Can You Really Make $500 A Week On Craigslist?

Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by birdie28a

I tend not to believe things work until I actually have done them.

So how's the $24,000 in 60 days by selling Halloween costumes without a website going?

Anyway, regarding your post let me say this from experience:

My experience in this comes two fold: First, my wife and her nutty friends as well as several other people in town. I've seen this up close.

The idea that you've tested here (getting free stuff off CL and then selling it for profit) has been done and thought of again and again and again. And again.

Unless a person really intends to invest a lot of time in this, this is a looser by the numbers.

Why?

First, I find it amazing that a great TV was posted in the free section of CL and you somehow managed to be the first or one of the first to get in touch with the person giving it away.

Usually, as soon as a "quality" item is posted in the free section there's TONS of emails and phone calls to that person promising that the item will be picked up ASAP. In other words, unless you're there in front of your PC or tablet or smartphone refreshing pages, the odds are YOU AREN'T GONNA SNAG THE GOOD STUFF.

...meaning if you're not snagging the majority of quality items for the hours of time it would take to keep viewing what's posted, you're making pennies per hour.

Next, transportation costs.

Depending on your geographical location (big city / rural), how much in fuel is one gonna spend driving back and fourth to pick up stuff?

Add in your time, now fuel costs (and the inevitable joke or scam where the "free" item isn't there) things are getting expensive.

You get the idea.

It's pretty labor intensive and quite frankly has a lot to do with luck. As soon as something great is posted, that person has dozens of emails (or is getting dozens of phone calls). What are the odds that your email is going to get picked out of all the other emails begging to get that "free" item?

I can't say it won't work for you.

I can't say that it won't work for others.

All I can say is seeing people around where I live do it (or attempt it) it's a loosing, long-term "income" generating venture.

There's ways to make money with Craigslist for sure, but I don't personally believe that this is one of the better ways...

Hey, Halloween is coming up. Do the costume thing instead!

[ 2 ] Thanks
3 replies

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7071356].message }}

birdie28a

12 years ago

Originally Posted by GMD

So how's the $24,000 in 60 days by selling Halloween costumes without a website going?

Anyway, regarding your post let me say this from experience:

My experience in this comes two fold: First, my wife and her nutty friends as well as several other people in town. I've seen this up close.

The idea that you've tested here (getting free stuff off CL and then selling it for profit) has been done and thought of again and again and again. And again.

Unless a person really intends to invest a lot of time in this, this is a looser by the numbers.

Why?

First, I find it amazing that a great TV was posted in the free section of CL and you somehow managed to be the first or one of the first to get in touch with the person giving it away.

Usually, as soon as a "quality" item is posted in the free section there's TONS of emails and phone calls to that person promising that the item will be picked up ASAP. In other words, unless you're there in front of your PC or tablet or smartphone refreshing pages, the odds are YOU AREN'T GONNA SNAG THE GOOD STUFF.

...meaning if you're not snagging the majority of quality items for the hours of time it would take to keep viewing what's posted, you're making pennies per hour.

Next, transportation costs.

Depending on your geographical location (big city / rural), how much in fuel is one gonna spend driving back and fourth to pick up stuff?

Add in your time, now fuel costs (and the inevitable joke or scam where the "free" item isn't there) things are getting expensive.

You get the idea.

It's pretty labor intensive and quite frankly has a lot to do with luck. As soon as something great is posted, that person has dozens of emails (or is getting dozens of phone calls). What are the odds that your email is going to get picked out of all the other emails begging to get that "free" item?

I can't say it won't work for you.

I can't say that it won't work for others.

All I can say is seeing people around where I live do it (or attempt it) it's a loosing, long-term "income" generating venture.

There's ways to make money with Craigslist for sure, but I don't personally believe that this is one of the better ways...

Hey, Halloween is coming up. Do the costume thing instead!

Thanks for the encouragement

As I stated this would not be a business model for me but it was fun to play around with it. I hear people say all the time they can't make any money online and this is a very good way to get started. The goal of the guy that I got the idea from was to look for a free item because he had no money to invest.

