Flipping on Craigslist: Negotiating Tips

Negotiating is a skill that’ll serve you over and over in so many aspects of your life.

You negotiate when you buy a house or car. You negotiate with your kids to eat veggies or head to bed at bedtime.

And if you’re buying or selling on Craigslist, it’s part of the fun. It’s also a great way to practice negotiating with smaller stakes than a house or a car.

Today, I’ll tell you about negotiating. 

If you missed the last 2 emails, here is the summary: 

Email 1 Summary:

I shared how I made $550 and acquired my dream guitar by flipping guitars on Craigslist. I emphasized the importance of getting a good deal when buying a guitar. I gave tips on how to do this: searching often, knowing the going prices, and focusing on a few models. 

Email 2 Summary:

I sold a Martin 00-15 for nearly double what I paid and used the money to buy an Eastman SB55/V (a super awesome custom shop guitar). I shared the Craigslist listing I created for the Martin 00-15, highlighting the marketing techniques I used: clear and descriptive title, evocative language, specific details, transparency, social proof, target audience focus, and organization. See full listing.

They were long emails! So, if you want to hear the story sometime soon, then check out my podcast and YouTube channel. Since I wrote these emails for Shawna’s list, I figure I should use the story for my podcast and channel. Sign up for the email list so you know when it comes out.

Remember, this applies to anything, but my story is about guitars.

As a buyer: 

You should know the market rate for the guitar you’re interested in.

It’s great to have an asking price in the range of the market price. It’s even better if the price is below where you expect the price to be.

Before arranging to meet or anything, I’ll often ask 2 to 3 clarifying questions: 

• Why are you selling?

• Is there anything wrong?

• What is the wear and tear like?

• Finally, I’ll ask if they are flexible on the price. Everyone says yes. They know negotiating is part of the deal.

I usually offer about 10-20% below the asking price, assuming it’s at or just above the market rate. If the asking price is high, then I will still offer about 15% below the market rate. It’s within the range to not offend the seller. :) 

The seller will often counter with about 5% below asking. Then, 99% of the time, you can offer to split the difference.

I just negotiated to buy an amp, too. It’s a Fender Blues Jr, $800 brand new. I saw it listed for $425. I offered $340. The seller countered with $375. I said how about $360 because I only had $20 bills. So he agreed. 

I negotiated harder, because I asked if he bought the amp new. He didn’t — someone owed him money so just gave him the amp. It seems unimportant, right. 

It was key to know that the seller didn’t have any money in the amp. Mentally, he got it for free. So, he wasn’t price anchored with $800 as the retail price.

For the Eastman, it was listed for $1,199 as consignment at a guitar shop. They get 30% of the sale price and the owner gets 70%. So, I wanted to buy the guitar for $1,050 so I called the shop and offered $1,000. I also told the shop that 2 other identical guitars were recently listed, one for $1,200 and the other for $1,050.

The owner of the shop said they’d give up some of their profit and were sure the seller would also come down. They countered my $1k offer with $1,050. 

I love it when it works out how I plan. It’s rare!

Okay, I had the new guitar deal worked out. But now, I needed to close the deal to sell my Martin.

Someone reached out, very interested — no questions. Just an offer: 

Hey Doug, this looks nicely taken care of. Would you $1100 cash if I came to you?

I countered with $1,180. 

He clarified to make sure it came with the case, which is worth about $200. Plus, I reminded him the guitar comes with a few accessories.

Finally, I offered to meet him somewhere in the middle. Through some great luck, the guitar shop the Eastman was in the middle for us. 

I double checked with the shop to see if we could meet there and complete our deal. They approved since I was going to buy a guitar from them. :)

That’s one safety tip: Meet in a public place. Many police stations will let you meet in their parking lots. The fact is you should do cash deals. Walking around with $1,200 cash is a bit unusual. So, meeting in public in a safe place is a really good idea.

It blows my mind I was able to buy the Martin for $650. I played it for 2 years and it was great. 

I sold it for a big profit. The new owner got a good deal and was really happy about it.

I didn’t get as good of a deal on the Eastman. Brand new they are $1,600 and I paid $1,050. But I don’t think it was ever played! There’s absolutely zero wear. I don’t feel bad about not getting as good of a deal because I think this guitar is a keeper! I’m thrilled to have it because it sounds so great and feels like it belongs in my hands.

Thanks to Shawna for letting me share my story. 

PS: If you want to check out more from me, you can sign up for my email list.

I also have a podcast and youtube channel.

Coming up…

Back to our regularly scheduled hot takes.

Stay awesome,

Shawna

P.S. If you’re looking for high level discussions or tips on things like local SEO and Rank & Rent, I highly recommend Jacky Chou’s Advise community. I’ve been in it for several months and there’s tons of value in it, including a SOP for local SEO.

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