I recently sold furniture on CL, and had no problems. You've got the big "issues" covered in terms of how to manage the contact and how to arrange the pick up.

My one piece of advice is: don't let people string you out. Don't hold an item for someone. It's first-come-first-served and that way you, hopefully, won't lose a sale.

The smaller items would probably be better sold on Ebay.
Sometimes making appointments to show is such a pain, it's just not worth it.

One thing I'd like to add - they arrange transportation and loading help. This way you can avoid those that want it delivered and you don't have to worry about lifting things unless you are willing to do either.

At the risk of stating the obvious - give detailed, honest descriptions & thorough pictures. When I've sold furniture on CL it nearly always goes to the first person who shows up, & I often get remarks about how the piece was exactly as described, & that people are tired of showing up to look at something that looks much worse than the pic.

I tend to price things low (with just a teeny amount of wiggle room), because usually I just want it gone. Folks already know they're getting a good deal, so they tend to not haggle much. I just try to make everything as easy & quick as possible.

And I will not inconvenience myself for an appointment. I'll schedule a meet when I know I'm going to be home anyway - just in case.

Thanks for the advice. I got 3 responses right away, all of which turned out to be phishing e-mails. I replied from a new e-mail box set up for the purpose, reiterating, cash only, you pick up, same as was in the ad. No reply from 2 of them, so they got the message. The third sent back the usual form scam letter, "We are sending a bank draft, please hold the item", etc. I read on the Craigs list forum to expect most of the first e-mails to be scammers, but its still discouraging. Thank heaven these Gardenweb forums are not chock full of scammers/cheats/crooks.

I was wondering if maybe this is not a good time to be selling. I listed the day after Christmas, thinking maybe people are home, looking at their furniture, and wanting something new (er). I priced both pieces a little over what I wanted, figuring people would expect to bargain me down. Maybe that wasnt the right strategy; Im still learning. If it doesnt sell in a week maybe I will price them down. I checked the competition, and mine was the best dresser offered by far, and the only one of its style, plus my pictures were clearer, better and brighter. The table I can always donate if someone doesnt want it, but the dresser is in perfect condition, so I think I should get something for it. Back in the pre-digital camera age I remember going to see furniture that was not as described, and how frustrating it was. So I was clear both in pictures and verbally; the table has a flaw and I both showed it and stated it. But now both of my ads are so buried under new ones that I wonder if anyone will see them.

I think the holidays are working against you. Most people are either recooperating, entertaining guests, away, or just too busy to think about buying furniture right now. I'd wait until early January before reposting.

I've bought several pieces of furniture on the Boston Craig's List, and I'm planning to sell a few of my own later on. I haven't seen your listings, but here are a few tips that I know would help the sellers in my area:

1) Always include great photos. I'm always amazed at how many sellers use photos that don't show the piece to advantage or that don't include any photos at all. CL lets you include 4 photos / listing, so take advantage of that and post a few closeups that show special details (dovetailed drawers, carvings, or hardware) as well as one of the whole piece, preferably in a nicely furnished room, not in a basement or garage. If the piece still has its original label and it's a well-known or sought-after company, post a photo of that.

2) Always post the dimensions. Amazingly, hardly any of the furniture listings on my local CL do this. When I call, people often say they don't know, or they tell me to bring a tape measure and measure it myself. Are they crazy? Who buys furniture without knowing whether it will fit? Also, make sure that the dimensions are unambiguous (30"Wx28"Hx18"D, not 30"x28"x18").

3) Give as much information as you can -- the name of the manufacturer, the type of wood if you know it, and the style. If you don't know what style something is, do some research or ask a friend who may know. I've seen pieces with ridiculously low asking prices because the sellers didn't know what they were selling or didn't use the correct terms. Also, make sure that the description makes sense -- something cannot be both Victorian AND Art Deco, or Art Nouveau AND Art Deco. (I've seen this on eBay many times -- I don't know whether the sellers are just stupid, or they think buyers are.)

4) Write as thorough a description as you can. Try to anticipate the questions that buyers are bound to ask. For example, if you're selling a chair, you could say that it's not wobbly and that the joints are tight. If the item has drawers, state how many and whether they're dovetailed. If you're listing something as an antique, give the age if you can. Also, remember that a lot of buyers may not know very much about furniture styles, so you might include some general information about the style of the piece (not just the name).

