How to earn emergency funds, through Craigslist or otherwise?

Thirding TheOtherSide. I've sold a ton of books and CDs and even DVDs via Amazon this year, and they tick over quite nicely. It's a handy sideline. It's really easy to sign up, and you can get paid straight into your checking account. Make sure you check the box that says you're happy to ship internationally; there seem to be a lot of Danes and Norwegians buying some of the weird US rock and jazz CDs I didn't want to keep, and they're happy to pay decent prices, too. With the DVDs, I make it very clear that these are whatever region they are and that you have to have a multiregion player to play them, so there's no comeback from buyers who didn't read the description properly. Just be aware that you may need to spend a bit of time monitoring the prices the CDs and books go for, and make sure that you describe them thoroughly -- that definitely helps woo the buyers if they can see you aren't just cutting and pasting a description for 17 items that all read "LOOKS GOOD PLAYS GRATE."

This reminds me of a behavioral economics study I once read where people were given items worth X. Immediately afterward the holders of those items believed they were worth X + Y. Meaning: it's natural for Humans to overestimate the value of things that they own. I think about this often as I troll through craigslist and ebay items. The offered price of many of these listed items is usually absurd, usually at least 25% higher than even my best offer would be. Often, I don't even waste my time. Price is determined by supply and demand. Unless an item that you own is very rare or in high demand, it's probably worth much less than you think. A good salesperson can make an item appear to be in higher demand or rarity than it is. However, most people are not skilled salespeople. Unless you have time on your side, I would cut the price to at least 10% lower than the next similar item. Good luck.

Is there any reason you're listing these items on Craigslist instead of eBay? Some large, unwieldy items make more sense to sell on CL (couches come to mind), but most other things will sell for a better price and often more quickly on eBay. Moreover, your awkward geographic location won't really matter on the 'bay. Gift cards in particular sell very well on eBay, often only a dollar or two off their face value.

A few of my friends and I held a multi-household yard sale yesterday and collectively made just under $1000. We advertised well the week before the sale and everything was Priced to Move. (my philosophy was "what price would be worth the time it takes to put a sticker on this item?") We also asked friends and family if they had anything they wanted us to sell for them. Several people donated things and let us keep the money. On Friday I did not have money for next month's rent. Today I do.

Is there anyway your husband could start selling plasma? I think you make around $25 each time and can sell twice a week. It takes about two hours each time, so do the math and if it is worth his time for $13/hour, do it!

Re: craigslist, be sure that you include lots of high-quality photos, and that you have clear descriptions of everything you're selling. Be sure to optimize for keywords too. Generally though, you're not going to get top-dollar for anything that you're selling unless it's in high demand. Ebay can often fetch higher prices for rare items or tech items like the server racks and computer hardware; some quick searches will tell you what the market price is for your items. The market price on CL for the same item is probably less; the trade-off is an immediate cash sale in person. I'd be amazed if you net more than $100 from any yard sale. Any job that seems like it will let you make cash fast without doing something fairly unpleasant or very specialized is probably too good to be true. A lot of avenues are closed off to you due to the pregnancy, but I would try and talk your husband to look at the gigs section of craigslist. $10/hr in cash is a pretty standard rate for helping someone paint their house, clean their gutters, move a sofa, etc. etc. If you live in an area with a high enough population density, you should be able to do fairly brisk business.

I'm sorry. Can I retract my comment? My brain deleted this part. We are tentatively planning a yard sale for the end of August but frankly don't have a lot of stuff to sell -- we Freecycled a lot of things in our wealthier days, and are the complete opposite of packrats. Our families and friends are not in a position to help (we've explored that option).

2nd TheOtherSide. I know if one of my friends offered to offload some of my media for a 50% cut, I'd take them up on it. Also, eBay in general works well at getting rid of stuff, especially if you're not averse to shipping things out. Look for free boxes and packing material on freecycle, or if you have a university nearby, ask around (my school has TONS of packing material and boxes of all sizes).

My best eBay success was selling ~50 live hippie concert (Grateful Dead et al) audio cassettes for over $300. They were essentially junk to me, I never would have priced them so high on Craigslist. I think they went over well because they would not be easy to purchase through other avenues the way commercial recordings (or Ikea-grade furniture) are. So I'd look at things with those unique characteristics. If you take Cash4Gold's first offer, you get ripped off. As I understand it, they always make a second, much better offer if you press. And that offer is likely still worse than what you might get if you shopped around locally.