I’ll definitely have to give it a try Greg. Thanks for designing it! Could definitely save me some time reposting items!

Gerry, your comment brings up a lot of good points and I appreciate you sharing them. However, I’ve done them both and I’ll give you a few reasons why I generally sell my things from my house rather than a public place. Of course everyone will have their own opinion on what’s best and what’s safest. I’ve also only lived in cities and towns where house jacking and so forth doesn’t generally exist. I know that there has been a lot of problems in some US cities the past couple of years with regard to this however as far as I’ve seen and heard, it hasn’t crossed the border into Canada yet. That being said, I might be more inclined if I lived in an area that it previously occurred in.

Of course, whether someone is scoping out my place for a future “midnight visit” or not is quite possible since theft can and does occur nearly everywhere. I’ve also only sold a good amount of items in a relatively short amount of time right before moving away or right before putting the rest in storage so if they ever did decide to pay me another visit I wasn’t going to be there anyway.

Basically, I’ve bought a lot of things through the years over the phone and lots of sellers wanted to meet me in parking lots or public areas. Both our current phones were actually bought that way. Though I didn’t mind meeting them there (especially since they were small items and I would have had to drive to their place anyway) I always felt apprehensive buying from them. The reason is because I can’t track them down if I have problems. Spending $300 – $400 from someone you don’t know for an item that could have issues that you can’t fully test for at the time of buying it is no better than buying blind off eBay or an online site. Like you said, there’s no guarantee they are who they say they are.

To me, one of the benefits of buying locally is the trust you get being able to see the item in question before purchasing it. The other is meeting the previous owner of that item. If i walked into a house hoping to buy a couch I would be hesitant to buy it if the people there lived like pigs. The same is especially true for buying a used vehicle. If their other vehicles are littered with dirty food wrappers and last weeks takeout boxes, the cars have 4 different colored layers of dirt on them and they sound like they’re about to explode then I would be hesitant to buy the vehicle they’re selling no matter it’s condition. They obviously don’t take care of their belongings and even though they shined up their vehicle to sell it, there could be premature rust, impending engine troubles or what have just waiting around the corner.

One of the reasons I don’t put my number (or my house address) on the ad is so that I can vet out the people that come see what I have to offer. I’ve actually turned down people that were interested simply because something about them sent warning bells down my spine. I’ve also met people in a public spot for that same reason. Whenever I can I leave larger items in the garage so that I don’t have to let people into my house. In the past I’ve also had people “help” me bring a couch or chair down the stairs after buying it and now I keep the items easily accessible simply because of all the dents and scratches they left behind.

I know for a fact that a lot of the items we’ve sold in the past were simply a result of the people meeting us or seeing the rest of our stuff for sale. The ad might get them in the door however I always feel it’s the seller who guarantees the sale.

Gerry, I would never encourage someone to put themselves knowingly at risk but it’s up to the seller to judge what safety level they’re comfortable with and what the odds are of running into danger. I’m not sure what the US or world stats are however I do know that Kijiji Canada has almost a million new ads a week and if the danger of “Robbery by Appointment” was such a threat it would be making headlines across the globe. Even in the US the amount of items being sold is astronomical compared to all the problems that are being reported.

As with all things, common sense and a little safety can go a long way. It’s up to the seller (or buyer) to ensure that their transaction is as safe as they feel comfortable allowing it. If they feel the need to meet in a police station (as some US news station are reporting) then so be it.

Good luck with your sale Gerry and thanks for giving anyone reading this something else to consider. Be safe.

Glad you found the post useful Kirk. I’ve never paid for the top ad service however if I had a premium item that was worth a few bucks I would definitely consider trying it at least once. A few bucks on an expensive item isn’t hard to take if it sells quickly and for top dollar. Of course, it always a gamble. Let me know how it turns out for you if you try it.

In terms of editing an ad it doesn’t generally go up to the top. I think they’re trying to “encourage” people to use their top ad service. I will tell you that in the past I have had success with one of the apps on my iPhone that would take your existing ad and repost it for you every time you made an edit. I actually sold the majority of our items using that app the last time we sold everything. I also took all our ad pictures with the phone so it was a quick one stop shop. No idea if the app has been changed since then however it was an easy way to keep track of everything.

Good luck with your sales!