Craigslist: The New Heaven

Although eBay was the obvious choice for my first post about Recessionista shopping, I have found another online site that I must admit I am turning to more and more often.
Craigslist! Yup, that’s right! I know it’s not a place you’d think you would find designer items, but have you looked lately?
And here’s the inside scoop. Canadian sites can often be a little bare, especially if you want to buy authentic items and not just stuff that was bought in China Town, BUT have you checked out the U.S. city sites? My favourites are New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
People in those cities are often looking to sell designer purses, shoes and clothing because they have access to the newer styles at discount prices. So where they went to eBay to sell their items in the past, they’re turning to Craigslist where they don’t have to pay a listing fee. That means they can afford to sell their items for better prices.
Although most Craigslist sellers (and buyers for that matter) like to handle transactions in person, there are many who are still willing to ship items, even to Canada.
I actually got a vintage LV 30 Speedy for under $200 CAD, including shipping. Considering a new one retails for $700 US plus tax, shipping, etc., I would say that my bag was a pretty good score.
There’s two ways I would suggest using the Craigslist US sites. If you are planning to travel to the US in the near future, you can check out the city site before you go and arrange meetings for when you arrive. Otherwise, you can email the buyer and ask if they’re willing to ship the item for a mutually agreed price (including tracking) and handle the transaction through PayPal.
Three things to remember:

1. Always do your homework and make sure you are getting what was advertised by emailing the buyer and asking specific questions. Remember that photos can sometimes seem deceiving. A dress could be longer or shorter than it looks. Bags could be bigger or smaller or their straps could be shorter than you had hoped for. In any case, ask all the questions and you won’t be disappointed.
2. Make sure shipping includes a tracking number so you can trace if an item was actually sent to you.
3. Use PayPal as your method of payment, which comes with buyer’s insurance, incase you need to have your money refunded.

That being said, there may not be as wide a selection on Craigslist as there is on eBay, but I just did a check for LV Speedy bags on eBay and there’s nothing in the price range that I paid for my bag. So there you go.
Happy shopping!