CL buyers. What about the ad makes you buy?

[liz]

I was reading some of the other threads where people seem to do really well selling their items. Specifically, I have childrens clothing to sell.

What about an ad makes it more appealing? I have included decent pictures and general descriptions of what is offered, but have gotten no hits. I am trying to sell clothing in one lot (eg all 3-6 months together).

What gets me is that many of the ads are as follows:
"boys clothing. good condition. call xxx-xxxx. serious buyers only"

Does anyone really respond to this? Am I putting in too much info? I realize that clothing is hard to sell, so I am wondering what you all look for when buying. FWIW, I have had decent luck selling baby swings, etc.

[Andi98989]

not sure how big your lots are, but I like smaller lots compared to large ones.

[DebbieJ]

clear pictures, detailed descriptions, and honest pricing.

[ha98ed14]

What makes me buy is having a reasonable price, but I will preface that by saying that I always go on CL looking for something specific: toddler bed, tricycle, coffee table. IME, clothes, especially baby clothes, just do not sell well on CL. There are just too many sources of them out there between baby gifts people get, hand-me-down and even Goodwill. I tried to sell mine and go no hits. I had a garage sale and sold most of it and got $100 for it. So maybe consider a yard sale. I also priced them pretty cheap. Onesies were a quarter. Complete outfits for $1. But it was worth it. The stuff was not doing me any good taking up space in my closet.

[lovebebes]

Sell it. As in really SELL IT. Tell the buyer for example what makes this lot practical: easy to mix and match/colors go together well/they will get a lot of wear out of it because it transitions well from one season to the next or x or y or z.

Definitely nice pictures. I know this sucks for you as the seller (who wants to think about ironing right) but if your item looks crumpled up I think its automatically less attractive.

May I ask what kind of stuff you are selling?

[liz]

May I ask what kind of stuff you are selling?

Sure- this is from my listing:

"0-3 Months: Everything you need to bring baby home. Over 50 pieces of clothing including: footed sleepers, gowns, kimono style long and short sleeve shirts, onesies, pants and even a going home outfit (bought from a baby boutique). I have many more pictures of the clothes. All pieces were for our child (who has since outgrown them). From a smoke-free and pet-free home. All washed in dye-free and perfume-free detergent. Asking 40$ for the lot."


This is my first time selling anything, I have never done yard sales and never find the time to stop at them, so I don't really have a any ideas as how to "sell" used goods. I'll take any comments, because I would love to sell this stuff :)
Oh, and I only have a few of the onesies (in really good shape, I purged the iffy ones) so the bulk of the lot is really gowns, fleece sleepers, cotton sleepers etc.

[ha98ed14]

Sure- this is from my listing:

"0-3 Months: Everything you need to bring baby home. Over 50 pieces of clothing including: footed sleepers, gowns, kimono style long and short sleeve shirts, onesies, pants and even a going home outfit (bought from a baby boutique). I have many more pictures of the clothes. All pieces were for our child (who has since outgrown them). From a smoke-free and pet-free home. All washed in dye-free and perfume-free detergent. Asking 40$ for the lot."



Honestly, I think the reason that you are not getting any bites is that people have lots of other sources for baby clothes these sizes, namely gifts and hand-me-downs.

FWIW, I never buy clothes on CL, in part because people try to sell them in lots. That's me. Certainly *some* people must, but I think a lot more people go looking for Kettler trikes, trip trapp (sp?) high chairs, train tables, things that you can get for half of the retail price if you bought the item new. Find a good sale a kids clothes can be had for close to what most people want to sell their stuff for...and it's new.

[twowhat?]

I also go looking for specific things as a buyer.

If you're a seller, the key is

1) knowing what the competition is (i.e. a learning tower here has NO competition vs baby clothes - TONS of competition)
2) if there's competition, then be, well, competitive:)

To be competitive:

Put together attractive lots (Jammies. Wooden toys. Soft toys. Leggings. Play dresses.) Check other's prices. Price yours accordingly, and then advertise it above the competition. For me, I upload great pics to flickr and then embed the links, so that buyers open the ad and right away get to see full-sized pics of my items for sale. I take the time to take good pics, as well as detail pics. For example, I just sold a lot of about 10 pairs of footed jammies, all Carters brand. I took pics of the jammies, as well as a close-up shot of the Carter's tag at the back. I priced it lower than the competition ($25) because I really just wanted them gone. They went in 2 days.

