Canada’s largest classifieds site, Kijiji, is the first online site many Canadians turn to when buying and selling household items.
In an attempt to clear some clutter, and get rid of household items we hadn’t used in a very long time, we recently turned to Kijiji to list them for sale.
We wanted to purge these things, and pocket some extra cash to be used towards the purchase of a special piece of furniture.
To date, we have managed to sell about 75% of the items we have listed on Kijiji, and have almost $1,000 saved up towards our furniture purchase.
Not too shabby!
While it has been great being able to turn our unwanted items into cash, it’s not all fun and games when it comes to buying and selling on Kijiji.
And not because of the platform itself – because of some of the users of this online classifieds site.
Who knew purging our household items could turn out to be so complicated, frustrating – and mind-boggling?
The following is advice from us after everything we have learned from buying and selling items on Kijiji.
**No buyers or sellers were hurt during these real-life buying and selling transactions! (Although we may have felt like slamming a door in someone’s face from time-to-time! Ha!)
Kijiji Etiquette – What NOT To Do When Buying And Selling
Don’t Make Plans With Us When Your Wife Is Out With The Car
Arrive when you say you will.
Telling us you’ll be here in 15 minutes, and then making us wait 45 minutes to finally hear back from you, is not cool.
You agreed upon a set time with us to pick up the item you wanted.
The fact that your wife has your car and is still out shopping, is not our problem. You knew your wife was out with the car when you told us you’d be here in 15 minutes.
We’re also sure you knew that your wife’s trip to the store would take longer than you had hoped it would. (Speaking from experience of course)
Lesson for sellers? Don’t change your own plans for a buyer.
Stop Your Repeated Haggling
When we put something up for sale, we price it to sell. A buyer gets a good deal from us. We share the retail price and a link to where you could buy the item online if available. No secrets. So, please, stop with the repeated haggling.
It just gets so tiresome.
Trying to haggle the price down more and more reminds us of this quote – and we just might start using it:
“For those that need to haggle, we will gladly raise the price so we can give you a discount.”
Whoever came up with that quote must have been a Kijiji seller. Ha!
This Isn’t Pizza – We Don’t Do Delivery
We sure are glad you want to buy the item we have for sale!
Wait. What?
You want us to deliver the item to you?
Whaaat???
Okay sure, we’ll deliver door-to-door. Let me just add 25% to the price of our item, to account for our time required to deal with this debacle.
We’ll get back to you shortly with the rate FedEx charges to deliver to your front door.
How’s that bargain you found on Kijiji working out for you now?
No, We’re Not Playing 20 Questions
We’re so happy you are interested in the item we have for sale.
Really, we are.
But please…make a decision.
We are not here to play “20 Questions” with you online.
“Is it brand new?”
Did you read the description in the ad? Brand new, never used, still in the box.
“Does it fit a queen-sized mattress?”
Um…our ad states “Queen-size bed frame”
We are not sure what part of “queen-size” you don’t get.
Please, people. Read the ad carefully before you start an unnecessary chain of back-and-forth, time-wasting, emails.
And We Don’t Play Cricket(s) Either
Things get worse when you play 20 Questions and that game morphs into “crickets”.
At least have the common courtesy to finish the discussion.
Don’t want to buy our item after all? No worries.
JUST TELL US.
Don’t log off and run away into the abyss, and leave us “listening” to crickets.
The sound of silence. I do love Simon and Garfunkel but…
Do you want to buy the item or not?
JUST TELL US.
Speaking Of Crickets…
Worse than disappearing online? Disappearing in real life.
You’ve agreed on a price. You’ve agreed on a time to come by.
We sit. We wait. We check the clock. We wait some more.
Nothing.
You are gone, never to be seen or heard from again.
Those are the noisiest and most annoying crickets!
Sorry, We’re Not Your Bank
Buying unwanted household items from someone off Kijiji is not rocket science.
There are no debit machines, and no, you can’t use your credit card to earn rewards.
This is a cash purchase…and we are not your bank.
No, we don’t have $35 in change to give you from the purchase of our $15 item – with your $50 bill!
And no, we really don’t have time to wait for you to run over to your bank to get some change.
Sorry.
What Part Of $40 Did You Not Understand?
Our transaction went well.
You liked the item we were selling. Online, you were easy to deal with.
You offered $10 off our asking price.
We said yes and agreed on $40.
You arrived at our door with $30.
*Jaw drop*
Don’t. Just Don’t.
