Craigslist vs eBay

I have many items that we have decided to sell. The question is: is it better to sell on Craigslist or eBay - or both. Craigslist is free and is perpetual - no cancellation date. eBay has much better coverage, costs money to list and has an ending date at which time it disappears from the site. Also, Craigslist is a local customer pickup site whereas eBay is a shipping site which costs the buyer more money. So, if it is a heavy, or large item (such as furniture), Craigslist wins. If it is a light, easy to mail item (stereo component) , eBay wins. The overriding consideration though is where is the best opportunity to move an unusual or hard to find item and that usually results in a win for eBay with its broader coverage.

I started yesterday by listing our Ozone Generator on both eBay and Craigslist. It is not so heavy that it cannot be shipped (eBay) but is unusual enough to not rely solely on Craigslist. I also want the wider audience that eBay provides. So far, I haven't gotten much interest from either ad. That is an item that is better suited for a commercial application than a local, residential one. Restaurants, apartment complexes, Bars, conference rooms, etc., are good candidates for this device.

I have VHS players, VHS Recorder, DVD player and a laserdisc player to sell along with a nice collection of laserdiscs. I think all of those will be advertised on both eBay and Craigslist, although the laserdisc collection is very heavy.

Following those items, I have many 33 1/3 RPM record albums and many78 RPM records to sell. The chances are that all of those items will sell better on eBay.

Decisions, decisions...