I think there were only 2 things I have ever listed that didn't sell: 1) an old dining table and 2) a lot of toys, which we ended up giving away. Everything else has sold. Double snap n go, with carseats, boppies, reflux wedges, walkers, bottles, maternity clothes, furniture, my husband's clothes, even my double electric pump (yeah, yeah, I know - but it was the Ameda and so a closed system). Boppies for example were packaged together with replacement covers. Maternity clothes were grouped in a lot of one size. Double snap n go was packaged together with car seats, and I said in the ad that I would consider selling separately. Pump was packaged together with breastmilk storage bags, the gel soothies for sore nipples that I never used, unonpened tube of lanolin. Nothing has taken longer than a week to sell.

[lovebebes]

Sure- this is from my listing:

"0-3 Months: Everything you need to bring baby home. Over 50 pieces of clothing including: footed sleepers, gowns, kimono style long and short sleeve shirts, onesies, pants and even a going home outfit (bought from a baby boutique). I have many more pictures of the clothes. All pieces were for our child (who has since outgrown them). From a smoke-free and pet-free home. All washed in dye-free and perfume-free detergent. Asking 40$ for the lot."


This is my first time selling anything, I have never done yard sales and never find the time to stop at them, so I don't really have a any ideas as how to "sell" used goods. I'll take any comments, because I would love to sell this stuff :)
Oh, and I only have a few of the onesies (in really good shape, I purged the iffy ones) so the bulk of the lot is really gowns, fleece sleepers, cotton sleepers etc.

I do agree that baby clothes are hard to sell on something like CL unfortunately, however its worth a try right?
I think your description is nice but if it were me I would have done it more detailed. Thats just me though, I actually enjoy selling stuff when i do decide to do it. On many occasions I bought something used off CL and then when I was done with it I would sell it on CL for more than what I paid for it (not clothes though, im talking bassinets etc).

Like this:

Footed sleepers: Footed sleepers are the best! Easy and quick and keep baby warm at night. There are 3 cotton sleepers and one fleece-all are in great condition, worn no more than x times.

Gowns: These are my favorite for when baby first comes home because it is so easy to change their diaper in a gown. There are 6 gowns in this lot-all cotton, all in great condition.

Kimono shirts: the BEST for new babies since you don't need to put them over the head. There are three here-one is organic cotton!

....

[jgenie]

Have you tried BBB swap?

[WatchingThemGrow]

SIL says I'm a brand snob. I'll only buy clothes from CL if it is a brand I know/like.

[Smillow]

I have never bought clothes on CL because I have never seen any good ads that target what I am looking for. I don't need "Lots" of every different thing in a particular size. I would have responded to ads that were all one type of thing in a reasonable quantity.

For example:
Five long sleeved onsies. Size 18 months. Carter brand. 100% cotton. Gently worn. Then include a good picture not a picture of a mess of clothes on the floor, which most CL adds with clothes pictures end up looking like!

I would break items into small lots & add a keyword & note it to let people know that you have other items available.

I would also group a lot by size and brand. Mixing Circo, Carters, Gymbo, ON, Jumping Bean & Gerber doesn't work IMO.

[liz]

wow- great tips and ideas, thanks.

I like the idea of listing them separately (eg all the footed sleepers). Makes sense, because when we have purchased from CL, we were looking for something specific. A few questions though:

1) would you list all the pieces per price or group them?

for example: cotton pants .50/piece, footed sleepers 1.00/piece etc. OR 4 cotton pants 2.00$, 6 footed sleepers 6.00$

2)since you can only list in one section on CL at a time, would it be overwhelming to list everything in one ad?

[Smillow]

wow- great tips and ideas, thanks.

I like the idea of listing them separately (eg all the footed sleepers). Makes sense, because when we have purchased from CL, we were looking for something specific. A few questions though:

1) would you list all the pieces per price or group them?

for example: cotton pants .50/piece, footed sleepers 1.00/piece etc. OR 4 cotton pants 2.00$, 6 footed sleepers 6.00$

2)since you can only list in one section on CL at a time, would it be overwhelming to list everything in one ad?

For 1) I would group them unless you had 20 of something. But then I might break it down into groups of 5 items.

2) ??? I would limit the amount in one ad so that I could include a really good picture of each individual item. But I don't understand what you mean - I would put any kids clothes in "Baby & Kids" and leave it at that.

[liz]

2) ??? I would limit the amount in one ad so that I could include a really good picture of each individual item. But I don't understand what you mean - I would put any kids clothes in "Baby & Kids" and leave it at that.

Sorry, I mean I also have more items to sell than what I listed. In addition to the items mentioned in the ad I have Halo sleepsacks, long sleeve fleece sleepsacks, nike sneakers (ridiculous, but they were a gift and were darn cute) and some Eric Carle slippers (again ridiculous for a newborn, but someone might like them, right?).

