Your Craigslist Classifieds Authority Site

Lets go over some steps to use in writing your descriptions so that you can follow, understand, and use them in your own postings:

1. Say what you are selling: I like to start off my posting with saying what I am selling. Something like “I am selling this ______________”

2. Say why you are selling it: Say why you are selling the item; tell a story. This gives the buyer some comfort that the item is not stolen or that there is nothing wrong with it. Such as:

“I'm selling this item because my brother gave this to me for my birthday, but I already had one”, or

“My landlord is on my case so I need to sell some things fast to cover my rent!”.

If you have a short story about why you are selling the item, or some history about it, by all means say it. If there is sentimental value attached to it, relay that as well.

Be truthful and remember you are telling the buyer this because it humanizes you and makes them feel like they know you a bit better, so they will trust you more.

3. Talk about the condition of the item: Describe what the condition of the item truly is. Describe the good points AND the bad points. You may be thinking, “Why should I talk about the scratches?”, or ”Should I really mention that dent?”. The answer is yes. Think about it, when you sell something on Craigslist, most of the time the transaction is done in person so if you falsely describe the item and then go to make the transaction, the person will be upset when he sees the defects for himself. You want your customers to be HAPPY, so treat them as you would want to be treated and level with them.

Also, when someone has clicked on your title and is reading your description they will be impressed with your honesty if you tell the true condition of the item and be more likely to buy from you. because you'll come off as an honest person.

You need to look at how Craigslist is set up and how people have no real way of knowing if a seller is truthful or not. There is no feedback rating, or seller history. That is why I like to make my descriptions to have a little personality.

Here's an example of how I would describe the condition of an item:

“This computer is in excellent condition. The only flaw is a small scratch on the front of the case near the logo. The rest of the computer looks great.”

or

“This laptop is in very good condition. The case is spotless and shows minimal use. The computer works flawlessly. The only noticeable blemish is a dark spot on the bottom left hand corner of the screen and a scratch on the bottom case next to the battery.” (notice how I put the bad points at the end of the post rather than starting off the description with all the flaws)

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