With Craigslist.com, you have an opportunity to use them as a source to find cheap items and also as a source to sell items, all without paying a commission. Since the ads are target by city or metropolitan area, it also gives you an opportunity to buy and sell without shipping fees, since the people responding to your ads will be local, and can pick up the items directly.

Craigslist.com classifieds are highly targeted, which means you typically get interested parties responding to the ads that are ready to do business. The primary method of contact is email, and this system is smooth and efficient, and your ads can be posted within minutes, all at no charge.

To use Craigslist.com as a source to buy cheap items, simply place a free classified ad like the following:

Wanted, used DVD’s, CD’s, Video Games. Will pay top dollar in cash, no hassle.

Now of course you have to know the market value of these items in order to buy them at a low enough price for you to make a profit. Since eBay is a likely channel for resale, especially since you can use PoliceAuctions.com to promote your eBay auctions, look for similar items on eBay and see what they are going for. No one sale will tell you much, so you have to track several sales to get an idea of what the average sale is really like. Once you know those numbers, you can simply adjust your buying strategy to whatever profit margin is good for you, and at the same time is realistic in terms of being able to acquire the products.

Buying from private parties via free classifieds like Craigslist.com offers you an opportunity to get items at below market value, and we all love that. But keep in mind that private party sellers are not always reasonable and or honest. We recommend getting as much information in advance through email before spending your gas to buy 10 scratched up DVD’s that no one will ever want.

Selling on Craigslist.com is just as easy as buying and you can have an ad up in minutes. Be as descriptive as you can because it will cut down on the amount of unnecessary email responses. You don’t want people wasting your time as much as they don’t want you wasting theirs.