Why I love Kijiji!

As some of you know (as you've been subjected, possibly more than once, to my monologues on the subject :) I looooove Kijiji! Since early November when I was off on mat leave waiting for little one to arrive, I've been actively involved both buying and selling items and I'm HOOKED! Why? Well:

1. There are some great barg00ns to be found on nearly new stuff - especially for babies, since many items are only used for a short period of time. So far, I've purchased the following items for S, all in EXCELLENT condition:
   
• A Moby Wrap ($35 - retails for $80)
• A Baby Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym ($25 - retails for close to $100)
• An extra Bummis Fabulous Wet Bag - brand new ($10 - retails for about $30)
  
• A Cozy Cover for her carseat ($5 - no longer sold but previously retailed for $25-30)
2. It's a great way to de-clutter your home of duplicate, unused, no longer desired, etc. items AND make a little extra cash to boot. Chris and I have sold over $300 worth of stuff so far - better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, especially now that we're temporarily down to a single full income.
3. Related to 2, it promotes realignment of items so that they're in a better place. It was gratifying to hear that, for example, the Lilliput Lane cottage I received as a gift several years back went from being boxed up in our basement to proudly showcased within the display of an avid collector in Owen Sound. Y'know?
4. Post creation is a great exercise in honing one's salesmanship skills. Describing the item in a compelling fashion to attract potential buyers, ensuring the right keywords are in place, setting effective price points, photographing the item in the best light, etc.
5. It's fun! I check a few listings each day (for example, I'm currently scanning the bathing & changing section of baby item classifieds for great deals on new or nearly new cloth diapers to expand our stash) and the prospect of sweet new deals emerging is somewhat titillating. :) In the other direction, it's also great to check email and see new responses to our own ads.

Downsides of Kijiji-ing? Living in New Hamburg, I've had quite a few people request delivery of items to KW. I'd generally only do this if it's very "convenient", but convenience is admittedly relative. For example, we met an individual at the Sunrise Starbucks on the way into town to sell them a $12 item. Considering the time and effort to coordinate and complete the transaction (and also the fact that I "had" to have a latte in the process!) this was of questionable monetary value. HOWEVER...said individual is now happily poaching eggs and we've reclaimed some precious space in our kitchen cupboard, so I'd say it was still win-win in the end, dammit! :)