I never really thought about using CL as a marketing tool in the past because it just seemed to be at the bottom of the scale.

I think CL is a good platform for driving traffic to your offers, but do I want to run around town picking up items to clean off and make a few bucks? probably not but if you didn't have any money I'm sure I could be persuaded

Your right Halloween costumes are a much easier sell this time of year.

[ 1 ] Thanks

Signature

===> ClickBank Authority Sites Guarantee 1st Page Google Video Listing $75
===> FREE 300 Niche Keywords, Low Comp,$1.00 CPC, 1,000 + Searches, + EMD's.

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7071537].message }}

rfuture2009

12 years ago

Originally Posted by GMD

First, I find it amazing that a great TV was posted in the free section of CL and you somehow managed to be the first or one of the first to get in touch with the person giving it away.

!

This part of the post struck my funny bone.... you found it amazing that they somehow managed to be the first one that contacted the person

Somebody has to be the first...... thanks for the grand laugh, I will be smiling this whoe day

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7105340].message }}

jamesrich1

12 years ago

Originally Posted by GMD

So how's the $24,000 in 60 days by selling Halloween costumes without a website going?

Anyway, regarding your post let me say this from experience:

My experience in this comes two fold: First, my wife and her nutty friends as well as several other people in town. I've seen this up close.

The idea that you've tested here (getting free stuff off CL and then selling it for profit) has been done and thought of again and again and again. And again.

Unless a person really intends to invest a lot of time in this, this is a looser by the numbers.

Why?

First, I find it amazing that a great TV was posted in the free section of CL and you somehow managed to be the first or one of the first to get in touch with the person giving it away.

Usually, as soon as a "quality" item is posted in the free section there's TONS of emails and phone calls to that person promising that the item will be picked up ASAP. In other words, unless you're there in front of your PC or tablet or smartphone refreshing pages, the odds are YOU AREN'T GONNA SNAG THE GOOD STUFF.

...meaning if you're not snagging the majority of quality items for the hours of time it would take to keep viewing what's posted, you're making pennies per hour.

Next, transportation costs.

Depending on your geographical location (big city / rural), how much in fuel is one gonna spend driving back and fourth to pick up stuff?

Add in your time, now fuel costs (and the inevitable joke or scam where the "free" item isn't there) things are getting expensive.

You get the idea.

It's pretty labor intensive and quite frankly has a lot to do with luck. As soon as something great is posted, that person has dozens of emails (or is getting dozens of phone calls). What are the odds that your email is going to get picked out of all the other emails begging to get that "free" item?

I can't say it won't work for you.

I can't say that it won't work for others.

All I can say is seeing people around where I live do it (or attempt it) it's a loosing, long-term "income" generating venture.

There's ways to make money with Craigslist for sure, but I don't personally believe that this is one of the better ways...

Hey, Halloween is coming up. Do the costume thing instead!

I couldn't of said it better myself. If you are really desperate for money and have a lot of time on your hands then it can work from time to time. As far as a business model... I wouldn't touch that with a 100 foot pole.

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7164317].message }}

Scott Murdaugh

12 years ago

Craigslist is a dynamic marketplace.

Anytime there's a market where you can buy low and sell high you can make money.

Not sure if the $500 a week would be worth the effort though. If you specialized in repairing PC's or cars or Xbox's or something, then I could see it.

Or figured out a way to focus on desperate buyers. IMO there's easier money out there.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Over $30 Million In Marketing Data And A Decade Of Consistently Generating Breakthrough Results - Ask How My Unique Approach To Copy Typically Outsells Traditional Ads By Up To 29x Or More...

