Archive for the ‘Your stories’ Category
Geek for Gumtree
Luca Massaro, a tech blogger and digital marketing consultant from London, tells us how he posted a Wanted ad on Gumtree to find some of his prized possessions at a bargain price.
Do you come to Gumtree to search for cheap gadgets and gizmos?
If you’re nodding in agreement, then we already share some similarities. Yes, I am a technology enthusiast, aka geek. I love to play about with toys like a child and tend to spend my hard earned pennies on the latest piece of touch screen technology or next generation gaming. I also have a weak spot for retro toys, especially when it comes to video games.
Rather than wake up ridiculously early on a Sunday morning and trek to the nearest car boot sale in search of my bargain fix, I prefer to head to Gumtree where I can do the same, without even leaving the house. Woah!
Here’s how I found one of my most treasured bargains, my Nintendo 64 consoles and games, on Gumtree.
I started out searching on Gumtree for about a week but wasn’t having much luck. So my next idea was to post a Wanted ad – “Wanted: Nintendo 64 with games (Good condition)”.
Points to remember when posting a Wanted ad:
- State clearly what you’re after, not just ‘I want a Digital Camera’
- State how much you’re willing to pay as this encourages sellers to contact you
- State that you’re also willing to negotiate on price
- Clearly say which city you live in and how far you’re willing to travel
- Add a contact telephone number
So now I was searching for a N64 and I had a Wanted ad up on Gumtree. Surely this would get my leads up, right?
About a week later, I received a call from an unknown number saying this person had a console, controllers and a box of games he was looking to get rid of and he only lived a short drive away! The caller agreed to meet me and that evening I drove to Crystal Palace to check out this console.
To my surprise, not only did the seller have a N64, he also had four controllers (two of which were limited transparent colours) and a box containing 40 games, including rare Paper Mario and Super Smash Bros games, all in working order. I was immensely chuffed. One man’s trash is really another man’s treasure!
Finally, if you’re new to looking for items on Gumtree, here are some tips:
- Purchase from people who list their mobile numbers and their email addresses. The more contact information you have, the better
- Only buy from people who are willing to post ‘real pictures’. If they don’t, ask them to email you a picture with their name on a piece of paper in the picture
- Only contact people who seem genuine, not those selling an awesome bundle deal for a mere £1
Guest blogger: Jamie Breese tells how to convert clutter to cash
Last time, we had Quentin Willson in our guest blogger series tell you why he liked buying cars on Gumtree. Today, we’ve got Jamie Breese, a regular on TV for his antique, collectable and ‘declutter’ expertise, tell us how to gain control of our cupboards and make some extra cash along the way.
Have you ever started looking for something in your home, and suddenly feel that you’re drowning in the mess and clutter that surrounds you? If you’re anything like me, this can happen any time you let your cupboards and surfaces get the better of you.
For me, it’s DVDs that I can’t seem to help hoarding. I watch them once (if ever) and they spend the rest of their lives sitting on a shelf growing dust. It still doesn’t stop me buying them though. Opening any one of my cupboards means I risk an avalanche of CDs, DVDs and unrelated paperwork falling at my feet.
My solution – decluttering – not only worked for me, by creating order amongst the chaos, but actually generated some pretty good cash by selling online through Gumtree. The whole process is really simple and the responses are immediate. Also, because it’s a local site, it’s quick and easy to hook up with people. It’s pretty incredible how quickly the thing that’s been gathering dust in your cupboard becomes a bundle of cash in your pocket whilst your home regains a more Zen-like state. For me it was bliss.
In fact, decluttering my own place became so successful I’ve actually made a job out of it, and now I spend my time giving others advice on how they can do the same. I’ve become what’s known as a Decluttering Expert, and if I may say so, a good one at that! I’ve presented BBC’s Life Laundry, am a regular expert on GMTV, Collectors Lot, The Antiques Show to name a few, giving out tips on how to best deal with your clutter.
To make selling easier for you, I’ve worked out the top 5 most commonly hoarded items and their average selling prices, and put them together in a handy table for your reference. I like to call it the Gumtree Price Index.
| Gumtree Price Index | |
| Hoarded items | Gumtree Retail Price (GRP)* |
| DVDs and CDs | £11 |
| Kitchen appliances | £37 |
| Toys | £13 |
| Computer games | £21 |
| Music & electronics | £54 |
*Average selling price on Gumtree
How to convert clutter to cash
- Don’t feel guilty. It’s amazing how good you feel when you get extra cash for letting go of that ‘unwanted present’. If in doubt, think of a price that feels right and add 10%.