After you ask if our item is still available, and we tell you it is and ask you when would you like to come by, never utter these four words…
“When can we meet somewhere?”
You can meet us at our doorstep, any time during the day. Or, we can meet you at our local coffee shop – not yours…across town.
Sure, as Keith Partridge used to sing, “I’ll meet you halfway…that’s better than no way“, but I’m afraid I’d have to disagree with my childhood heartthrob on this one.
We don’t own a multicoloured school bus, we’re not in a traveling band, and we certainly aren’t starting up a mobile delivery service, driving a van full of “sold on Kijiji” items around this great city of ours.
No Midnight Cowboys Wanted
We get it. Some people have to work late.
We aren’t keen on selling our used items at night but, sure, we’ll make the odd exception.
The problem occurs when you arrive over an hour later than agreed upon, and you wish to test out this motorized item in our driveway – after most of our neighbours are already in bed.
Oh! You’d also like to test this motorized item out on the street?
No.
Hard no.
Come back and see us tomorrow…in the daylight…when our neighbours are awake, and we can follow you in our car – you know, in case you decide to keep going.
The Long And Winding…Driveway
We see you out there. Oh yes, we do.
You’ve pulled up to the curb with your car lights off.
Sitting in your car for five minutes, you text your wife.
You finally get out of the car and walk to the end of our driveway.
We go to the door to meet you.
You’re not on the porch. We can’t see you.
Turns out, you are still at the end of our driveway staring at our house.
You get out your mobile phone, dial, and slowly start to make your way up the driveway.
You’re talking to your wife again, aren’t you?
We’re on to you. You’re making contingency plans with your wife in case this whole transaction goes horribly wrong.
Aren’t you?
Or maybe you’re just trying to creep us out.
Oh, wait! Now you’re stopping to take a photo of our house. How lovely! You want to remember us! Sweet!
Just get to the door and ring our bell, okay???!!! We don’t have all night!!!
Please Take The High Road And Don’t Low Ball
When we price items to sell on Kijiji, we price them fair.
Sometimes too fair, in my opinion. We sometimes argue about how high to price an item.
I like to price a little high, to leave some wiggle room for that inevitable haggling. Because, no matter what, you know there’s going to be haggling, right?
My partner? He’s a “get ‘er done and sold” type of Kijiji seller. He doesn’t want to keep an item in the house for 6 months just to score an extra $10 when it finally does sell. I know. He’s a smart man.
The one thing we do agree on is the “low baller”. The Kijiji buyer who’s looking for (basically) something for nothing.
Like the person who wanted to buy our already rock-bottom priced $20 item – for $5.
Did I mention? He wanted us to deliver it – across the city.
Ya. NO.
From Far And Wide
Aka…come from away.
The only “X” you can find for sale online is the one we are selling?
That’s SO great that we have what you need! *Sitting at the computer, rubbing hands together in anticipation of a quick and easy sale*
Oh. You live how far from Ottawa? Oh.
20 bazillion emails later, negotiations, numerous schedule changes, and several canceled pick-up times, the item is sold.
Glad it worked out for you. We gather you really wanted that item.
Not so sure we wanted to jump through all those hoops just to sell it to you but…yay.
We Don’t Want An Invite To Your Guilty Party
You don’t own a car.
You don’t drive.
You’re a student.
You never leave your apartment.
You live all the way across town from us.
Your friend can only pick the item up for you between 11:59pm and 2:30am because that’s the only time they have free to hop the bus and spend 2 hours getting to our place.
Whew!
We get it. Life can be tough.
The thing is, we don’t put stuff for sale on Kijiji to make our life harder.
We’re not selling our used items so that we can get invited to your guilty party.
Because that’s how we are left to feel.
Guilty. With a capital G.
Guilty that we are taking money from you when it seems like you can’t afford to give it to us.
Guilty that we are making you ride the bus all the way across town just to pick up a $10 item you really want.
Guilty because you really want to buy the item for your brother but, you are $20 short of cash when you arrive at our doorstep – after we have already agreed upon the price before you left.
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
And when “the sellers” became “the buyers”, things didn’t get much better…
How ‘Bout Them Apples…Or Rather…Oranges
We want a specific car part, and you’ve got it.
Sold!
We come to pick it up – halfway across the city.
Sure enough, you’ve got the advertised part we want…but it’s attached to something else we don’t want!
No worries you say…the part we want comes with that additional part – for an extra cost. We can take it all.
Yipee!
Wait. Whaaat?
So now it’s a combo?
