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

All I got was: *This posting has been deleted by its author.* *(The title on the listings page will be removed in just a few minutes.)* Is it something that can be posted and shared? (Was it the "Hooker Bedroom Furniture" that I saw recently on CL in my area? What were they thinking? Sure Hooker is a furniture brand name to brag about, but I think they could have worded it differently.)

I have successfully sold on CL, but it has taken a lot of NO SHOWS and a lot of SCAMS to do so. My tips: (these may be duplicate, I didn't read through every post) * Put good info in your title, and as much info as possible in your message body. Include every term someone might search for if they wanted your item. Synonyms, and not so synonyms. :) "table and chairs", "dining set", "dining room furniture", etc. Even if it means a string of adjectives, or using different terminology ever time you state something - it will generate more viewers. (Great example of this - I picked up a hand-finished ORB king sized headboard, footboard and rails for $20. The seller had been posting it simply as "metal bed" and wasn't getting any traffic, so she kept dropping & dropping her price because she needed to get rid of it. I know this would have sold long before I saw the ad if she had been able to generate more hits. Good for me, I guess!) * If you know the maker, include it... same with store. A lot of people will search by store name because it represents their overall style. * Include the style. E.g. I may not search for "farm table" but I might search for "rustic dining". * If you don't want to haggle, put in the ad that the prie is firm. Otherwise you'll probably have to deal with it. * Echoing previous: include a notice that the ad will be removed when the item is sold. Otherwise you'll get countless "is it still available?" emails to respond to.

Having just now looked at your second set of pictures I'm going to reconsider one thing, correct another, and add yet another comment or two. Reconsidering, I think it's very possible that the primary wood is Walnut. The grain on your drawer front could easily have been plainsawn from a crotch or a shoulder of a native Black Walnut tree the size of which were being cut during the last half of the 19th century. They don't come that size any more for commercial cutters. Correcting, it is obviously the quarter-turn piece of trim that you are missing, not a piece of the straight run as I wrote. No excuse for my mistake. Lazy_gardens got it right and correctly described the machine tool procedure for replicating the missing piece. It's maybe a little more complicated than you might think if you're not a woodworker, but it's pretty straightforward procedure if you are. Since you had a nice closeup photo of the drawerfront I'll say a bit more about the wood. The trim moulding is of pieces like this is usually quartersawn Walnut. I've enlarged this view quite a bit, and I assume if you click on it you'll see it as I do. In the enlargement, which is rather fuzzy, you'll see small lines which may actually be there or may simply be a result of the enlargement process... so get out your magnifying glass and look at that part of the drawer front where the finish is pretty much worn off (I circled in red one such area). If you see an alternating pattern of long and short straight lines, parallel to each other, the larger not much longer than 1/4 inch, the shorter closer to 1/8 inch, then you're looking at quarter-sawn Walnut. You are not looking at the "grain" of the wood, you're looking at pores. If you don't see the pattern then you're probably not looking at Walnut, at least not quarter-sawn Walnut; maybe Cherry, maybe Poplar, but not quarter-sawn Walnut. You can try looking at the drawer front itself, but that piece of wood was far more likely plain-sawn (also called falt-sawn), so what you'll be seeing is the grain, not the pores, making a certain identification more problematic. The other comment was about your link to Shellac finishing. That had more good info than any piece on shellac finishing I've ever seen on the web. The only fault I find is that he should have told you that the brush you want is one of those "white-haired, single-use, bare-wood-handled" brushes that are the cheapest brushes you can find at the hardware store or home center. Nothing else is better for applying shellac. And if you want to use it more than once, you don't need to use straight ammonia, just mix a splash of ammonia with enough water to dip the brush into. When it makes contact with the shellac it will almost instantly turn purple, rub it in your palm (yes, you can use a glove if you must), rinse it, and then wash it with hand soap and tepid water. The bristles will no longer be white, but when dry, the brush will be ready to use again. Needless to say, they're so cheap you can afford more than one.