- Sell items with the instructions manual. If you’ve still got the manuals, you can get extra value out of your sale. This is especially so for technology items, gadgets and kitchen appliances.
- Group lower-value items and sell them together. Items like a toaster, kettle and sandwich maker work well together and help appeal to those looking to update their kitchen.
- Look for first editions or rare albums. Books and music are some of the most hoarded items in the UK. If an album has a dustjacket or is a first edition, it could be worth a lot of money.
- Present the product well. To get the most from your Gumtree gem, give the item a good clean or polish and present it well in your photos. This will help catch the eye of potential buyers.
- Consider how old the item is. With everyday household items, the newer the better. To help determine the best price for your item, ask yourself – is this a trusted brand? Has this games console been superseded? Do I have the washing machine’s service notes? How much was this new?
- Do your research. Look around the site to see how much other sellers have priced their items, and undercut them if you’re willing to help secure a fast sale.
You’ll quickly learn what’s popular by having a quick look around the site. One additional piece of advice: be prepared to get a knocking on some of the things you hold dear. This isn’t a game for the sensitive. Remember, one man’s treasure is another man’s trash!
Guest blogger: Quentin Willson on buying a car on Gumtree
We’re thrilled to have Quentin Willson, one of the UK’s most well known motoring enthusiasts, write a post for our blog and explain why he’s such a big fan of buying cars on Gumtree.
Hands up, I’m a total 22-carat Gumtree fan. When it comes to finding proper cars being sold by proper people, this is the only site I’ll use. Sadly, elastic morals, puffed up descriptions, shadowy photos and sellers who don’t know their ethics from their elbows are a common case in my world. Online car buying is getting more and more fraught, which is why it’s so refreshing to be able to talk to sellers that have standards, honesty and decency. Gumtree car sellers really are a class apart.
And it’s not just me. All the research now says that used car buyers desperately want a safe site with private sellers who are happy to talk directly to buyers and don’t insist on doing a deal via a cold and remote email conversation. The ability to interact with a human being, knowing their name and where they live, is absolutely essential. People buy from people they like and doing it any other way is downright daft. And here’s another of my favourite sayings, “Nice cars and nice people go together.” And that’s what Gumtree is all about – respectable sellers offering decent cars at fair prices with honest descriptions.
My advice for a smooth selling and buying ride?
- Talk directly with the seller, ask searching questions, write everything down, be polite and courteous and if you can, try to form a relationship. You’ll feel much more confident about what you’re buying.
- You can make all the mechanical checks in the world, but if you don’t like the seller, you probably won’t like the car. Use your instincts on this – it never fails.
- Never carry cash with you when you’re meeting the seller. Bring someone with you for a second opinion if possible, and if you like the car, then go to the bank together.
Last year, I bought a 70s Mercedes sports car from a Gumtree private seller in West London. He was charming on the phone, was at great pains to explain all the car’s faults and agreed to hold it for me until the next day. When I pulled up, I couldn’t believe his house. Worth an easy £20 million. The Merc was twice as good as he’d said and I bought it in a heartbeat. It was so honest and fairly described I didn’t even think about making an offer. We had coffee, chatted a bit and when I used his downstairs loo, was struck by a little painting on the wall. I looked closer. The tiny signature in the corner of the canvas was ‘Renoir’. No kidding.
Community champions: Introducing Emma of Mums Matters
You might have noticed that some Gumtree forums are manned by people called community champions. It’s something we started this year to let you run a forum to help others in your community, whether it’s to do with pets, property or even in your local area. We’d like to introduce you to one of our community champions, Emma, and let her tell you how she gets discussions rolling in her Mums Matters forum.
I’m a mum, a blogger and a software developer. I was approached by Gumtree
to become a community champion for the Mums Matters forum after they came across my blog Mellow Mummy.
At first, I thought I’d struggle to identify topics that would promote discussion. It felt like a big responsibility. Why would anyone want to chat about the things that came out of my head? What if people didn’t start chatting?