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7071366].message }}

MartinBuckley 12 years ago

Craigslist is gold mine when it come to buying and selling stuff, such as for me I buy used or broken laptops all the time off Craigslist and fix and re-sell them for a very nice profits, so for me making $500 a week off Craigslist is no problem

All the best,

Maritn
- Thanks
Signature
FREE MONEY MAKING GUIDE BELOW...
Mailbox Profits - How To Make Huge Profits Mailing Flyers From Home!
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7071423].message }}

goguy

12 years ago

It's definitely possible to make MORE than $500 a week on craigslist.

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7071686].message }}

asadulhaq

12 years ago

Its more of a spam now I think, people just ruined it. I did tried posting my ads there but don't know why get deleted or don't stay there for long.

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7071746].message }}

laurencewins

12 years ago

Gumtree is another site with tons of freebies as well. You can set it to only show you local stuff. Remember that everyone values their time differently. Some see the value of doing what the OP suggested. Others frown on the idea.
To each their own. It DOES work if you are organised and patient.

Thanks

Signature

Cheers, Laurence.
Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7072231].message }}

seo3659

12 years ago

Yes really Craiglist is great, & its good for business

Thanks

Signature

SEO Services & SEO Expert -- Hire SEO Expert
Free Classifieds -- UsaUk-Classifieds.com Free Classifieds Ads

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7104648].message }}

kingofthesouth

12 years ago

I have used Craigslist to make over six figures in a few months! It's still and shall remain one of the top sites for buying, selling, and lead generation.

Thanks

Signature

Easy $14k to $30k in the next 30 to 90 days. Click here to see the system
Get 50k ringless voicemail leads + income. Click HERE

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7104678].message }}

PerformanceMan

12 years ago

Craigslist used to be a great place for hookers to get paid.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Free Special Report on Mindset - Level Up with Positive Thinking

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7104689].message }}

Geekgirl01 12 years ago

Originally Posted by PerformanceMan

Craigslist used to be a great place for hookers to get paid.

You been pimping out again?
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7137548].message }}

snapping

12 years ago

when I moved to the new home, I remodeled the house. after the work was done, we still had some paint left. They were in original package and were packaged in big bucket, and I think it was sold in home depot for about $50/bucket.

In the house, the previous owner left a big furniture and a big old style TV. My wife decided to give it away. we could not even move the furniture. so she posted a ads on craigslist at 11pm at night. after 5 minutes, someone replied and said they would pick it up the next day.

The next day, when I came back from work, the furniture/tv were gone. and the paint were gone too, because my wife thought they were cheap in homedepot (I remember totally has 5-6 buckets left, worth >$300, and they are as new as you bought from HD), so my wife gave them away too.

my point is: you never know. it could be this or that reason, you may find $ in craigslist, but, can you have this kind of luck everyday? I only buy a new home once a while,

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7106051].message }}

Gorgasm

12 years ago

''Time is money'' I guess

Everything is possible, 2 or 3 people working together it might be easier!

Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7106186].message }}

WFAlex 12 years ago

I've heard that with automating the posting on Craigslist via bots you can really ramp up the revenue in a short time and make a lot more than just $500 a week...however, CL always comes up with new ways to counter spam, you'll need phone verified accounts, proxies and all sorts of stuff to not get your ads ghosted. But definitely possible to make some good money there.
- Thanks
Signature
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7106222].message }}

accendo

12 years ago

There a whole show on A&E called Barter Kings based on this principle. The get something cheap and keep bartering up until they have something huge. Just so happens on the show the barter up person always accepts what they are offering which is of lesser value. So in theory, yes, but as they person mentioned about - dont forget to factor in gas, time, etc.

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

Upcoming Launch - Learn How to Identify High Probability Trading Setups

Every Accomplishment began with a Decision to Try
One Minute Inspirations

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7137331].message }}

THK 12 years ago

Originally Posted by accendo

... Just so happens on the show the barter up person always accepts what they are offering which is of lesser value...