5) They to think about how the buyers will search for items. On a busy site just as the Boston CL, there are too many listings to just browse, so most buyers do keyword searches. However, if they don't use the same word that you've used, they won't see your listing. Try to include as many synonyms for the piece as are appropriate, and be sure to spell them correctly. For example, a chest of drawers might also be be described as a bureau, a dresser, a highboy, a lowboy, a vanity, a comode, and so forth. Similarly, if you're selling a nightstand, consider using the terms bedstand, bedtable, bedside table, and bed table.

6) If the item has any flaws, I think it's to your advantage to describe them. That way, you won't waste your time showing it to people who only want "perfect" pieces, and it will prevent people from using the flaws as an excuse to offer a much lower price. In effect, you're saying that you set your price taking the flaws into consideration.

Hope this helps!

Wow! Im impressed! Thanks so much. I thought I had a good ad but now I see how it could be improved. I think the synonyms in particular are a terrific idea. Im off to go edit!

I finally got one legitimate e-mail about the table, but I was busy and didnt call her for a few hours. I wasnt sure if I was going to be home tomorrow after all to show it. I waited until I knew. Then she said she had already found one! I didnt know I needed to jump on the prospects! Live and learn

I love all the hints, dilettante and I would add these:

1/ If your price is firm, please write that..I too like to price my things to go and price them at the point I think they would sell. As a result, I often have people offer more! But, I always write the price is firm b/c it seems to screen the lowballers out there.

2/ Re: keyword searches: If your item looks like a famous manufacturer or is...be sure to include that. People often do a key word search on "hot" brands...esp on the decorative items. ( i.e. southern living, ballard designs, etc.)

3/ I will often use craigslist as a clearing house for items I would put on ebay...it's free and you don't have to ship it off..I would try it!

4/ Do something to your heading to draw attention to your listing like WOW! or LIKE NEW! or someother asterisks/symbols.

5/ I have luck listing on the weekends...it seems people like to shop more then and I would defitnely wait until after the holidays to list when things have settled down for people.

Good Luck!

Do something to your heading to draw attention to your listing like WOW! or LIKE NEW! or some other asterisks/symbols.

The professional sellers, especially out-of-state sellers with cheap brand new furniture, tend to do that on my local craigslist. To me, it's a negative.

This is a followup. Im wondering if anyone can tell me how long it normally takes to sell furniture, or if price is the biggest factor. Does it have to be cheap to sell quickly???

I had no real responses after Christmas so re-listed a week later, and lowered the price for each. I revised my ads to include keywords and the other suggestions mentioned here. The table finally sold yesterday, a week and a half after first listing, for $80. All the inquiries Ive gotten have been for the table, even though that had some damage which I clearly described and showed in my pictures. I have had no one asking about the dresser at all, which is beautiful and in perfect condition, yet when I check the competition, I see pieces that are basically junk selling for a similar price. I listed it first at $425, figuring that anyone interested would expect to bargain me down. Then a week later relisted at $375, then today deleted the ad and reposted with some newly tweaked pictures, including one of the Lane logo inside a drawer at $275. It kills me to sell it for this because you could not even touch its quality compared to most modern pieces. Its a big heavy thing, I have no place to move this to while I wait for it to sell. I need to move my new set in here in 10 days, earlier if possible.

"Its a big heavy thing."

I took a look at your ad and it is very well written and concise. I don't know why it would not sell. The pictures look good. It's probably the case of getting the right buyer to come along.

Just some thoughts on why it is not selling.............It is an unusual style that does not have broad appeal. Don't get me wrong, I happen to love it but it is not what is selling in the stores these days and many people do not have vision or creativity to picture a piece like this in their home.........Your location is a bit far out for most types of people who would be interested in second hand furniture. Couple that with the fact that it is a huge and heavy piece and would need a rental truck to move unlike the dining table you sold that can be taken apart and slipped into a friend's borrowed SUV. Then the fact that many potential buyers would not be able to carry the thing up three flights of rounding stairs to their apartment or get it in an elevator if the building has one...........It could be because of the bad weather in the area. No one wants to move furniture in the winter unless they have to.

I would not lower the price any more than you have. You are right what the others are selling is junk for a lot more money. Have you considered the possibility of putting it in a consignment store?

Dilly dally, you have some very good points. Sometimes you need a fresh perspective. Like my location being a bit far out; there are a fair number of ads for the NW suburbs so I did not think of where the buyers might be coming from. I figured it would fit in an extended van or a pickup if a buyer knew someone who had one, but maybe they dont want to think that far. I mentioned credenza in the ad because it would make a good piece for an office. There are a fair number of sets for sale, maybe if a buyer has to rent a truck they figure they might as well buy a whole set. CL has a lot of ads for people with small trucks who will move 1 or 2 pieces for a reasonable price, maybe I will mention that in my ad too.

