Winter Craigslist

I have recently decided that I would love to be unemployed. My life would consist of this: Craigslist.

I have been a supporter of craigslist for the past 4 years or so. I remember when it was so small that I could read every post for cars each day and it would only take me 30 minutes. This task now would be impossible unless you were continually refreshing the page 24/7.

Craigslist can be a great source of holiday cash. Last year I was able to corner this market with a little thinking ahead. In July I had the great idea of buying things out of season. Specifically I was buying Snowboarding and Skiing Gear. Boards, Boots, Bindings, Ski's, and Poles. It was one of the best ideas I have ever had as an investor.

I spend around $300 that summer buying used gear for quarters on the dollar. I sacrificed one of my walls to become a display case for the boards over the summer. When December came I was ready. Around the 14th I took all of the gear I had accumulated and photographed it. I also compiled pictures of the gear from the factory websites and the original specs on the items. Then I listed everything.

I listed the gear as individual items and as bulk buys. I listed things by size, by type, by key words, by color. I tried to think of all the ways that I would search for snowboarding gear and made sure that those words and more were in my descriptions. I didnt "keyword:" list. I wrote the words and phases into all of my post.

On the 16th everything took of like a fire. School had ended on the 15th and vacations would be stating every day from then till mid January. I had hit the "Jack"pot. The $300 I had initially invested turned into over $1000 in sales. I made a 230% return on my investment in 6 months.

The ideas I used were stolen straight from intro to economics. Buy when things are in low demand making the price fall. Sell when things are in high demand making the price skyrocket. I also spent about an hour a day on craigslist searching for the best buys. You make your money on the purchase, not on the sale. Buy low. Sell high.