Newbs...Have you tried it? Craigslist - ebay arbitrage

This is not anything original. it's just a proven method that I've used on a regular basis to make a little extra scratch. It's a good way for newbs to make some money and fund other endeavors. What do I do? I buy things on CL and sell them on ebay for more money. I also use a couple of "deal of the day" sites that I constantly scan looking for good deals. Nothing complicated. ANYONE can do it.

I began getting interested in this when I bought some "stupid freaking e-books" on ebay. Most of you guys probably know the ones I'm talking about. The ebooks basically explain methods of buying and selling. I'll keep this simple.

Everyday, several times a day, I search the collectibles and electronics section of my local CL. When I find something interesting (maybe an antique) or that I know is under priced (maybe an ipod someone got for Christmas but they already had one) I then research it on ebay using ebays "completed listings" tool. If I'm sure I can make a decent profit on it I'll contact the seller and tell him/her I'm interested. One important bit of info. I'd like to give is that I'll always try and meet with the sellers face to face before agreeing on a set price. Keep in mind I know from their CL listing that the item is already priced right but I want to get the price even lower. For example, If they assume I'm paying $200, I'll pull $175 out of my pocket and say that's the best I can do. I've gotten good at this and most people will usually take it because they don't want the hassle of driving home with no money Then I simply list the item on ebay and if I've done my homework correctly I should make a nice little profit.

Remember, there's a lot of great deals out there today. People need cash for a variety of reasons and as a result they become "motivated sellers". If you're quick and keep abreast of the new postings that are continually being added to your local CL, I guarantee you can find at least 1 good deal a day. I "shoot" for a minimum of $25 profit on each deal but that's me. Pick whatever number you're comfortable with.

I could go into more detail but the post would get to long (I hate that) so feel free to ask any questions.

Good Luck,
gun-shy

nice i used to do this with laptops but the other way around, i would find good deals on ebay, buy them, and then sell them locally in CL because there's never a shortage of ppl who are scared of online shopping and wont buy off ebay even if there are better deals.

This is definitely a great, proven method to make money. Personally it requires a bit too much time, correspondence for my taste, but there are any noobs reading this, there is really no excuse why you can make a good weekly income simply by buying at a reduced price on one market place, and selling it for a higher price on another.

This can work in reverse as well. Pick up some cheap merch on ebay and relist it locally on CL. But I'm with Btheory, there is a lot of time involved with this.

lol, yeah! i used to do this the other way.

i used to buy shoes on ebay for cheap, and sell them on CL.

..

but i always ended up keeping those shoes for myself..

Yeah...there's a lot of spins you can put on this and it's definitely not something that I want to be doing forever. That being said, if you're technically challenged (like myself) or a complete newb, it's a nice little method to make a buck.

This is a great method. I used this when I was waiting to start my new job. A lot of people are just giving away electronics that you can make a killing on. My set ROI depended on how far I had to drive for the item.

I here ya info. Gas prices are down to about $1.75 per in my area but several months ago I was very much taking driving distance into consideration. I try and meet people half-way.

The thing I love about finding items on CL is that a lot of CL users aren't very computer savy. Ebay intimidates them and they just want to get rid of their stuff with as little hassle as possible. After reading some of your comments I'm going to take a closer look at buying on egay and selling on CL. Haven't done any of that yet.

Do to the economy and the fact people get a lot of shit they don't want/need for Christmas this is a perfect time to make a little cash with this method. Also, every once in awhile I hit a "home run" and make $8-$900 + on 1 item. I've done this several times. You just gotta keep your eyes open and be quicker than the other guy.

i tried to do this (didn't try very hard, to be honest) a while ago; there's some guy that offers a software package to help with it. you guys have probably heard of it "craigsagent" or something like that. basically does more or less this process somewhat automated.

Yeah...I've heard of Craigsagent but I don't know much about it. The thing is that with the way I do this I keep it VERY simple. I only use CL Syracuse and I discipline myself to focus on only 2 categories. This allows me to manually keep updated with not much work. If I was in a bigger city maybe automating might be the way to go? The thing is I don't want to invest to much time or effort into this. It's good for bringing in a little extra cash while I'm learning better IM techniques.

It also frees me up from coming to BHW and begging for $10