My fears have been allayed. People are visiting the forum; they chat, they offer advice and ask questions. If that wasn’t rewarding enough, I’ve discovered a wonderful side effect of becoming a community champion – I’ve learned to be a better blogger.
Nowadays I am always looking for inspiration from my blog posts (and those of my mummy-blogger peers) for topical discussions on the forum. Each time I brainstorm ideas for a new blog post, I think hard about whether the topic I’m writing about is relevant. My recent post on why every parent should write a will started off as a short piece, and then I realised that I could turn it into a more informative piece and that people might actually learn something new by reading my blog – I could make a difference!
I often ask myself, what angle can I take that will promote discussion without causing controversy? A blog post on my decision to give my daughter the swine flu jab was the inspiration for a hot topic on the forum. By identifying themes that I feel will get people talking on Gumtree, I also identify themes that will engage my own readers.
It is not just a one-way flow of engaging ideas. If I see that a topic on the forum has attracted a lot of attention, then I know it’s something people will find interesting to read about and I feel inspired to write a related blog post.
Being a Gumtree community champion is really valuable to me as it helps me to keep in touch with the issues that genuinely matter to parents.
Want to be a community champion? Write to us here.
Adventures on Gumtree: Finding a flatmate
Here’s a great story we got from a Gumtree user who was moving out of her flatshare and how she used the site to look for her replacement. We just love this story because it just shows that with a little effort, your ad can bring you lots of responses.
For 6 hellish months, I lived with the worst kind of flatmates. They were noisy, they were messy, they used my shampoo and they put meat products all over my vegetarian leftover meals. I was not a happy camper.
But then there was a ray of light: an opportunity to move into a nice flat with a nice person. Although I had never signed a contract, I did the honourable thing and told my current flatmates my intention of moving out with a month’s notice.
About 2 weeks before I was due to move out, I became increasingly paranoid, seeing as how I hadn’t noticed anyone coming around to view the room yet and my moving date was looming ever nearer. I asked my flatmates if they’d even put an ad up on Gumtree yet. They had, but so far there had been no response.
I dug the ad up myself: It was horrible. One poorly-written block of text and no pictures. I wouldn’t have answered the ad either. So against my will but in my best interests, I helped out my ex-flatmates. I snapped some pictures of my room (the only clean one in the house!) in the afternoon light and posted them with a rewritten description on Gumtree Thursday night.
By Friday more than a dozen people had responded by email, text and voicemail. They had more than half a dozen viewings lined up for Saturday afternoon. By Saturday night, the room was taken and by Sunday I had my deposit back.
Gumtree definitely works. You just need to be sure you’re doing it right.
Have a similar story to tell? Let us know in the comments.
Adventures on Gumtree: Missed connections
Ever wondered whether anyone actually sees or replies to one of those Missed Connections ads? We let one of our writers, Natasha, tell you all after finding herself being described in one such ad.
When I spent one Friday night drinking Brazilian cocktails and attempting to samba in Guanabara, the last thing I ever expected to see was a message aimed at me on Gumtree’s Missed Connections section.
The post title read: ‘Guanabara – Friday – Natalie’ (Ok, not quite my name but a close second). Very intrigued and a wee bit apprehensive, I read the short ad from the person (hereinafter referred to as Mr X). It said, “You’re a writer from South London, met you outside Guanabara on Friday night. I have something of yours.” Truth be told, I was slightly disappointed the message wasn’t juicier!
I debated for a whole three-and-a-half seconds before shooting off a quick, “You have what of mine?” reply. One day elapsed. The next day, I loaded up Hotmail and there it was! Mr X had replied, and golly-gosh it was an elaborate one.
To cut an extensive email short, Mr X expressed shock at his endeavour actually working, especially considering he had used the wrong name. He apologised for the unusual method of contact and how extremely contrite he was for the rowdy bunch of morons (I mean, his friends) who kept badgering me for my telephone number and my Facebook account. Mr X explained he had our little encounter on his mind for the rest of the weekend, that he found me “intriguing” and I came across as the sort of woman who appreciated an approach a little off the beaten track.