My alternative is a local quality consignment shop but I would have to pay them to move it to the shop, and then it still might not sell. I called the owner a while back, Ill have to send her the pictures and find out how much she would charge me to move it there.

Thank you for listening to my ideas. It is all just speculation as one cannot predict what the public wants or buys at all times and it all does vary regionally. What sells like crazy in Omaha does not do well in LA and vice versa.

Hmmm, just a thought maybe change the title on your CL ad to say that it is a campaign chest intead of dresser? Someone looking for such a thing will zoom in on the ad when they see those words. Someone else may not know what a campaign chest is and click it on out of curiosity and then fall in love with it. *Pecan dresser by Lane* makes me think of some outdated fussy, matronly piece from the '70s with drawers that smell like Shalimar and still have the Rose print drawer liner paper left in it. Even though you say it 'has clean lines' that does not sink into the potential buyer since almost everyone uses that phrase in their ad and they will think of 'pecan' and 'dresser' and think of Grandma. Maybe not even mention 'Pecan' in the title and only put it in as part of the description in the body of the text? I know that when I browse CL I skip anything that says 'Oak' in the title. It just makes me assume it is either '80s dated looking, or musty Victorian "antique", neither of which I like, and I'm sure I've missed out on some really nice finds by using that selective proceedure but there just is not that much, if any MCM or '50s stuff in oak, and I would rather save myself the time spent clicking on all those 'oak' furniture ads. OR, maybe put Pecan in the title and rename the piece a buffet or flat screen TV stand? *Pecan Campaign Chest for Flat Screen TV* might get more clicks? Lots of people are looking for nice TV stands instead of lots of people looking for dressers that they have no bed to match. Just make it clear in the ad that it does NOT have cutouts in the back.

I like how you gave the potential buyer ideas on how to use the piece as a credenza. Is the back of the piece finished? Maybe pointing that out if it is, could give potential buyers ideas for using it as a room divider? Maybe emphasize how the piece can function with a Asian/Oriental decor? Or MCM. The piece it so versatile. I am really surprised tht someone does not see the beauty of that piece.

More great ideas! It would make a great flat TV stand! You could FILL those drawers with DVDs! I still have a little boxy TV so tend to forget that people are buying these big monsters. Funny I have been casually browsing for a TV and did not get really interested because it first glance all I saw were big flat ones. (sounds of head-slapping)

A question or two, if you dont mind:

1) what is MCM? Is that mid-century modern?
2) what is it about the phrase "Pecan dresser by Lane" that gives the impression it is fussy or dated? Is it the Pecan wood, the name "dresser", or the manufacturer? Until I bought this piece I had never seen anything in Pecan, and have seen very little since, so I thought that was unusual and a drawing card; but maybe not! Admittedly I dont shop much and so am probably furniture naïve. I described the color carefully as I thought no one would otherwise know what to expect in Pecan, and might think the color in the picture was misleading.

I know you are not supposed to cross post, but I wonder about posting again with a different title and some different text? I never think of it as a dresser, because we actually never used it as one except for the first year. When we moved to this house it "became" a dining room buffet because I needed linen storage and it was a great size for serving. I have seen some people do that, listing the same table 2 different ways. See which gets a bite?

Can I hire you as my marketing director??

I sold a dining set a few months ago on the Boston list. The first time I got lots of emails but no one came to see it. Second time, same thing. Third time, a buyer came and took it all away, he was thrilled.

1.) Yes, Mid-Century Modern. Its not really a true MCM piece but can blend in the right home setting. It also can look great in a British Colonial setting. Versatile.

2.) It is the combination of those three words together. When you think of *Teak* furniture you think of a particular style right? Danish Modern? Hawaiian? Sure all furniture styles have probably been made in all types of wood but generally there are styles and woods, that go hand in hand. Early American style = Maple.

When a person sees and ad for a *Pecan Dresser by Lane* they will envision something like this:

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Posting a dresser for sale without a matching bed and chest of drawers and night stands, will not bring as much interest and clicks to the ad. Lots of people want everything to match. (Not me!) A lonely dresser does not bring a flood of interest and clicks. If someone was looking to buy just a dresser for their kid's room this would be too sophisticated and expensive.

It would not hurt to delete your current ad so that you are not cross posting, and try to relist it as a TV stand for a big flat screen TV. Say in your text that you are currently using it as a nice TV stand but that it is a dresser.