So we fork over the extra cash because we still want the part we came for…and because we just drove all the way across the city for this.
*Jaw drop*
Don’t Be A Tease Please
You posted an item for “X” price.
Yippee! We like the item and the price. We don’t even try and haggle. Imagine.
We grab our money and drive across town to pick up the item.
Huh? The price went up $20 between logging off the computer and arriving at your door?
“Do we still want it?” you ask.
Hmmm….let’s see…$20 extra to you and we bring the item home.
Say no, we bring home nothing, and just spend $20 in gas.
Nice to meet you. You can call us “rock” and “hard place”.
No, We Don’t Want To See What You’ve Got Hiding Out Back
We want that one item you’ve got for sale.
We agree upon a price.
When we come calling we simply want to purchase the item from you and get on our merry way.
But you have other plans.
Apparently, we are your new best friends and you want to show us around your place.
“Come see all the great things I have for sale out back!” you say.
Suddenly we feel like we are appearing on “Hoarders”, only this episode features all kinds of rusty old tools, scrap metal, used furniture, and other assorted items of an unknown nature.
When you need to tell someone you’re not in the market for a used toilet seat, it’s time to bolt.
And so…we’re officially Kijiji’d out!
Pooped!
We had no idea that buying and selling used items could be so exhausting!
We’re off to bed…
Wait! Didn’t we sell our queen-sized bed frame?
Has anyone got a queen-sized bed frame they’d like to sell us? Ha!
What about you? Have YOU had any funny, crazy, frustrating experiences when buying and selling on Kijiji? We’ LOVE you to share them in the comments below. It might just help us feel better!
Tammy Bell says
LOL, what a story, I think I have lived this and never want to sell on Kijiji again… Everyone wants everything for nothing until you try to buy something someone else is selling.
Sandy says
You can relate, eh Tammy? Yes, it sure seems like everyone wants something for nothing. You sort of have to go into this with a sense of humour – or it can drive you nuts! Thanks for reading and sharing your comments!
Alyssa says
LOVE this post so much!!! Oh we have had our share of bad ones like hagglers, no shows and more, but it is nice when you do sell something without hassle (thank you man who bought my John Lennon edition iPod touch a few years ago!)
Sandy says
Thanks so much Alyssa! So glad you enjoyed it! I loved the story you shared on Facebook and, of course, can totally relate to that. A John Lennon edition iPod?! How cool! Hope he’s still using it! Thanks so much for reading and for sharing your stories!!
Kim K says
Sounds like a familiar story for sure. I don’t use Kijiji very much anymore, however, it’s the same thing in FB groups these days.
Sandy says
Is it Kim? I belong to one but, it has been a long time since I used it. I actually forgot I still belonged to it. I thought maybe it might be better (in terms of the users) in a FB group…but maybe not, eh? Thanks for stopping by!!
Carole D says
Most people ask me were do you want to meet, My husband prefer it that way, he doesn’t like them coming to the house, of course it small items. I hate when people say I’ll go tomorrow, then I ask what time, I’m not sure. Do they expect me to stay home all day. I tell them, message me when you know what time….
Sandy says
Yes, unfortunately, I think some people think you are just hanging around home and they can show up any time during the day, lol. At least that is the impression I have gotten at times. I can definitely understand you wanting to meet elsewhere. I’m starting to understand from the comments I’m getting that perhaps people ask to meet because that is more the “norm” when it comes to buying and selling on Kijiji. Maybe we are out-of-the-loop with that. Still, I’m not about to travel across town to meet someone at a coffee shop close to them – when we are the ones selling the stuff. I wouldn’t expect people to meet me near my coffee shop if I was the buyer. Thanks so much for stopping by, Carole! Loved hearing your opinion!
Elizabeth Vlug says
Ah yes Kijiji, You gotta love it. But it can be so darn frustrating. I only have trouble with the low ballers, but now I just reply ” Let me think about it”. I can just imagine them at the other end thinking they have pulled a fast one. lol. Then a few days later they put forward their low ball offer again and I just say no. Me bad. Thanks for the laugh Sandy. ps. My biggest pet peeve response is ” Is this still available?”
Sandy says
Hahahaha!!!!!!!! That’s a GREAT idea, Elizabeth!! I love it! I’ve filed that one away, lol. Can’t wait to use it one day. Oh yes! The ol’ “is this still available?”. I always have to bite my tongue with that one. Thanks so much for stopping by, and making ME laugh!
mojo says
I got to say the ammount of times ive come across ads that werent removed after sold make the is it still available an expected question
Luzy says
Good evening Sandy. Oh my.. you made my day lighter. . Its real …very well said….I thought I had the worst day but this simply made me smile. Yes I heard a lot of bad experience using kijiji. Seller: used iPhone $×××.
