Another Craig's List Success Story

Actual photo on Craig's List.

I thought I would share with all of you my latest Craig's List find.

Two days ago my daughters asked me to attend their puppet show. They have been very into puppet shows lately.

While watching them perform this show while unsuccessfully ducking behind pillows on their bed I thought, maybe we should buy a puppet theater.

Of course I could make a puppet theater, but I've had that thought about a dozen times already with nothing coming of it. I know myself well enough to know that I probably won't get around to making a puppet theater until my kids are too old to enjoy it. Or I'd make a cheap and fast one out of cardboard which my toddler would destroy within a week.

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Thrift Store Find: "Like New" Birthday Gifts for Kids

Birthday parties. When you have young children, it seems like another one is always looming right around the corner. Since I hate to shop, I tend to stock up on gifts when I have the chance so I don't have to run out and grab something for every kid's birthday. I keep a bin of kids' gifts in the garage right next to my bin of to-be-reused gift wrapping supplies.

My favorite place to stock up on children's gifts is the thrift store. Oh, I have found some real gems in the toy department. A large wooden construction kit of bolts and screws. Ravensburg puzzles and Eeboo sewing cards. Problem is, you can only give second-hand gifts to close friends who you know will appreciate... a second-hand gift. Which is not every parent, nor every child to be sure. But now and then, you can sneak in a second-hand gift even to the unsuspecting. For me, that sneaky second-hand gift is most often not a toy (since, sadly, most folks expect a new toy to be all wrapped up in a lot of packaging and sealed in plastic wrap) but a book. A used book purchased at the thrift store that looks like new. Or if not "like new," then at least no worse-looking than many of the toddler-handled books you find at Barnes & Nobles.

The photo above shows a stash I purchased for around $10.

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How to Sell with Confidence on Craig's List

Last week I posted (Almost) Everything I've Ever Bought or Sold on Craig's List and How to Buy with Confidence on Craig's List. In today's post I'm sharing some tips that I hope will give you the confidence to try selling a used item on Craig's List. I've heard people say buying and selling on Craig's List seems creepy. Maybe you heard a sketchy story on the local news involving Craig's List once. Having sold tons of items on Craig's List, I can tell you that almost everyone buying something that you would sell on Craig's List is just an ordinary person like you. Take a few precautions, and you should never find yourself in an iffy situation.

Note that Craig's List is used for other things besides buying and selling (personals, services like tutoring and child care, job postings, rental housing). This post is about selling an item in the "For Sale" section. Go to the Craig's List site page, click on your nearest metropolitan area, then click on "my account" where you will be prompted to sign in or create an account. Once signed in and on your account page, click on the "New Posting" tab at the top of the page. You can also click on the "For Sale" heading and then "Post" in the top right corner.

 A few tips for selling safely and successfully on Craig's List

Deal locally with people you can meet in person, and you will avoid 99% of all scams according to Craig's List. As a general rule, you should hand over your item only when the payment is in your hand.

Always ask to be paid in cash. Put it right in your post: "CASH ONLY." I've had a few people want to pay me by check, especially for larger amounts, but I always insist on cash. I let them know where the nearest ATM is and wait for them to make a withdrawal.

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How to Buy with Confidence on Craig's List

Earlier this week I posted (Almost) Everything I've Ever Bought or Sold on Craig's List. In today's post I'm sharing some tips that I hope will give you the confidence to try buying a used item on Craig's List. I've heard people say buying on Craig's List seems creepy. Maybe you heard a sketchy story on the local news involving Craig's List once. Having purchased tons of items on Craig's List, I can tell you that almost everyone selling something that you would want to purchase on Craig's List is just an ordinary person like you. Take a few precautions, and you should never find yourself in an iffy situation.

Note that Craig's List is used for other things besides buying and selling (personals, services like tutoring and child care, job postings, rental housing). This post is about buying an item that is in the "For Sale" section. Go to the Craig's List site page, click on your nearest metropolitan area, then click on the heading "for sale" and you're ready to go. 

A few tips for buying safely and successfully on Craig's List

Deal locally with people you can meet in person, and you will avoid 99% of all scams according to Craig's List. As a general rule, you should hand over the payment only when the object in play is in your sights, ready to be loaded into your car. This is not eBay.

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(Almost) Everything I've Ever Bought or Sold on Craig's List

The other day when I mentioned that I'd recently sold something on Craig's List, a friend asked me, "How does that work? I've never used Craig's List." I was shocked. SHOCKED. This frugal soul had neither purchased nor sold a single thing on Craig's List. Just in the past month I have purchased a TV stand, infant bucket swing, and kid's bicycle, and sold 2 portable air conditioners on Craig's List.

My conversation with my friend inspired me to try to catalog all the items I've ever bought or sold on Craig's List. It's not truly possible, because it's just been too many things over too many years (dating back to my single days in Los Angeles over 15 years ago), but I did look through my emails and walk around my house to try to remember what I've bought and sold on Craig's List. Here is what I came up with.

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Favorite Sources for Play Food and Dishes

One of my favorite classic toys is a wooden play kitchen, along with the accompanying play dishes and play food. I wrote about our wood play kitchen earlier. We still love it. My only regret is not buying it sooner. I bought it just last year, when I should have purchased it when my first child was a year old. My one-year-old plays with the kitchen the most of all my kids. She is endlessly fascinated by opening and closing the doors, by putting things inside and taking them back out, by dropping things through the sink hole and then opening the door to find them inside.

Here are some of our favorite sources for play food and play dishes.

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Back-to-School Shopping at the Thrift Store

It's that time of year.  The time of year when bloggers everywhere write back-to-school posts.  My kids aren't yet school-age, so I don't have a ton to say on this topic, but I do know a little something about thrift shopping.  And one of the best things to shop for at thrift stores is children's clothing.  If you have never shopped at a thrift store before, this is a great way to give it a try.

Eco-novice's Tips for Thrift Shopping for Children's Clothing

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