I'm selling a light cart on CL right now, here is the kind of ad to avoid!!!! No sucker in this house. Christy

Hello ,
Thanks for your quick response, I am quite satisfied with the
condition of the item and price.Am very much interested in buying the
item from you and I would like to make an outright purchase
immediately so I will advice that you withdraw the advert from the
web. I don't mind adding $50 for you to do that. I will be paying with
a certified bank check.
Furthermore my mover will be coming over for the pick up as I
might not be available to come for the pick up myself but am OK with
the information from the ad. I will need the following information
details to make payment arrangement done asap.
1,Your full name to be on the Payment.
2,Your mailing address including zip code.
3,Your phone number both land and mobile.
I will be awaiting your response which should entail these information.
Best.

Those scammers are hysterical, arent they? Hard to believe there is anyone left in this country who hasnt seen phishing e-mails like that a hundred times. I am an artist and even though I dont publish my e-mail address, or have a website, get sometimes several of those a day, offering to "overpay" for a piece of my artwork that they want to buy (sight unseen), through some 3rd party. Must be the entire population of a small country generating these inquiries.

Posting a dresser for sale without a matching bed and chest of drawers and night stands, will not bring as much interest and clicks to the ad.

Except for when you do have an entire set of something to sell. In that case people only want part of it. At least that is what happened to me when I was selling a dining room set with china cabinet. People wanted either the china cabinet OR the table and chairs. I finally dropped the price super low and got rid of the set.

I had a version of that with my first sale, which was the table and 3 chairs. I decided to "throw in" the chairs as an incentive to buy the table. But I had more people interested in the chairs! It turned out that people already had some chairs of the same style but wanted to add more. I dont think I would have sold the table without those 3 stained and beaten up chairs. To think that we threw out the other chairs! Who knew.

I only saved these from my husband because we needed something to use in the basement to climb up on and clamber into the crawl space. Now I will have to find something else. Im looking forward to seeing my husband go downstairs to put the Christmas decorations away, and realize we have nothing left to climb on now.

linnea56, if you lived in the DC metro area, I would have taken that beautiful piece off your hands already. I have been looking (search term in title only w/ pic) for a buffet/sideboard/credenza/ or (as a last resort) dresser. If you have all those terms in the title, it will give an immediate idea of the potential of the furniture you are offering. I might have passed over a pecan dresser, as my family has owned some amazingly ugly pieces of pecan furniture.

In my area, the biggest problem with Craigslist listings is the common tendency to omit measurements. Another problem is that people just don't know what to call the items they are trying to sell. One man has been trying to sell an amazing mid-century modern queen bedroom set for months, but the silly fellow uses 'double' in the title instead of queen. Another person listed a lovely mid-century credenza as a 'short wardrobe' (60 miles away, unfortunately). China cabinets often are listed as buffets! Argh! Rant over, sorry.

Update: the dresser/buffet was finally sold tonight! (a/k/a chest, credenza, flat screen TV stand, LOL!) Thanks for all the suggestions. I appreciate the time people took to be of assistance. I learned a lot, and will save these ideas for the future. Thanks especially to dilly_dally for her many good ideas. It really helped.

It took almost 3 weeks to sell the dresser. Im not sure if thats typical or not. It sold after I re-titled it as a campaign chest. (Yes!) From my first to third posting I lowered the price from $425 to $275. But I was happy with what I got in the end. I had overpriced it originally figuring I would be bargained down. With both that and the table that sold a little faster, they paid the reduced price listed in the second (or third) ad and did not ask for a further reduction. Each was sold to the one and only person who came to look at it. Not sure if thats typical either. I had sent pictures to the local consignment shop as a backup, she said she would price it at $450, but I would have gotten half of that, and would have had to pay $50 to have it moved there.

I sold the dresser/buffet just in time; I have just enough time to get the carpets shampooed before I go Saturday to pick up the CL dining room set that I paid a deposit on in December! I couldnt see bringing that in until I moved out my old stuff.

Thanks again!

I'm glad that worked out for you. I didn't see your dresser, so cannot comment on the look for the price. But very often, things are over-priced when they don't sell soon.

Thank you for the thank you!

I'm glad it worked out and you got it sold in time.

Do you have any safety hints for a single gal trying to sell furniture or anything else on CL? There is no "wait until DH is home" and I suppose answering the door with a drawn gun in your hand is a no-no. ;-)

Oceanna,

Have someone else at the house, a friend etc. Or, if it's a small item, take it to a store or some other public place and meet the buyer there.