Kijiji-ness

Not only do I find spectacular deals on kijiji, but I also am able to sell a variety of things on there. I love this website. I used to be quite the eBayer, but then with all the shipping hassles and PayPal, I fell off the wagon. Ugh. So I've moved onto kijiji, which is local and even better, free to use!

I have been on a kijiji mission over the last few months, selling whatever I can, whenever I can, to help raise money for Rob's trip. And honestly, I would estimate we've sold over $1000 just off of kijiji in the last few months! Amazing right? of course there were a few big ticket items, like Rob's blue bass that he sold yesterday for $400 (and yes, it was a sad day, but knowing how much he wants to go to Kenya, I think it was worth it for him...not to mention it hasn't been played in, ahem, years!).

Rob bought a guitar a few months ago for $250 to teach guitar lessons with. A nice electric acoustic one, and then he decided he didn't really need the electric side of things (one you can plug into an amp), so he tried to sell it, ended up getting $260 for it (because he didn't have change for a $20. Smart man!). That day he found the exact same one he was going to buy in the store for $160...on kijiji for $100! So there was a cozy little $160 profit.

Those are rather large sales, but beyond those things I've sold anything from snow chains ($40), to 2-Way Radios ($15), to light fixtures ($10), to power bars ($1 each), to canning Jars ($2), to a Pay-As-You Go Cell Phone ($40), to an IKEA mirror ($2), to an IKEA Step Stool ($3), to an IKEA Storage Box ($5), to a Winnie the Pooh Duvet Cover ($5), to a MEC kid's snowsuit ($15), to a Clarinet ($40), and a Toy Story Foam Chair ($4). Phew. And honestly, the list goes on!

I currently have over 30 items for sale. I've just been going through our storage area, our kitchen, the kids rooms. Basically the entire house. In a sense, de-cluttering, but at the same time making a little profit as well. It never ceases to amaze me just how much stuff I have...that I just plain don't use, or need. I suppose this is the problem with North America, we have the "one day" mentality. "One day" that will come in handy, or "one day" I'll get into those jeans, or "one day" I will have the space to use this. Riiiggghhht!

I've been trying to fight that mentality in a lot of areas lately. I figure if one day I can fit into that size, I'll go out and buy the clothing then. And one day if I really need that item again, I'll buy it then. One day, if Rob really wants to get into bass playing again, we will look for a new one. Its not just for Kenya that this mentality arises, but just for plain simplicity. I mean our under stair storage space is considerably less cluttered with so much more room. Its incredible!

So for those of you who may want to give kijiji a whirl, I have a few tips...

1. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, take pictures of your items. And good pictures. I'm not going to drive 30 minutes across town for something that I can't see. Plus, people are more likely to respond to your ad when they can see the item they are asking about.

2. Take measurements! I know, sometimes its a pain in the butt, but again, when I was looking for a computer desk, I needed specific measurements. What a waste of everyone's time when I have to e-mail you, you go measure, and nope, its not the right size. Measure once, and you avoid repeatedly wasting your time measuring and replying to people who need measurements.

3. Reply promptly! I've had a textbook for sale over the last couple days, and lost the sale because the buyer was just cruising kijiji that day before class, and the first person who replied to her got the sale.

4. Be clear! If you lay it all out in your ad, you don't have to reply to a bunch of e-mails asking questions you should have answered in the first place.

5. Set a realistic price. Generally if I'm selling a specialty item, I will search kijiji first and look at the going rate. Or look at other online retailers. No one cares what you paid for it in 1972. It matters what its selling for now! Although my Dad often reminds me that their couch set cost over $3000 (To which I always reply, "Yes Dad, that was in 1977").

6. Be willing to bargain. If you need to get $100 on an item, you certainly don't list it for $100. You add $10 or $20 to the price so that people can talk you down and feel like they are getting a deal. Some people don't bother, some people will. I rarely talk people down unless their price is absolutely ridiculous.

7. Be willing to deliver. Sometimes. I generally make a point not to make deliveries, but in some cases I will. Call it karma, call it what you will, but I have had some really great people, complete strangers, be willing to come to my house and drop off couches (before we had van) or other large items.

8. Don't be scared to charge a delivery fee. If you are selling something big and have to deliver it across town, don't be scared to ask for some gas money. State this before any sort of delivery agreement is made. People are generally more than willing to shell out some cash if they don't have to do the driving.

9. Don't put up with nonsense. The first guy interested in the bass wanted $100 off, then he wanted Rob to pay for new strings ($25-$50), and then he wanted Rob to deliver it. Hm mmm. Cute. While there aren't many items I need to make a certain profit off of, I would rather wait to sell it to someone who can actually appreciate the value of it, instead of someone who is trying to squeeze every penny out of you they can. Hence, yesterday's sale of $400 (precisely what we were asking).

10. Give it a whirl! Seriously. kijiji is one of the most user friendly sites. Posting an ad is simple. Uploading pictures is a piece of cake. Writing up your ad, easy peasy. It may seem somewhat intimidating, but the process is painless. I can have 20 things listed within an hour. Give it a whirl!