We’ve got a nice leather sofa and loveseat we no longer need. The subject of selling them on Craigs List came up. My initital rection is that A) used furniture doesn’t command a good price, B) this is especially the case for Craigs List shoppers and C) it’s a pain in the ass.
My SO likes to buy furniture on Craigslist, and the general rule of thumb we use is to look at paying about 50% of the new price. We might pay up to 2/3s of the new price (depending on condition), but generally 1/2 is about right. We’ve had nothing but good experiences with Craigslist.
I’m always hesitant to let people from CL come to my house, which is pretty much what you have to do with furniture. However., the last two couches I just gave away, even though one was a nice leather one I could have probably gotten some money for. It turned out that the people who came to get them really seemed to both need and appreciate them, so that was nice. “Free Leather Couch” with a pic… I had like 10 calls in 10 minutes.
We have some furniture we don’t need and considered selling it on Craigslist or through a newspaper/shopper ad in our area, but it turned out we could write off as much on our taxes by donating it as we could get if we sold it. Since I hate engaging in business dealings with random strangers, we’re having the Salvation Army pick it up along with other household donation items. They have lists on their donation site that tell you what general value you can claim for items donated. If you itemize, it might be worth checking out.
I’ve sold and bought multiple couches, dining room tables, etc from craigslist and all of the transactions have been with normal people and both parties were satisfied.
Add me to the bandwagon of people who have had positive experiences selling on Craigslist. I gave away some old couches and sold my washer and dryer when moving out of an apartment a few years ago. Be aware that many of the people who say they’re interested / coming right over don’t actually show, but apart from some email and phone tag, I find it’s a great way to get rid of stuff, and you can’t beat the price.
My sister bought a good amount of nice wooden furniture on Craigslist. I’m sure there are morons that contact sellers, but she paid something like 2/3 their original price and considered herself lucky to get it (and she had to drive well out into the sticks several times as well). Furniture is a brisk trade on Craigslist and there are plenty of good buyers.
We sold our dining room table on Craigslist within three days. Had a couple of false leads, but was sold for asking price without problems. I also sold some concert tix I had won on the radio on the site site without issues. If u can weed thru the scammers trying to send u a cashier’s check, and know who you’re dealing with, it’s a viable option. This was Craigslist Augusta (GA), and I can’t speak for other cities, but it worked for me.
You also have to remember with the bed bug scare upholstered furniture often doesn’t sell well. I would never buy anything upholstered from anything but a store. And even then it doesn’t guarantee the bed bugs aren’t there, but it helps.