Buyer: I am interested. I am a priest and I am buying this for somebody but I will be travelling but I will pay more if you mail it to this address. I will.send a cheque to your address so once you get it mail it right away.
You know this is scam. Coz the cheq never exist and a fraudulent item. Seller will push to mail.the item right away but dont get deceived as they use fake name, create fake email and they just want that iPhone. So be careful. I heard a lot of stories about this.
Sandy says
Hi Luzy! So glad you enjoyed this post so much! You are so right, so many scams out there. No matter what platform you are dealing with, you need to be cautious and be aware of things that sound too good to be true. I’ve heard of the type of scenario you mention as well. Thanks so much for reading and for stopping by to comment!
Sab Edwards says
Take down the ad when you sell it..that too doesn’t seem to happen LOL
also take a person with you who stays outside if its a high priced item ($800 etc) and you have to go inside to see this item (ie fridge) …. go to the door with them, say , I will wait outside for x amount of time so that you don’t get robbed (yes, scary world)
and sometimes kijiji doesn’t get it right, EVERY ad I have placed has put me 500 miles away from where I actually live (It goes by postal codes so I have no idea if its google maps or what)
Sandy says
Yes! That’s a big one (not taking down ad when sold). Yes, you should definitely take someone with you when you go to someone’s house to purchase an item. As for your address/postal code issue, what a pain! I’ve had others mention that as well. I would not be happy about that! Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts, Sab!
Maria McLachlan says
I’ve been through most of these situations. So unreal eh, ugh some people.
Sandy says
I sure understand now, Maria, that I’m not alone with this. Sounds like everyone has these problems. At least I have company! Thanks for stopping by!!
Robert Buck says
My pet peeve is you have something for sale. I message you to ask if it still available. Don’t bother to respond. Either you want to sell it or you do not. If it is sold tell me and delete it. Another on is they ask is this still available? You respond yes. That is the last you hear from them.
Sandy says
I truly dislike when people just disappear like that, Robert! It only takes a couple of seconds to respond to someone. This happens a lot though. Thanks so much for stopping by to share your thoughts!
Katryna says
I agree completely with everything you wrote! To me it’s just plain common sense but it doesn’t seem like it’s so common anymore!! What led me to this page is the frustration lately wth kijiji users. All I’d like is if your going to message me anything I would just appreciate a response back once I reply to you. That is whether you are still interested or wanting to back out and change your mind. I’ll have someone ask something and then I reply and nothing back? Have also had a big conversation with someone who REALLY wanted my item and the day comes where they’d love to come pick it up and I don’t even hear back and they don’t show. Just blows my mind really and a big waste of time on my end as I am busy enough yet I have the courtesy to take the time to message you back. Also what you had said about low balling. I had an item that I ended up dropping to $10 and I had spent $30 on it originally and they offer $5 when I had wrote good deal in the write up and then I offer $8 and add a bonus similar item to it for them and they don’t reply at all and disappear. So I would have to say my biggest frustration with kijiji users is the no response back. I don’t mind if you changed your mind. It would suck but all I would want is that reply saying sorry I changed my mind! That’s it!! Not that hard is it?
Marj says
I made plans to buy tickets pick up tickets to Banjo Bowl next day..i get up this morning to the guy who’s selling the tix txtd me late that night saying..” i gave them to my cousin but hey family first..sorry..such a dick move…i suggested that he should check with his fucking family FIRST before posting it on kijiji
Kevin says
Been selling my extra clutter for only 2 weeks now, 2 weeks and I’ve already experienced most of your experiences.
I look at it this way. If I had a retail store people would be visiting, looking around, walking out.
So who knows, maybe they price compare, they like bargains, they’re lonely, some just ask questions and nothing more. However I do believe some are just s- -t disturbers.
What gets me most concerned is when we’ve had our discussions, agreed on price. I have your phone number. They have mine.
Most of my items are large, they need to come and get them. I give them my home address, but never show up. Never hear from them again. Ghosted. What’s with that?
Tanner says
Fair enough. Now how about some Kijiji SELLER etiquette?
