How To Find the Best Deals on Craigslist

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know of my obsession with Craigslist and that almost 90 percent of our furniture has been found there. If you live in or near a metro area, I don't think you can beat the deals (or unique pieces) that you can find on this site.

I have heard from several of you, however, that tell me you never have any luck. Although I don't have any magic formula, I will share my best advice for finding--and getting--great deals on Craigslist:


1.  Search the site often.  If you're looking for a specific item (or even if you're just browsing), look several times a day--or more.  New listings are added all the time, and if there's something really great, you want to be the first to know about it.  Sometimes I type in keywords, but usually, I just keep refreshing the page to scour new listings.

This Pottery Barn wool rug was used in a builder's model home for a few short months. I found it on Craigslist for just $100. 

2.  Don't use keywords that are too specific in your search.  If you are looking for a tufted chair, for example, I would just search by "chair."  In many cases, sellers may not know the correct term for tufting, upholstered, etc.  I can't tell you how many times I see "cloth chairs" listed. . .  If your search terms are more broad, you'll come up with more results and hopefully find a gem that other buyers have missed.

This pair of slipper chairs were literally like new and had been sitting in the seller's unused foyer.  I was lucky enough to find them for $100 each.

3.  Be decisive, and act fast.  Craigslist is not the place to spend  two weeks deciding if the $25 coffee table you found is the perfect fit for your living room.  Good items will go fast.  So, if you find it, like it and feel like it's a fair price, go for it and don't look back.

I found this oversized abstract painting for $125 and bought it immediately. 

4.  Always offer less than the asking price.  I always email with a lower offer (still within reason) or to ask if they're willing to negotiate.  Why not?  Nine times out of ten, I get a better deal.  Craigslist is made for negotiation.  I just try to keep my offers fair so that the seller will know I'm a serious buyer and respond. 

I had no real place for this chair when I found it, but it was a great deal from a model home listing and I loved the lines.

5.  If you can't afford it, email the seller with your budget.  I know I just said to email the seller with a reasonable offer.  That being said, if you're looking at a bigger ticket item and can't necessarily pay what they're asking, I will sometimes email the seller and tell them what I can pay, in case the item doesn't sell.

This is the very way I got our family room sofa.  The seller had a Rowe sofa that had been used for less than six months and was then wrapped in plastic and stored when they moved.  She was asking $700.  I emailed her and told her I only had a budget of $300.  She politely declined.  I understood.  She emailed me a month later and told me she would take $500.  I politely declined.  Fast forward another month later--and sofa still sitting wrapped in storage--she emailed me again and told me she would take $300.  Done deal!


6.  Imagine the possibilities!  I always try to look closely at the (very often terrible) photographs on Craigslist to find the potential of a piece of furniture.  Think about what changes you can make with paint, fabric, etc.  I look for the small details that may make a piece really shine after a little makeover.  Remember my bookcases?  I got them for just $20 each, but this is what they looked like online, and then after some TLC:

Want to see more of my bookcase makeover?  I'm guest posting today over at Cottage and Vine with the details.


Good luck with your searches and happy shopping!  Would love to see what you find.