Craigslist : Free Section

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Apr 7, 2009 Sharon Chapman

Craigslist's Free section contains many items people can use, from clothes to tools. This is a great way to clean out the house and help people at the same time.

Craigslist, the online collaboration of communities sharing classified ads of every sort, from wanted to for sale to singles ads, includes a “Free” section where members can list items that they are giving away.

The Neighborly Thing to Do

Spring cleaning inevitably produces mounds of items that households just aren’t using anymore. There are several options for getting them out of the house:

1. Throw them away – wasteful
2. Yard Sale – time consuming
3. Ebay-Again time consuming and you have to store the items until the sale
4. Goodwill or Donation Center – good idea, but they in turn charge others for what was given to them

There is an alternative, advertise them on Craigslist as free items. People who see the ad can then email for more information or to claim the item. Doing this helps people who otherwise might not could have afforded to purchase the items, it’s a neighborly thing to do.

Curb Alerts

Another way to advertise free items that doesn’t require back and forth communication and also allows anyone to obtain the items is to use the curb alert system. Advertise a “curb alert” in the free section on Craigslist with a brief description. For example:

Curb Alert: Bag of girls size 10 clothes. Address: 1234 Jonesway Drive, Your City, Your State.

Curb alerts are great because they also allow people who have no access to a computer to pick up items off the curb. This type of rummaging has been around long before Craigslist, only the items weren’t left on curbs and people would rummage through trash to find the used items that they wanted.

Tips for Giving Items Away

When placing items in the free listing section, there are some tips that can save future headaches and keep people from wandering around the yard.

1. Identify exactly where the items will be placed, i.e., beside the mailbox, next to the rose bush, etc.
2. Add a phrase stating to take all or none, this prevents having to cleanup a rummaged through mess.
3. State how long the items will be available. This keeps people from showing up for days on end.
4. Remove the listing as quickly as possible once the items are gone so others don’t drive out for no reason.
5. Put the items near the curb, unless having strangers on the porch isn’t an issue.
6. If email communication is not desired, state this in the ad.
7. If the item is large or heavy, include this so that people will know to bring help.

Advertising free items on Craigslist is a great way to help out other people. Charitably organizations are great for donating items; however, there are people who can’t afford even those prices. With curb alerts and the free section, people can help each other out.

The copyright of the article Craigslist : Free Section in Internet is owned by Sharon Chapman. Permission to republish Craigslist : Free Section in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Craigslist Can Be Useful While Spring Cleaning.