1. If the item is no longer for sale and you just left your ad up like an idiot, and someone contacts you, contact them back and say so, then remove the ad. Twice this week now I’ve emailed a seller who didn’t have a phone number posted, didn’t get a reply, then later the same day the ad disappeared.
2. Take your ad down when you sell something. Seriously. And additionally, don’t get your panties all in a twist when people keep contacting you about something you already sold. It’s your own fault you didn’t take the ad down.
3. If you’re serious about selling something, put your phone number. If you’re going to only use email, at least check it every once in a while.
4. Make yourself available if you actually want to sell the item.
5. This is minor but how about a little humanity? I can’t tell you how many times I would reply to an ad asking if it’s still available and simply get back “no.” It just seems rude.
6. If you actually expect to sell something, put an actual description and take some actual pictures, instead of just one blurry photo of it in a dimly lit area from far away, and just putting the title of the ad as the description too. Then don’t be surprised or annoyed when people bombard you with questions about it.
Sandy says
Tanner, I love this! I especially love #’s 5 & 6! There’s no doubt about it, it can be equally as frustrating to be a seller. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts!!
J. Z. says
Facebook Marketplace is just as (or even more) worse.
You’ll still get the automated “Hi, is this available? I’m interested”
responses. Unlike Kijiji however, you are also able to tell when
the potential buyer is ignoring your messages.
You know, important questions like “so…when would you like to
meet up?”, “how does X o’clock work for you?” or my personal
favorite “are you still interested?”.
Chris C. says
I agree with your post… As a buyer regarding SELLERS!!! Believe me, I’ve had my share of frustrations from sellers! You know, we agree, I don’t even haggle, make arrangements to meet you at a certain time and date and show up… NO ANSWER (not on the phone, not at the door!), only to find the next day in my inbox ‘sry sold’. Happened more than once… And the main reason I wish there was a rating system to block flaky sellers, or those that dare insult you when you ask them why they sold after you had made arrangements and everything seemed to run so well from the emails, the rude people that kill it for regular people with, you know, HONOUR.
As for prices… Let’s just say some sellers really believe their used appliance is worth more what I can get it for new. Because it costs nothing to post on kijiji and commercial sellers easily bypass the system to post for free, you get some items posted and reposted every couple of days for 2 years with still no takers (don’t even bother letting kijiji know about multiple listings of the same item – they ignore it). You’d think these sellers are actually interested in selling but no, it seems they’d rather spend their time reposting and spam the search results with their overpriced junk nobody wants! Interested in a used box for a vintage turntable simply because it’s got the brand name on it ? I’ve got a link for one, yay! And it’s getting worse with every passing year – you have to sift maybe 100 ads for a particular item to find one that is reasonably priced. I used to find things after a few weeks, now it’s more like every few months. Not because I’m looking for impossible to find items – we’re talking the same items that I was looking for a few years ago. You see, I maintain my searches to find out how the market has evolved and there is something inescapable: it is much, much harder to find things on kijiji than it used to be, you have now a much better chance of success in thrift stores, even with their sharp price increases since they’ve become ‘in’ places to shop at.
And please, sellers – stop insulting our intelligence stating “paid $$$ at Canadian Tire” (when it regularly gets on sale for less than what you are trying to sell it for) or the classic “it sells for $$$ on kijiji, I checked…” No, you DON’T know what its SELLS for, the prices you mention are for the items THAT DON’T SELL and keep being posted every couple of days for MONTHS >:-(
To sum it up, it’s a real chore to find stuff on kijiji, but it’s worth it if you are looking for something out of the ordinary, like something from your grandma’s time. One piece of advice though – if you see “vintage” in the title, it almost always means “worn out junk I’ll ask an outrageous amount of money for”. Very, very few items are truly vintage and in a condition that is decent enough to warrant what most people who label it ‘vintage’ ask for.
Thank you again for your article – Hopefully it will catch kijiji’s eyes. It confirms what many people feel, the fact kijiji sorely needs revamping to let users filter out the many bad apples that have and seemingly taken over what used to be once a great site.
Niki says
Feeling a bit frustrated been trying to buy a pet on kijiji for days and they take forever to get back to us about a day they are avalible
Sandy says
Yes, things can be a bit frustrating with trying to buy as well. Hopefully things work out for you to get a new furry friend, Niki. Thanks for reading!
Dave w says
Decent article on buying and selling on kijiji, but I have to say, selling to the public is a chore on its own. I find if I near give it away I have no trouble with responses or any problem in general. We are dealing with the public and it is the nature of the beast. Gone to ever gets here first, and that works.