In the following lines, I will show you 5 WAYS how to make money on Craigslist.

Property Guru

One of the ways to make money on Craigslist is to rent your own property. 

I know, you might say, you can rent your property through different websites, and you're right. 

What makes it good to go to Craigslist thought, is that you don't pay for any  middlemen (renting agencies like to take significant cuts for themselves).

Additionally, when you rent your apartment, you won't sparkle so much interest from governmental institutions.

Depending on the country of your residence, there might be some strict rules when it comes to renting your apartment.

When you raise your eyebrow now and asking if this is kind of gangster blog post, hear me out please.

For instance in Amsterdam, you can't rent your apartment, unless you get a special mortgage.

With this mortgage, you'd have to pay 80% of the property value in CASH.

With the starting prices of €250 000, not everyone can put over 200k in cash into the bank. 

From practice, I know that this rule is gently broken by some 80% house owners. You see, unless you rent your apartment to 6 different people (I saw this happening), you should be ok. 

So, you see you are not doing something illegal (the worst case if governmental authorities find out what you are doing, is you will have to pay higher taxes). 

Expert tip: If yo want to be 100% sure, you won't pay extra taxes, renting just a room instead of whole apartment is allowed all the time.

What to consider: You have to own property. If you renting out, this strategy won't work. Secondly, these rules I mentioned above, are valid for the Netherlands. Check the renting policies with your local government first.

Retail Arbitrage 

Undoubtedly, this is the most interesting, the most profitable, and the least difficult way how to make money on Craigslist.

You don't need any investment and the net profit can be as high as €5 000 per sold item.

The way how this retail arbitrage works is not rocket science. 

Firstly, you'll find a FREE item that someone wants to give away.

As you can see there is variety of products, people would gladly get rid off.

With your entrepreneurial thinking and with my guide, you can help them and make yourself profit. 

Secondly, you'll go to eBay and see for how much was the specific item sold in the past.

Lastly, go to eBay and offer it for Sale.

Depending on the product you'll be selling, the reward can vary from 20 up to 5000 $. 

Do you see why this one is such a bargain?

You can see this way explained in detail and also with real examples in the video below. 

Expert Tip: When you find valuable FREE stuff, be sure to get as much details as possible from the owner about the stand the stuff is. There is nothing worse, as traveling 100 miles in a hope to find great piano for instance, only to find out, it' snot working.

What to consider: You can do this basically just in U.S. or Canada. Other parts of the world have limited options. . 

Text People With Job Offers (Don't SPAM)

If you do a quick search on how to make money on Craigslist, you will see videos from so-called "gurus" of online marketing who will show you their recommended way.

Even so, these guys would SPAM people a lot, if you go for this options, be sure you have a good value product or service people will gladly be associated with. 

Otherwise you are risking to get very bad reputation not only on Craigslist, but on the internet in general. 

Reviews are very powerful. 

How does it work?

You will see other people's ads and when someone is offering his skills, you can use, you'll contact them privately. 

You can also, create a specific and targeted ad, with your "job posting". But again, if you go that road, be aware you'll be consider as spammer, so you need to have some great opportunity for people. 

For better illustration, see one of those ads from John Crestani.

 I don't recommend John's product, as his method requires a lot of investment from your side. For example-wise it is sufficient. 

Expert Tip: When you decide to post job offers on Craigslist or you want to acquire skilled individuals be sure to stand out. To offer service/product of high quality is a MUST. 

What to Consider: Apart from quality of your product or service, be sure to have created trust about your personality. Bad reviews, insufficient info and such, won't attract the best people.

Sell Your Own Stuff 

Selling your stuff is similar to retail arbitrage.

With some differences.

Firstly, the stuff you will be selling will be yours, so you don't have to search for them, pick them up, or face an unpleasant surprise when the item doesn't comply with the description in the ad.

Secondly, there's no middleman during the selling process.

Unlike retail arbitrage, where the logistic, time, and location has to be discussed with the owner of the stuff you want to sell.

Lastly, it's fair to say, you'll have more freedom when choosing what to sell. 

