Kijiji is different. I'm obsessed. In fact, I often worry about my addiction. It hasn't affected my life that negatively, except for the shear regret I feel when I don't contact the seller first and miss a great deal. It's utterly devastating. And it lingers for months. I think about how if I had only been on kijiji sooner maybe I would have that bed from Ikea I've always wanted! (We don't have an Ikea here, but they will deliver for the price of your first born child and 100 dollars)
I go on Kijij a lot. It all started when Nick and I decided to move in together. I had some furniture, but we needed a couch. I had gone on kijiji a few times at that point, and even got this chair for 40$. (a tag under neath said originally $329.99 from Sears!)
Anyways, I love a good find. So one day while Nick and I were driving around, I was checking Kijiji on my iphone app. (god, making kijiji mobile is bad...) This guy posted a couch and coffee table for sale. It was perfect. I had been in love with that exact couch, and had saw it posted for $400 firm from previous posters. I didn't get it because I thought $400 was a little too much for my bank account to handle.
So this new guy was selling it for 120$ and the coffee table for 30$. I emailed him, Nick and I went over and got the couch straight away. The guy also offered us his coffee table, but I declined since I didn't really like the style of it. In the end he said we should just take it because it would be too much of a hassle for him to sell it later. (he was moving at the end of the week)
(This is the couch we got. the coffee table in on the right. I would have taken a picture of it but it was covered in crap and that would require me to clean it... But see how nice the couch is! It was super clean too. I wouldn't have bought it if I had thought it was dirty.. I know some people are pretty terrified of used furniture, but I frigging love it! A lot of it has way more character than regular crap you get in stores now. Except for this couch.. I mean, it doesn't have that much character, but who wants a couch with that?)Anyways, thrills like that get me. What an amazing deal!
Now I know the in's and outs of Kijii so badly. Here are some tips for the Kijiji user.
1) The best deals come from inexperienced kijiji users. they just don't know how to work it. They ask their son to post something they'd like to get rid of from their house, and voila! New dining room set for $50, yes please!
2) The best time to Kijiji shop is at night, on weekends and especially in the few weeks before the end of the month. People tend to move at the end of the month, that's when they get desperate and realize how much crap they have. They will price low for a quick sale.
3) If you like it, contact them quickly. Things go quick, especially the good deals. Higher priced items take longer to sell. If you're really sneaky, you can set up a fake email account and offer the person a lower amount to see if they'll take the bate. I've never actually done this, but I know people who have. It also only really works on really expensive items. Over priced items nearly never sell. I know this because I see the same people re-posting their ad months and months later not understanding why they aren't getting any offers.
4) Everyone says they have an antique chest/chair/table, but nobody really knows what antique means. If you look up the definition of antique, it means over 100 years old. There are tons of things on there that are not antique. That toaster? I promise you it's not antique.
5) People over-value their crap. Some people think their crap is worth almost as much if not more than if you were to buy it new. It's friggin crazy!! Sometimes I wanna write them and tell them that their rocking chair, although in good condition is not worth $300. Especially when three other people are selling the same one for $20 and I can even see the same rocking chair in my apartment complex's dumpster. Junk.
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