We have a major appliance that we needed to replace - not because it was old (under 3 years old) or didn't work right, but because it wasn't meeting our needs. So as a result we had to get something else, and to try to soften the blow of the expense we are trying to sell our used appliance. This is a major appliance (we paid close to $2000) and while used data is hard to come by (seems few people want to part with theirs?) it seems like 25% of what we paid is a reasonable figure to expect, although I'm not making any representations of a firm asking price anywhere in case that's still unreasonable.
However, we are having no luck. I tried calling around to places or dealers that sell used appliances - they must be getting them from somewhere, right? But I was told, "Oh, we don't buy them, you should sell it on Craigslist." When I tried to ask them where they got their appliances they just repeated that, almost implying that's where they got all their used appliances, which seems dubious. Honestly, I would rather sell to a dealer simply to avoid the hassle, even knowing I'll get less that way.
In any case, I have had luck with selling things on Craiglist in the past - a few years back I sold a vehicle, and more recently I sold a large piece of furniture. But in the last year it seems like nobody responds to CL "for sale" ad but scammers. I cannot count the number of messages that either text me and ask me to reply to their email (presumably trying to bypass the CL e-mail anonymizer) or message from out of state area codes wanting to buy sight unseen without negotiating via cashiers check or some other method that supposedly will "clear" after which their "movers" or other person will come by to relieve me of my unwanted goods. A few might not even been seen as a scammer on first look were it not for the face that I get twelve identical word for word messages from different numbers, or they seem to not have even read my ad. Sometimes on the less blatant ones I probe just to be sure they are a scammer, such as making small talk to see if they are trying to press me to hurry and innocuously asking questions that a real buyer wouldn't be evasive about.
This isn't a one-off thing, either. I have listed multiple items, some are even still listed and have not received any legitimate inquiries.
So what's the 2018 way to make money selling unneeded household items if brick and mortar places don't buy from individuals and everyone online seems to be a scammer?