On the other hand, it is safe to say, you won't make money on regular basis.
(I'm assuming you're not going to sell an item per day.)

Still, if you want to get rid of some old stuff, selling it on Craigslist is a better idea than throwing it on street.

Vinted is a great place when selling your clothes and when you're living in Europe.

I was able to sell some of the clothes I wasn't wearing anymore using Vinted.. It was during the last summer cleaning and it brought me some 125€. 

Obviously, it isn't a lot of money, but if I didn't see them, those clothes will just collect dust.
 
That way, it's a win-win-win. 

The new owner got cheaper, still ok clothes, I got some money in return and during that, we helped the environment.

If you love from sustainable business opportunities, you might like the way, I do earn money online, you can check it here.

Expert Tip: Do general cleaning at least twice a year. (I do spring and summer). You will be surprised how many "useful" stuff you will find. Stuff, you haven't used in years, but someone can use it.

What to consider: You won't make money on regular basis. 

Find Gigs 

I earned $100 for some 3 hours of working.

A retired American citizen has posted the ad, that he is searching for locals ( I have been living in Austria back then, so the knowledge of German was a necessity) who could make calls to physicians and make appointments. 

It wasn't hard at all, because this gentleman provided the phone numbers, the name of the patient, and the desired days.

So, all I had to do, was to call the institutions, one by one-by-one, and make the appointments. 

Maybe, the easiest 100 bucks I ever earned. 

It gets even better.

Check the story from this guy. 

He did earn 600$ in one monthly period of time. He spent in total less than 40 hours on those gigs and earned over 18$ an hour on average. 

That's not bad, right? 

Even if you won't be lucky as I was, checking regularly Craigslist for side gigs, is definitely valuable. 

Expert Tip: Depending on your location, check gigs regularly. Even set up a notification alerts. It might be painful, to discover that some well-paid gig slipped you away, because you were slow in reply.

What to Consider: Craigslist is not Indeed.com, so be prepared to find out that some gigs aren't worth second trial. Additionally, we are having it about side gigs, so something like health care, paid transportation or other benefits coming form employer, aren't on the program.

Earning Money Online Without Prior Location

When in search of earning money online, Craigslist is definitely one of the ways.

It is legit, not time-consuming, and oftentimes doesn't require any financial investment on your side.

The only drawback to me is that if you're not living in the U.S., you'll have limited options.

In other words: there's no location freedom when you make money on Craigslist.

Are there better ways? 

Yes, there are.

In case you are in search of side gigs you can have a look on platforms like Appen.com or Remotasks.

In case you're living in Europe, you can be lucky enough to earn money with Roamler or SmartSpotter.

These 2 apps combined brought me 800€/net month since July 2020.
 
When you aim higher and you want to earn money online consistently, then online business is what you need. 

I started 3 years ago and I'm earning money online around my hobby. 

Can You Make Money on Craigslist? Final Verdict

If you love to make money online and you are searching for a platform that offers LEGIT opportunities, you will be happy to hear that you can make money on Craigslist. 

I showed you 5 ways how to make money on Craigslist:

• Selling Stuff
• Finding or Offering Gigs 
• Renting Your Apartment/Room

Depending on your preferences and situation you can choose the one that suits you best. 

However, there are some significant limitations. 

Mostly, the location is the most obvious one. For instance, retail arbitrage has the potential to be super lucrative, but only in the U.S. 

If you live in Europe, you won't get plenty of opportunities to find great free stuff. 

Honestly, it is safe to say that you'll have higher chances to earn some meaningful side income on Craigslist if you live in the U.S. 

In case, you don't want to be limited with location, you can check my other recommendations.

Appen.com and Remotasks are online communities helping you earn side income. 

Roamler and Smart Spotter are two apps, that will help you earn additional income with tasks like mystery shopping, merchandising, or product checks.

 (Those apps, are also location limited though)  

In case you aim high, and you want to earn money online on sustainable basis and in higher extend, you definitely need online business. 

Check my number one recommendation.

I hope you like my blog post on how to make money on Craigslist. If you did, please share your word.

Cheers,

Julius