Experiences with Kijiji?

[Joel_BC]

I'm posting this here, since I believe the Buy & Sell forum here at SS is intended for actual buy, sell, trade types of posts. This is a question, instead, about the Kijiji system. Have you had any experience using it? Were you happy with the results? How well does it work out if you're based well outside one of the metropolitan areas?

One specific thing I'm wondering about is their policy of strongly recommending (almost requiring) that transactions be made in person and with cash. Seems to be a problem for relatively inexpensive items (say up to $30) if, say, the seller is in the city and you're located a three hour's drive away.

But in any case, all comments about Kijiji would be of interest to me.

 

[DianeS]

I have purchased things people posted on Kajiji before. Really, Kijiji is just a site, like eBay or Craigslist, or the newspaper classified ads.

They don't do anything except allow people to use its advertising space. They can't verify that the seller actually has an item, that it is the condition the seller claims, that the purchaser actually has the money, etc. That's why they want you to do transactions in person and in cash - that way you SEE the item yourself before purchasing it, or that you HAVE the money yourself after you sell it. Anything else is just taking chances. Paypal does not help get money back unless the transaction was through eBay- they won't help for Craigslist or Kijiji items, for example. If you utilized another way of exchanging a product for money other than in person - like the mail - would you trust a complete stranger to uphold their end of the bargain, when simply waiting a few days would give them BOTH the money and the item, which you'd have no way of getting back?

But to answer your exact question, yes I've purchases things listed on Kijiji. Most notably was a rabbit hutch worth $50-$60, listed for $20. I happily drove over 45 minutes one way to get that.

 

[CheerioLounge]

I had never heard of Kijiji until you posted about it. I just checked out the local ads and WoW! There are folks right here in the basin selling the things I will be needing in the next few months! Thanks Joel, for posting!!

About the payment process... For the things I am intersted in buying, I would want to do it in person. But I am talking about buying livestock and poultry. I also didn't notice any sort of PayPal option for payment or any info on shipping. I don't think that they are that type of site. It's an online classified ads. Like finding something in the newspaper or The Pennysaver.

Either way, Thanks again for posting about it!

 

[Joel_BC]

I had never heard of Kijiji until you posted about it. I just checked out the local ads and WoW! There are folks right here in the basin selling the things I will be needing in the next few months! Thanks Joel, for posting!!

Okay, well glad this was interesting and of value to you, CL.

 

[pinkfox]

ive used kijiji, hoobly and oodle on a smi regular basis...

there are scammers, just like craigslist, so you have ot be carefull, thats why they suggest meeting people in person, only dealing with cash ect...
people ask for money wired then never provide the goods, or people pay with rubber checks ect and can never be found again afterwards ect.

just use common sense, like all classifieds systems

 

[moolie]

We use it all the time and have done since it's early years. In fact, much of our furniture is off Kijiji as we bought a larger house almost 4 years ago and needed a few things.

We've purchased the following over the past 6 years, all with cash and in person (you really do want to see what it is they're selling as we've gone to look at a few things and decided not to buy based on condition or materials):

A flat-top kitchen stove ($100), top-loading washer and dryer to leave at our old house in place of our own appliances to which we were accustomed
(I actually ended up liking the washer and dryer better as we installed them and put ours out in the garage while our house was for sale,
but we left the new ones--they were only 3 months old, someone was moving and sold us the pair for $250)

3 wrought iron bed frames, all in gorgeous condition (prices between $60-$80)
(doubles in all 3 cases--one for each of our two daughters who moved up from low pine Ikea beds and one for our basement guest room)

2 solid oak bookshelves ($50 each)

a mid-century Danish teak dining table and chairs plus low sideboard/china hutch for a total song--the whole set for $600

lots of Corningware and Pyrex pieces, all for great prices

a teak coffee table and end table for $85

solid wood dressers for all 3 bedrooms (our set is light cherry, one daughter has dark cherry and the other has oak--all 3 sets are 80s vintage
but solidly built and in wonderful condition, each bedroom set cost us ~$100-150 per dresser and ~$25 per bedside table)

We've also picked up some great freebies like old windows from people who had just put in new ones (some from Kijiji, some from freecycle), ice skates and TONS of canning jars (most have been freebies, some have averaged out to around $5/dozen). I'm sure there is more, but I can't think of it at the moment. I also keep seeing ads from someone in Crowsnest Pass a couple of hours away who sells garden plants and may make a trip down to see what she has some day.

We have saved tons of money on what we bought compared to new and always ended up with high quality stuff We have a personal commitment to buying used or acquiring things through freecycle, so as to not add to the materialism so prevalent in today's society. We are definitely not a disposable family.

It does take time to find what you want when you buy used though, when we began looking to replace the kids' beds it took over a year before we had found two, then we found the third right away for the basement guest room. Bookshelves (especially solid wood) go fast, someone may get there before you do. Appliances also go fast, we really lucked out on the laundry machines.

We do live in the city, but have driven to smaller rural communities as far away as an hour's drive to get good deals--ensuring that we had good communication before going to see the items in person.

Most people are honest, some just don't know what they have and "think" it's real wood when it isn't. The lady who sold us the teak dining room set actually did know what she had, she just wanted a change of style and we bought it before people really started to get back into mid-century modern furniture so we beat the popularity curve there--we just really liked the set and weren't too fussed about style. It's a really big table with two big leaves and the chairs have bright orange wool upholstery which isn't too everyone's taste.

Don't know if my experience helps you at all, since we are in the city, but I just wanted to note how much we've purchased via the service and how pleased we've been overall. You may want to check if the people who've listed things at a distance from you will meet you half-way? Most of our purchases have been large, so not too feasible for us, but for smaller items maybe people will be willing?

 

[hqueen13]

Oh Moolie, thanks for all that info! Now I'm going to have to go check it out!! We've got to get rid of this dang couch (I picked up a loveseat on freecycle, and now have to get rid of the couch... nobody on freecycle wants it! ) and that looks like another option!

 

[MorelCabin]

I buy and sell things on Kijiji all the time. There have been a few scammers I have seen, but most times if you email and they are willing to give you a phone number you are fine. Be careful with buying electronics however...my son just last month bought a cell phone from some person and later found out it was stolen.

 

[moolie]

That reminds me, we've only ever dealt with people who listed a phone number.

 

[hwillm1977]

I LOVE kijiji... I use it all the time for buying and selling stuff, but I've mostly dealt with people close enough to deal in person. Our Kijiji has sites for two major cities, and neither is any more than an hour from us, since I travel to both regularly I just arrange pick-ups for the times I'll be in that city. It's way cheaper than using Ebay, and no one around here seems to use Craigslist... it's just a classifieds website, same as browsing the classifieds in your local paper... each ad is put up by an individual and it's basically up to you to do the due diligence and make sure it's a legit person.

I had my last house listed with a real estate agent for 13 months. When the contract ran out I put the house on Kijiji and sold it within 8 days myself.

I buy wedding dresses on Ebay for really cheap (less than $100), and resell them on Kijiji for $200-400 each... the dresses come from China, and although I've gotten a few that weren't good enough quality to re-sell it usually works out.

I bought all my maternity clothes on there, a fridge, washer and dryer, a dishwasher, an ATV, a pile of free drywall, free windows, just random stuff I needed that is always cheaper online than if I went driving to a store to get it.

I also sell my pencil portraits on there... they do great right around Christmas.

I don't list my phone number on there, but am perfectly willing to provide the phone number to people who reply to my ads.