He gave me his name on Facebook and told me to add him. He didn’t ask for my number, but asked permission to write to me. If I liked it, then “maybe we could chat”. I felt a bit like Queen Victoria by this point, but I agreed. Two days later, I got a message from Mr X. His chosen piece of writing was less of an attempt at a piece of cleverly-written prose and more just a questionnaire – 10 pseudo-insightful questions he could Freud all over. I reluctantly filled them in. Since then, it’s been emails, emails and emails, although he did send me four free tickets to a BBC comedy show in Putney.
I found the whole experience quite flattering, with undertones of randomness. I’ve always been quite intrigued by Missed Connections and wondered if anybody had sought and found a specific person using the service. I do recommend more people use it; it’s free anyway. Plus, it’s an interesting story to tell the grandchildren. Or not.
If adventures begin and perpetual emails cease with Mr X, I’ll let you know.
Adventures on Gumtree Dating Part 2
I received a reply from a Gumtree personal ad I wrote. She said she was Chinese, moved to Australia as a kid, recently moved to London and found my ad objectionable. My ad was a bit edgy perhaps, but certainly not offensive. Nevertheless, she said I should be more open to other cultures. I explained that no offence was intended.
We exchange a few emails, and agree to get some coffee.
We meet at some little coffee shop next to an underground station. Seems nice enough. She orders a “cap”. The young Italian-sounding coffee woman has no idea what she’s talking about.
Again, she orders a “cap”. No idea. She repeats it several times and this barista isn’t getting it. Finally, the boss comes over and explains that she’s ordering a cappuccino. But this barista is pretty annoyed by this point as is my Gumtree acquaintance, so a small argument breaks out. I don’t get involved.
We go outside and drink our beverages. I tell her that I’ve never heard of a “cap” in that sense and she should be careful with using slang with non-native English speakers. Then she starts arguing with me saying that I’m blaming her for the encounter. I let it go.
We finish our drinks. I’m ready to go home but she suggests we go to a nearby photo gallery. Fine. It was interesting, I guess but now I’m really ready to go home. Not good to have long first meet-ups. But now she says we should see a film. Well, alright. I already saw the film but fine. Then she wants to get something to eat. It’s like she’s just killing time.
We’re in Chinatown now and I mention that all of these “model” houses in the area are slightly depressing. She says that prostitution is a source of income and I shouldn’t be so judgmental.
She then discloses that she used to work in a brothel. As a secretary, anyway.
Now I consider myself a man of the world and dating a former bordello worker shouldn’t faze a man of the world (at least in her eyes), so I ask absolutely no follow-up questions.
She was alright, but we just never met up again.
How to sell your car in less than four hours
Rod is a regular Gumtree user and this is a story in his own words of how he sold a car on Gumtree in under 4 hours. You can find him on Twitter and on his blog.
It’s 9.35am on Monday June 29th 2009. The MOT and tax on my VW Passat run out at the end of the month, that’s tomorrow! Time to sell my motor, but can I do it in less than 24 hours? I call some bloke who runs a business called We Buy Your Car. After a few questions, he decides he doesn’t want to buy my car. Then a brainwave, well I’m slow. I’ll put an ad on Gumtree!
Now I have to confess I’m not sure how much my Passat is worth. It has 163,000 miles on the clock and the paint work is not A1. So I look at other Passats on Gumtree and come to a decision. I pop outside and take 3 pictures of my motor. Write the ad and upload the images. Easy peasy. Within an hour the phone starts to ring. Some chap wants to buy my car and can come over by 12.15. We meet he makes me an offer which I accept and he gives me the cash, I give him the log book, MOT certificate and the keys.
Done. My car is sold by 1.30pm. Less than four hours. BTW, I received about a dozen calls!
My tips: keep the price realistic and make your headline stand out. I was really subtle with the phrase ‘Bargain Price’ in my headline. When I told my wife, she was amazed, I got seven times more than she expected! Thanks Gumtree, brilliant system.
Adventures in Gumtree Dating. Part 1
Here’s a genuine Gumtree user’s experience of using Gumtree dating. We’re not using his real name of course! (more…)
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May 14th
As you may have heard the Gumtree forums are closing, it wasn’t an easy decision to make, read more about it here... http://t.co/FsDTShjs [uk_gumtree]
May 12th
Hi @Phil_Cowley when you reply to ads, you have to wait for the seller to reply back. If they're interested you will receive an email reply! [uk_gumtree]
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