Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Living Green with Listia - tips and winning ways



Invitation to FUN:

Hey, have you checked out Listia? It's a new members-only site where everything is free and you can get some cool stuff without spending any money. You give away the things you no longer need, and get things you want for free.

It's all done using free credits instead of real money. Most people start with 450 credits, but this invitation gives you 550 to get more when you start. I'm already in and you can get started by clicking this special link: CLICK HERE

My Experience:
I stayed away from Listia...it looked like a scam, claiming to have
over 5000 freebies, but when I would click on a link to it, up would come
a page wanting me to sign up for an auction! ughhh, all I could think of
was "They will want a credit card" and I didn't want to buy anything, I was
hunting for 100% Freebies. (no shipping)

When I took a closer look I found that it is one of the best ways to get
things for my family. All sorts of things!

1. I did not need a credit card or PayPal and I could get lots of freebies with
free shipping!

2. I started with 400 free credits. I needed garden seeds to feed my family,
wanted heirlooms and found I could get them on Listia!

3. Everything is set up automatically Auction style. Someone decides
to share an item and ship it free. Someone bids their free credits and "wins"
the item.

Garden seeds are ideal because they are lightweight
and you can send them to the winner with just a stamp or two.

Suddenly I have access to Heirloom seeds from all across the country!
I have "won" 40 auctions and a huge variety of seeds.
We are going to eat good this year! Plus I feel it's important to
preserve Heirloom varieties of seeds/plants.
Those are the ones that you can save the seeds for next year
and share some on Listia!

4. It didn't take me long to figure out that all I had to do to get more credits
was to share some of MY seeds that I had saved all year.
You can share whatever you have. Browse around the site to get ideas.

When you are ready to give something away, pick something lightweight,
offer free shipping to get more credits, add 5 or 6 photos, a recipe (if you list
garden seeds), add interesting facts about the plants and you will get high bids
on your auctions.

If you are giving hand made cards, craft supplies, embroidered hankies,etc.
add 5 or 6 photos, detailed info
and then keep a close eye on your giveaway/auction.
Bidders ask questions and if you respond quickly,
they will feel more confident about bidding.

5. Never buy credits! No need, you get extra credits free every day for logging in,
Tweeting auctions and sharing on Facebook!
You also earn credits for listing a giveaway
plus you get to keep all the credits the winner bids on your auction.

6. How to get more bids. On the last day of your auction, go to the same category.
If you are auctioning off jewelry beads, go to the Crafts category and "Fan" all the
highest bidders on all the craft auctions. When you Fan someone they get an
email telling them you fanned them and it also shows a list of all your auctions!
(Fanning is easy, just click a button)

If you are giving away something for children, last day of your giveaway auction,
fan everyone with a child in their profile photo.

7. You don't have to offer free shipping BUT only ask for exact postage from the bidder.
Many times bidders are happy to pay shipping for larger, nicer items. Anything small
should be shipped free. I see lots of people trying to raise cash by charging crazy
shipping fees. That's not what Listia is for!

8. We can use Listia to help each other.
I see Moms and Dads getting children's shoes
baby clothes, diapers, formula and toys they could not
otherwise afford.

9.Most of you get lots of coupons you can't use.
If they are for a whole product, (NOT % off)
you can auction them off on Listia!
I just gave away a $5.99 coupon for a big bag of beef jerky.
LOL, I'm all about sharing food.

10. You can also give away free samples that you get from my freebies lists!

11. Use the credits you get and bid for things you need.

12. Look for the pink "free shipping" link before you bid.
You cannot retract (take back) a bid. If you accidentally bid
on an item that requires shipping, and you can't pay the shipping,
you will lose your credits.
Always check before bidding.

13. How to win auctions: One strategy is to filter your Listia Search
to all categories, ending soon.
Find something you need and bid at the last 15 seconds.

14. Build your reputation: Reputation is everything at Listia.
When you win an auction, email the seller your address immediately.
When you hold an auction, email the winner the moment it ends,
let them know when you get their shipping info,
let them know when you ship the item.
Bidders get excited about the auctions they win...
if you don't contact them, it causes needless anxiety,
and possible negative feedback for you!

If you are outbid on a great auction, Tweet it, share it on Facebook
and leave a comment for the "seller".

If you are on a fixed income and can only ship once or twice per month,
state that clearly in your auction so bidders know up front.

Always ship promptly!

Feedback: You will have to provide feedback as a seller and as a bidder.
Be kind, prompt, generous and thoughtful with your feedback.

Learn to use this wonderful resource to help others and to provide
for your family. Turn those unwanted coupons and samples into
things you need.

*Certain Sponsors will give you things to share on Listia! This helps
so many families out! So ask

Listia IS living Green! Share your unwanted items and keep them out of the
landfill!

8 comments:

Shannon's Tales of Motherhood said...

I signed up for Listia about 1yr ago but I didn't understand the site,now that I read your tips I'm going to try this over again.Not sure if I have to sign back up again! Thanks for the good tips!

Would Like To Be a Yummy Mummy said...

Looks great! Thanks for stopping by, I am now following you too x

Danielle said...

following back from tuesday blog hop

Unknown said...

Great tip! Checking it out. Thank you for stopping by and following. I am your newest follower.

Vickie
http://victoriasvoice44.blogspot.com

Justin said...

Joined in December. Started buying and selling Rookie cards. already a level 17 and waiting for a nice digital camera to bid on :) FREE SHIPPING is the BEST! I haven't paid a penny for credits or item i have won.

Justin said...

what sponsors are you talking about?

DesaraeV said...

I think the biggest problem on Listia is a sense of entitlement. Lets call it the a-hole syndrome. While everyone has their nice side, too many people are used to being babied and hand held. Expecting using to act as if they are stores, when in realty its not a job, but a place to literally give stuff away. I've put lots of stuff up on there for the ease of use, but 1 in 20 or less always makes the process difficult wanting you to either bend the rules or give more. Since the site is about getting free stuff if the seller doesn't pay for literally EVERYTHING from shipping, tracking, packaging, to adding on bonuses the site can plague you with whiney comments. And I say this as someone who is a fan of the site. This probably wouldn't be too bad but the moderation system is slow and often leave users to be harassed by the craziest of the bunch. While I have literally given away over 500 auctions (winning I dont know how many), I can honestly say only 2 of them where really bad. Then again a-hole syndrome is just another term for internet trolls.

DesaraeV said...

I think the biggest problem on Listia is a sense of entitlement. Lets call it the a-hole syndrome. While everyone has their nice side, too many people are used to being babied and hand held. Expecting using to act as if they are stores, when in realty its not a job, but a place to literally give stuff away. I've put lots of stuff up on there for the ease of use, but 1 in 20 or less always makes the process difficult wanting you to either bend the rules or give more. Since the site is about getting free stuff if the seller doesn't pay for literally EVERYTHING from shipping, tracking, packaging, to adding on bonuses the site can plague you with whiney comments. And I say this as someone who is a fan of the site. This probably wouldn't be too bad but the moderation system is slow and often leave users to be harassed by the craziest of the bunch. While I have literally given away over 500 auctions (winning I dont know how many), I can honestly say only 2 of them where really bad. Then again a-hole syndrome is just another term for internet trolls.