This is how I sell on CL

Thanks for the ad ideas. I'm planning on listing one of my 10525s on CL soon, and that looks like a good ad.

One thing I'm going to add in my listing is something to the order of , "Serious inquiries only. If it's more than you're willing to spend, pass on it...Don't waste time with a lowball offer."
I work for a car dealership, and we get tons of emails from people shooting ridiculous offers on cars. Most are near half what we've listed them for! I mean, really...Are we that desperate or stupid?
I'd like to throw some sort of "no tire kickers" disclaimer in our vehicle ads, but people might misinterpret that as rude, and it may cost us a sale, so my boss declined the idea.

For CL, I always include my phone number, and indicate that I prefer not to answer emails due to spam, etc. Or, they can send an email with their phone number in it so I can call them. That has cut down on the tire kickers and the obvious "phishers" out there.

I don't know about other folks, but if I see "firm" in the ad, it is an immediate turn off. I think it's fair to assume some people want to bargain a little, so add a little cushion in there. Almost always I will come down on my price, but sometimes I won't budge - if there has been a lot of interest for example. Either way, I never write, "firm" in my ads.

It's funny when you see things like, " $x FIRM or best offer"....hmmm?

So not to detract from this thread's topic too much, but what do you think a near-mint 10525 is worth? I doubt it has more than 80-100 hours on it.
I don't need to sell it, but if I get good money for it, I'll let it go. I have plenty of mowers and since I have a couple multiples, I figure I'd get rid of some of the "twins".

Hard to say without a picture.

There is a guy in Milwaukee that will be all over you once listed on C/L. You will see it on Ebay in a few hours after selling it. Paint will be touched up, full tune-up, carb rebuilt, and sharpened blade. It will be listed as from his private collection. :fing20:

bruce...

my_crib_too said:

Hard to say without a picture.

There is a guy in Milwaukee that will be all over you once listed on C/L. You will see it on Ebay in a few hours after selling it. Paint will be touched up, full tune-up, carb rebuilt, and sharpened blade. It will be listed as from his private collection. :fing20:

bruce...

Click to expand...

I don't have pics yet, but it is nice. As nice as most members' machines here. Clean enough to eat off of, and the muffler is still bright and shiny.

Good to know about C/L. That's why I'm going to get top buck for it or keep it. I don't want someone to come in and lowball me only to flip it for a quick buck. If he pays me what I want, and then flips it, that's his business though.

I try not to be pushy. A few things I've learned is you want bigger more detailed pictures. I upload to photobucket and use there HTML function. You want 1-2 minutes worth of reading. Keeping them on the add longer gives them more time to think about and convince themselves. A lot of people look at craigslist for fun. 1-2 minutes allows them to eat some conflakes and sip coffee. Clean your mower, I spent about 2 hours getting this one ready to go. It was in good shape to begin with. And most of all Do not misrepresent your items and never be dishonest. I'm careful to only say the truth.

You also want to leave negative words and phrases out of your add. Like "no tire kickers", "don't offer me $5 because I won't take it", "if your not serious don't call", etc. One thing they tell us in leasing homes is never say no. Answer the question anyway you like but do it without saying no. The key is remain positive.

I had trouble selling my 10525 for $150 it took weeks. You might be better off trying your luck with ebay. The 10525 is popular on ebay.