Not always. Here is a deal that didn't work-

Barter Kings: Saddle Trade Fail - YouTube
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7164669].message }}

Brains Gone Wild

12 years ago

Not sure about the buying & selling thing on CL but I've cracked the code on marketing affiliate offers (which is tricky). I know there are a ton of videos on Youtube about buying and selling on CL and Goodwill, etc.. Maybe worth checking those out. I've never been a 'flipper' kind of dude but I'm sure there is some money in it. Either way, CL gets too much traffic to ignore as a source of leads and $$$. Good luck!

Thanks

Signature

The 1st and Only Webinar Platform for Internet Marketers is here! Click here to create your account now!

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7155412].message }}

RoniShwartz

12 years ago

[QUOTE=GMD;7071356]
Usually, as soon as a "quality" item is posted in the free section there's TONS of emails and phone calls to that person promising that the item will be picked up ASAP. In other words, unless you're there in front of your PC or tablet or smartphone refreshing pages, the odds are YOU AREN'T GONNA SNAG THE GOOD STUFF.[QUOTE]

Would you say that CL and Gumtree are good places to advertise my free travel-eBooks ??? Do you think I can get some traffic from there ?

Cheers. Roni

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7162385].message }}

TMercT

12 years ago

Wow this sounds interesting at all, I always felt skeptical about craigslist and money making but this actually sounds great.

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7162919].message }}

Jessie Stevens

12 years ago

I can make $500 a month on CraigsList. If I could make $500 a week or day it would be great, but not likely.

Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7162944].message }}

DavePalermo 12 years ago

In the offline marketing section of this forum there are many guys making a ton off of Craigslist, myself included.
I make 5 figures a month marketing my offline services on Craigslist.
You just need to do it right.
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7163050].message }}

refermoneyus

12 years ago

Ive used craigslist many times to sell cars for people. Now im in my own affiliate referral business where i post in the job section. I get a alot of hits everyday and it helps me cause i get paid every day to my paypal. also backpage is a great place to make money too.

Thanks

Signature

Read how i went from no money to making over $1000 a day. No experience necessary. Im paid daily.
http://www.refermoneyus.blogspot.com

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7163396].message }}

Michael Ten

12 years ago

Nice idea! I've heard of some guy like getting a new house or car from trading up on Craigslist sort of like you did!

Thanks

Signature

New Book! Radical Life Extension. Help me to hasten the defeat of aging.
Michael Ten . Do Nothing Does . All Books by Michael Ten

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7164023].message }}

gregowr

12 years ago

Excellent idea. Just another variation of buying low and selling high. Has been around since the beginning of time! Isn't Capitalism wonderful?!

Maybe expand your business by adding some services. Or sell items you find offline (for cheap) then reselling them on CL.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7164072].message }}

blogformoney

12 years ago

Craigslist is an interesting marketplace. I have made money selling my web design services on it. There is an interesting movie called "Craigslist Joe" where a guy lives for free for a month using Craigslist ads.

Thanks

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7166246].message }}

RedShifted

12 years ago

$500 a week? Its not only possible, but I make at least 2-3 times that on CL every single week. And no, I don't buy and sell garbage like a lot of people do. I sell and broker services (for small businesses) and other large contract deals. One thing I love about marketers, they are ALWAYS focused on where the "big money" is. That is the HUGEST VULNERABILITY that marketers have. Hit yourself over the head with a frying pan untill you understand this fact. Why does this make them vulnerable? Its all comes down to perception. They automatically skew "big money" in their minds to "big traffic".

Let me sell 500 items for $20. So I need to get how much traffic? A LOT. *Big traffic*
Let me sell 100 items for $100. So I need to get how much traffic? A LOT. *Big traffic*

The big number to me, is always how much traffic they need to get. When marketers think in terms of "big money", they RARELY actually think of "big money", but where the MOST traffic is.

What if they actually focused on what "big money" really is... which is BIG MONEY? (am I sounding redundant yet? good)

Let me sell 1 item or service for $10,000-$24,000. So I need how much traffic? Barely any.
The REAL PROBLEM here is when the money number, outweighs the traffic number, people ALWAYS ASSUME "it must be a competitive niche". There are so many marketers reading this right now, who think, "oh what he's doing HAS TO BE in a competitive niche".

