Craigslist has become the standard for a quick, easy, hassle-free, way to slang your shit. By design Craigslist is raw and unpolished. But if you put a little extra time into your ad, it’ll help sell your stuff quicker and potentially for a better price. Here’s a few tips to help you effectively sell a surfboard on Craigslist in the Northwest.
Seattle Craigslist Surfboards ——- Portland Craigslist Surfboards
Board Type
If you’re selling a used shortboard, you can pretty much knock off half the retail price unless it’s in pristine shape. If the board has any dings/pressure dents/KISW stickers/dirty wax, take the price down another notch.
There always seems to be more longboards for sale on Craigslist than shortboards. Maybe people get hyped on surfing, go out and buy a bunch of gear, then decide that surfing is harder than it looks on tv. Theory: Longboards tend to hold a better value due to less water time.
SUPs. Wha’sup dude! Over it already? Sell it on CL for a huge loss.
Have a sweet “vintage” board from the 80′s that you brought with you when you moved up from Florida? Probably gonna sit in your garage for a while…maybe try selling it to Taco Del Mar.
Timing and Duration
Typically, posting an ad anytime between October and April guarantees the board will sit on Craigslist longer than if you were to post the ad in the summer–longboards especially. The skill level required to ride the board will also dictate how long it sits on Craigslist. Remember…mushy waves and 20lbs wetsuits in the NW brah. Selling that 7-6 gun might take a while.
Ad Do’s
- Pics: Gotta have pics. If you can take high resolution pics and embed them in the ad or post a link to the higher res pics in the ad, that’s 100x better than the down-sampled Craigslist version of your images. Read how to do it here.
- Dimensions: Length, Waist, Thick. If you have the nose/tail dims, even better. Almost as important as a pic, people are looking for a specific size surfboard.
- Condition: Describe any dings, hole, dents, etc. Also whether or not they’ve been repaired. Just cause you put your heel through the deck or launched it into some rocks doesn’t mean it wont sell. If the board is pristine, back it up with pics. Probably a good idea to scrape off the wax.
- Price: If you really want to get rid of it, price it low. Not in a hurry to sell and/or get a kick out of reposting to CL repeatedly? Price it high. Regardless, expect to get low-balled. That is the CL way.
Ad Dont’s
Here are a few things that prob wont help your ad:
- Mention you’ve taken this board to multiple tropical locations and/or how many tubes you’ve gotten.
- Proclaim how perfect the shape and dimensions are for Westport and the “straights”.
- Describe all the advanced maneuvers the board can perform such as: Cutbacks, Roundhouses, Backhand Attacks, Air Reverses, Chicken Scratches, Turtle Dives.
- Excessive use of punctuation, all-caps, and internet-isms. OMFG THIS BAORD IS SO SICK!!! IT WILL MAKE YOU RIP AND GO PRO!!!! IM $ELLING IT FOR $500 DOLLARS WITCH IS TOTALLY WORTH IT. IT’S PERFECT FOR THE NORTHWEST!! I <3 SURFING! OOOAAAAAAH!
Basically the more effort you put forth to make an ad as clear/concise as possible the quicker it will sell. Think of all the questions that someone might bombard you with via email and put that info in the ad. Pretend you’re buying a board–what would you want to know? Doing so will save you time and a potential buyer time. No one wants to drive an hour in traffic to meet you only to find that the board you are trying to sell is actually a piece of shit and nothing like it appeared on Craigslist.
HINT: Save the text you used in your CL ad and plan on reposting a few times. CL only runs ads for 7 days. The chances of you slanging your board in 7 days are slim.
Also, some of the local surf shops will do consignment. I’ve heard of a few of them doing store credit/trades on the right board. Check em out.
Sick of Craigslist? Check out UpNorth.org. It’s a clean, organized NW surf/snow specific classifieds site where you’re able to upload better pics, and unlike CL, your ad wont expire in seven days. Pretty cool.
The End.
Black dudes haggle more. Don’t forget that. I just got a verbal on this bike I’m selling. Dude looks just like me (when I was skinny). Not sure if that’s good or bad.
word.
can’t say that i’ve ever seen a brotha at the coast surfing.
but i believe you.
I saw a young black male body boarding once at westport. Very unusual. Unusual to see an african american in that region for any matter.
I guess if I was looking for one of the 22 items on upnorth it’d be cool – especially if I wasn’t looking for one of the 2 camper vans that don’t show up when going to that category?
anyways, can’t hate (even tho i just did), snowflake206 is local and i hope they do well with that if they can get the audience.
btw, if you want to see a black dude surf you gotta roll with my crew one of these days. srsly. i got vid.
way to constructively criticize. from what i can tell the site just started. im sure it’ll get better with time.
i have so much extra gear laying around….i don’t even want to bother selling it on Craigslist…such a pain in the ass. tempted to give that site a go though…
CL is the haven of flakes, that’s for damn sure. Try selling a vehicle on it one day, painful.
funny shit. Pretty sure there’s a local shaper who’s already got the Taco Del Mar market on lock down, even stars in their commercials.
Bobby at Perfect waves got the Taco lock down. Why dont you set up some kind of “For Sale” Section on here? I got a 6’2″ …LOST Motivator im selling, and my ex-girlfriends 8′ WALDEN Magic Model Longboard is goin as well
NWBroweather hookup!!
i tried to get a for sale section going with that forum…never really put effort into it…and it never really took off.
Sounds like it’s taking off… Tell me about that LOST motivator anon
no dummies I don’t care about black dudes sarfing, I’m talking about black dudes buying shit on CL.
Lookalike came correct with a cashier’s check, by the way. Bike is sold.
J -totally understand your critique and trust me, it’s a work in progress. The site’s only been up for a couple months now, so we’re still trying to get a handle on a few kinks. Stoked if you check in, once and again.
That video clip is hilarious. What was the end goal? He’d enjoy your top 5 flattest landings bit