For the second weekend in a row I found myself using Gumtree, but this time as a buyer rather than as a seller. A need for a spare fridge/freezer had me scanning the local Reading and Oxford Gumtree sites and a bargain price of £50 of a fridge/freezer just over a year old was perfect.
Gumtree is a great site for buying and selling, and I’ve had success in the past with listing my regular eBay stock there too. Here are my top tips for making successful sales on Gumtree:
1) Include your phone number – If you only use the email feature you’ll get a lot fewer responses. Think of it like the local paper classified ads – make it easy for buyer to contact you quickly.
2) Be prepared to take offers – People love to haggle so don’t be too rigid with your prices.
3) As with eBay a clear honest concise description will avoid disappointed buyers – don’t forget they’re going to examine the goods in front of you anyway.
4) Be flexible as to when buyers can collect, evenings and weekends are a great time to list goods as buyers have time off work to collect (Friday is a good day to list if you want a quick sale).
5) Offer local delivery for large/heavy items if you have suitable transport.
6) Delete your ad as soon as it’s sold to stop the phone calls/emails
7) List on more than one Gumtree site – e.g. I list on (and buy from) both the Reading and Oxford sites. London is the busiest Gumtree site so consider also listing your item on the London Gumtree
If you’ve not tried selling on Gumtree or other classified sites (such as Craigslist if you’re in the US) I’d highly recommend it. It’s very little effort and best of all any sales through Gumtree are fee free.