[Smillow]

Sorry, I mean I also have more items to sell than what I listed. In addition to the items mentioned in the ad I have Halo sleepsacks, long sleeve fleece sleepsacks, nike sneakers (ridiculous, but they were a gift and were darn cute) and some Eric Carle slippers (again ridiculous for a newborn, but someone might like them, right?).

I would list them in a separate ad. Mostly to insure that the picture was good enough & to not overwhelm people.

[liz]

I would list them in a separate ad. Mostly to insure that the picture was good enough & to not overwhelm people.

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I thought you were only allowed to post one item at a time per section on CL? Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Smillow]

you can post many ads in the same section. if tere is a limit, i don't know about it.
nak

[c&j04]

It's common to see 10+ listings in a row from same seller on my CL.

[lhafer]

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I thought you were only allowed to post one item at a time per section on CL? Please correct me if I am wrong.

You can list as many ads as you want on CL, as long as it is not the SAME ad.

I wish I could help you. I buy and sell a lot on CL, but never baby clothes. Other baby stuff, definitely. I just went to a consignment shop for the clothes. It was too much of a hassle otherwise. What I can't sell in the consignment shop, I take to Good Will and get a tax receipt. That way at least I can get credit for it.

[liz]

you can post many ads in the same section. if tere is a limit, i don't know about it.
nak


It's common to see 10+ listings in a row from same seller on my CL.

Nice! I thought that was too good to be true. I will be tweaking my ads on CL now. Thank you to everyone!

[Smillow]

Slightly OT - I live between 2 Craigslist cities & in order to post the same ad in both I have 2 accounts w/different email addresses.:bag (You didn't hear this from me;))

[♥ms.pacman♥]

i don't buy/sell on CL much, but when i search for things, i automatically dismiss things w/o pictures (or with crappy pics). the resolution on CL pics is so low it's hard to tell..so i just upload on flickr and then embed the pic via link. i like detailed pics and nice descriptions.

eta: i forgot to mention, i like it when people post the retail value (or what they paid for the item new), for comparison. if i see something on CL that is on sale for $25 but i know was $75+ retail new (because it's a popular, high-quality brand) then i'm *much* more likely to buy the item. i hate it when i see used baby items listed for close to retail or close to what i could get the item myself online or wherever...i automatically dismiss those.if i can't find a decent deal, i just forget CL and buy it new (i personally don't bother trying to haggle). for ex, i was looking for a BabyEinstein jumperoo on CL, and almost everyone in my area was selling them used for around $65. ridiculous, since it retails for $90 at BRU and i could get it for $72 with a 20% off coupon and just drive to BRU and get it on my own whenever was convenient for me, rather than deal with setting up a time/place to meet, driving out of my way, etc.

[MamaMolly]

I search specific brands on CL so maybe you could include that info in your ad. HTH

[khm]

I agree w/ those saying that nearly everyone is so overloaded with 0-3 month clothing that they don't need to buy and "everything you need" lot on CL.

Totally break them down into onsie lots, jammie lots, romper lots, etc.

I've also inserted a unique word and said something like -

Check my other ads by searching for "Moving2iowa" in the body of the ad :) !!

or having something unique so that they know I do have a lot of stuff to unload that is in a similar vein.

But, basically, selling clothes on CL can be hard. It's just such a common, overabundant thing in most areas. I have never, ever bought clothes on CL, it just seems like too much of a pain to bother with. I'd rather hit a garage sale or shop online than deal with people on CL. ;)

[mom2one]

I have sold all of ds stuff on CL, he is now six.

I lime what other PP have said about doing a listing for one item, example, sleepers size 0-3 months.
List your name brands to help items sell. Condition is key too - like new, just worn once, if that applies.

I also sell by size, and then just list my items, how many I have and price.

Example, size 3T long sleeve shirts, have 12, $1 each

I take a pic of the lot and offer to send additional pics if they are interested in certain items.
Sometimes I do have to realist a time or two to sell out. If you go with doing a specific listing, I do add at the bottom of my listing that I am also selling x y and z.

I do get people who want a certain item of mine, example snow boots, I will figure out shipping cost and ship it to them. They pay by pay pal and then I ship the item. So if you are up to it, you can throw that to them. Buyer pays shipping cost.


Hope that helps, happy selling!

[vonfirmath]

For 0-3m stuff I'd have been absolutely uninterested in onesies, but jumped at a gown or kimono lot! the gowns are hard to find even in the store!

The only "lot" I have ever bought (a bag of stuff) was when I needed winter clothes in a new size and it was out of the stores. I found a lot that advertised LS/long pants in my desired size at a reasonable price and bought it.