they are finally sold (sort of). A lady gave me a $50 deposit with a total offer of $275.

Off to buy new dishes...