In response the Sam's Blog: Craigslist: Marketing for Dummies

Sam asked..."Do you have any personal favorite techniques for selling and item on Craigslist/Ebay? Do you think that big companies use similar or different techniques to sell their products?"

I personally have sold many items on Craigslist. I think that Craigslist has done a very good job of keeping their site simple enough for many people to use it. In doing this they have also been careful not to make the site seem too basic and unreliable. With this being the case I think this is a huge problem many big companies face. A lot of companies want their web site to be the best and easiest to use but in doing this they actually make things more complicated than they need to be. Also as they do this I think people become wary of their sites. Features that companies may think give them the upper hand over other companies many actually drive consumers away. For example web sites that offer to save credit card numbers or sites that keep you logged in for extended periods of time.

When buying items I always click the option to only show items with pictures. If an item does not have a picture I will not even give it the time of day. With this being the case when I sell items on Craigslist I always make sure to include a picture. I think this is my favorite technique to lure people in. I think visuals are a huge factor especially when it comes to selling items online. For example I was recently looking to buy a new cell phone and the phone company provided a 360 degree view of the phone as well as compared it to common items like an Ipod or a deck of cards.

I think there are many lessons to be learned from sites like Craigslist and Ebay. These sites are hugely popular amongst the "average joe" and with close investigation a lot of big companies can learn valuable lessons from them. With this being the case I think sites like Ebay and Craigslist will always prove to be a favorite method of buying and selling for people. A lot of people are in the market for the lowest price possible as quick as possible and big corporations are just unable to compete with this.

Do you only use sites like Craigslist and Ebay to purchase certain products? How can commercial companies take advantage of this to capitalize on a market that does not appeal to these sites?