I'm sorry, but thats total bs.

There are dozens of niches, BEGGING to be "exploited" by a talented marketer. There are so many talented marketers on this forum, but it seems 90% of them are blinded by the wrong number. You DON'T NEED to make a product for thousands of dollars. Why not just find someone local, already offering a GOOD SERVICE for thousands of dollars? Then help them sell it? Why does this scare so many people?

Some weeks I might only get 1 sale, but damn does that sale feel good. If that job sold for $14,000, I'm getting a nice commission from that job. Its very seldom that I go a week without at least 1-2 sales. Most of the time its between 3-5. On certain weeks, we'll close around 5-7 deals and its like hitting the lotto for me.

The more content I make, and the more places I deliver it, the more consistent this entire model is becoming. In fact, I've been using CL for about 6 months, and youtube for only about 1 month. My first month on youtube is already showing me that youtube has far more potential than CL (mainly because your pitch "sticks" forever once you get a video ranked #1 - btw, I ranked one of my videos in only 2 days, and we already sold our first job from that video yesterday for $7,400). So at some point, I will probably stop using CL altogether. People have no idea how much opportunity there still is on youtube.

So the short answer is OF COURSE. You can make money ANYWHERE. Its NOT about *where you are* its about *what you're doing*. Please, never forget that. This all comes down to SALES & POSITIONING. One of my videos on youtube only gets about 10-15 views a week. But they are HIGHLY TARGETED, and when clients see my video, THEY CALL. I send that call to someone I know and trust, who's great at selling their service, and they close the job for a lot of money.

The coolest part about this? You can upload video thumbnails right on CL. So right now, ALL my income comes from videos. Doesn't matter where they are, as long as the right people watch them, thats all that matters.

-Red

[ 1 ] Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7166347].message }}

mootonandy

12 years ago

Originally Posted by RedShifted

$500 a week? Its not only possible, but I make at least 2-3 times that on CL every single week. And no, I don't buy and sell garbage like a lot of people do. I sell and broker services (for small businesses) and other large contract deals. One thing I love about marketers, they are ALWAYS focused on where the "big money" is. That is the HUGEST VULNERABILITY that marketers have. Hit yourself over the head with a frying pan untill you understand this fact. Why does this make them vulnerable? Its all comes down to perception. They automatically skew "big money" in their minds to "big traffic".

Let me sell 500 items for $20. So I need to get how much traffic? A LOT. *Big traffic*
Let me sell 100 items for $100. So I need to get how much traffic? A LOT. *Big traffic*

The big number to me, is always how much traffic they need to get. When marketers think in terms of "big money", they RARELY actually think of "big money", but where the MOST traffic is.

What if they actually focused on what "big money" really is... which is BIG MONEY? (am I sounding redundant yet? good)

Let me sell 1 item or service for $10,000-$24,000. So I need how much traffic? Barely any.
The REAL PROBLEM here is when the money number, outweighs the traffic number, people ALWAYS ASSUME "it must be a competitive niche". There are so many marketers reading this right now, who think, "oh what he's doing HAS TO BE in a competitive niche".

I'm sorry, but thats total bs.

There are dozens of niches, BEGGING to be "exploited" by a talented marketer. There are so many talented marketers on this forum, but it seems 90% of them are blinded by the wrong number. You DON'T NEED to make a product for thousands of dollars. Why not just find someone local, already offering a GOOD SERVICE for thousands of dollars? Then help them sell it? Why does this scare so many people?

Some weeks I might only get 1 sale, but damn does that sale feel good. If that job sold for $14,000, I'm getting a nice commission from that job. Its very seldom that I go a week without at least 1-2 sales. Most of the time its between 3-5. On certain weeks, we'll close around 5-7 deals and its like hitting the lotto for me.

The more content I make, and the more places I deliver it, the more consistent this entire model is becoming. In fact, I've been using CL for about 6 months, and youtube for only about 1 month. My first month on youtube is already showing me that youtube has far more potential than CL (mainly because your pitch "sticks" forever once you get a video ranked #1 - btw, I ranked one of my videos in only 2 days, and we already sold our first job from that video yesterday for $7,400). So at some point, I will probably stop using CL altogether. People have no idea how much opportunity there still is on youtube.

So the short answer is OF COURSE. You can make money ANYWHERE. Its NOT about *where you are* its about *what you're doing*. Please, never forget that. This all comes down to SALES, POSITIONING & EXPOSURE. Whats sad is, most people have no idea what that even means. Because its a lot less about exposure, than it is about sales and positioning. One of my videos on youtube only gets about 10-15 views a week. But they are HIGHLY TARGETED, and when clients see my video, THEY CALL. I send that call to someone I know and trust, who's great at selling their service, and they close the job for a lot of money.

The coolest part about this? You can upload video thumbnails right on CL. So right now, ALL my income comes from videos. Doesn't matter where they are, as long as the right people watch them, thats all that matters.

-Red

Can you help me sell my turd polishing service on CL?

Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7166494].message }}

RedShifted 12 years ago

Originally Posted by mootonandy

Can you help me sell my turd polishing service on CL?

I've been doing sound engineering for 12 years. There are things a person does for money, then things people do for passion. The interesting part about this is, the better you are at making money overall, the more time you can spend doing stupid shit that barely makes you any money. Or, you can even commit random acts of kindness for FREE.

If I had it my way, I'd have a multimillion dollar business where I sit down all day and edit sounds. Thats what I love to do. But the music industry and services like these, are not "easy money". In fact, theres almost no money in them at all. Which is why I took my sig down. Thanks for reminding me.

Now, would you like me to sell you something more expensive? Because trust me, I can do that. I can take 1/10th of the creative intelligence thats invested in my REAL business, and sell it on WF for 10xs the average cost of a WSO. Why don't I do that? Its all about how people balance their real passions, with the things that make them real money.

People are never as simple as you think. But yes, I can help you polish a turd. That'll be $100 please. My "nonturd" special is a lot cheaper btw.
- [ 1 ] Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7166559].message }}

Rebeccha Haase

12 years ago

Craigslist can be a good business source. A lot of potential customers are always available there. If you can target a specific market and can offer something special, you will be able to earn good money with it.

Also, I know several freelancer who are earning money by only posting ads in Craigslist. People have different ways to earn from the same place.

Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7166579].message }}

affirmwealth 11 years ago

I just couldn't resist this thread.

Last year, I gave away a really nice couch for free on Craigslist. I used a forwarding number because I didn't want to put my real cell number on the Internet. I got 42 voicemails in less than an hour! I had to shut off the ad immediately. The people that came to pick up my couch were so grateful.

However recently, I was looking to purchase a car on Craigslist, as I had luck purchasing one off Craigslist a few years ago. Every single ad that I replied to turned out to be a scam. They all wanted me to wire money out of state. I was so disappointed.

There is money to be made at GoodWill, for sure. I have purchased a 3/4 length leather jacket with a fur collar, a 3/4 length suede jacket with a lining, and a leather Coach purse, all for the magical price of $12.99 each. :-)

Sometimes you'll even come across an item that still has the tag on it!
- Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7242054].message }}

rockong

11 years ago

"Building a business" on CL is rather labor intensive if you ask me If you're looking for a quick buck, it's not bad. But otherwise, I'd rather spend the time to learn how to build a real sustainable business, instead of one that requires me to constantly do work in order to keep up unpredictable income

Thanks

Signature

Are you a SEO company? Make extra money by becoming a white label backlink audits and removals service reseller.

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7242080].message }}

Can You Really Make $500 A Week On Craigslist?

Trending Topics

Any thoughts on golf's latest phenom...Scottie Scheffler??

Should i Index Author pages?

best high quality crypto traffic.

What's the Best IM-Related Skill to Learn Today That Can Help in the Future?

Some interesting stats about brand comms