Hi Dave! I’m moving to another state in a few weeks and have a bunch of things I don’t need. I can donate them to a local charity but I’d rather my neighbors get them. Can I give things away on Nextdoor, which is super popular in my area?
While the heart of the Nextdoor social network seems to be local conversations – and, often, arguments – the site has quite a few other useful features too, including a classifieds section. It’s like an attractive version of Craigslist but since Nextdoor is built around individual neighborhoods, it’s less likely to involve people hundreds of miles away from you. I’m actually a community moderator on Nextdoor [read my earlier article about how moderation works] so check into the site on a daily basis. Sometimes it’s chaos and vitriol, but overall, it’s a useful addition to the range of social channels and far more local than the global reach of sites like Facebook.
The for sale area is also rather amazing because there’s no fee to use it, no percentage of the transaction that you need to pay for a listing, nada. This means that it can be a hotbed for scams (though nothing’s as bad as Craigslist at this point) so caveat emptor, for sure. Same goes for potential buyers when you list something for sale; a bit of judgment about safety can go a long way to ensuring you have a good experience. Giving something away is less risky, of course, because there’s no cash transaction involved. I typically just leave things around the side of my house for the person to collect.
Anyway, don’t get too spooked by my comments, I’ve never had a bad transaction on Nextdoor or Craigslist across many years of active participation in both segments. Your timing is also good because I have an old junker bike I want to give away, so let me step you through the process…
PREPARE WITH GOOD PICTURES
The first step is to take some good photos of whatever you want to give away on Nextdoor. Move them into the sun, if possible, and take photos from a number of angles. If measurements are important, jot those down before you create your listing. Now log in to Nextdoor and look on the left side for the navigation menu:
Choose “+ Post” as the process for posting a for sale or free item is the same as writing an opinion piece or sharing some good news about the community. That brings up a generic window:
This step’s important: Click on “Sell or give away” to switch into the classified template. The window will change to this:
You already prepped those photos, right? Great, now you can simply drag them onto this window!
Once you “drop” them onto the target window, they’ll show up in thumbnail form as part of the template.
WRITE AN HONEST AND ENTICING DESCRIPTION
Next up is to write a clear and candid title and description so that you get people who want the item rather than lots of emails with further questions about whatever you’re seeking to rehome:
Notice here that you can reorder the photos so that the leftmost is the best image. This is the one used in multi-entry listings, so it’s important to have something reasonably eye-catching. You can also see in the description that I’m being clear and honest in my description so that there’s no surprise when someone comes over to hopefully pick it up.
Scroll down because the lower portion of this window has lots more info that’s important too:
This one’s great because there’s a specific category for Bicycles – and I live in Boulder, Colorado, so people are rather nutty about biking around here! – but you can also retain some privacy by not enabling “Show specific location” (which I recommend). If you’re not selling it, click on “Free” to have it show up as $0.
Ready to proceed? Title and description look good, photos are in the preferred order and you’ve picked the best category? Click on “Next” on the top right…
WHO SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR LISTING?
Next up is a summary that shows how your new listing will appear:
Looks good to me. But there’s one more change to make that will eliminate almost all of the scammers on Nextdoor: Changing the visibility of the post. I don’t know why, but I find that when I leave posts accessible to “Anyone” (see on the top right) that I get a lot more junk queries and people who contact me, then ghost me when it’s time to pick the item up.
To change the visibility, click on the “v” adjacent to the word “Anyone”. You can now pick from three ranges of visibility:
The issue with scammers might be that they can see your listing from off Nextdoor if you leave it as Anyone. I always just choose ‘Nearby neighborhoods’ though you can narrow that down further with the “Customize” button if you desire. Just want to offer it to people in your direct neighborhood? Choose ‘Your neighborhood’ instead.
LET’S POST THIS THING ALREADY!
Now, finally, I’m ready to post, which is accomplished by clicking on the green “Post” button on the top right. It produces this result:
If you’re inspired, you can use the buttons here to get a link to your listing, share it on Facebook, WhatsApp, X, Messenger, etc. Or you can just click the “x” on the top left and keep your fingers crossed!
You can also pop into the For Sale & Free category and see if your listing shows up. Mine does:
You can see that the leftmost image is the one used for this view, which is why it’s good to prioritize your best photo for that purpose. Now I’m just going to have to wait and hope someone can take this old bike off my hands!
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about technology, social media, and the digital community for many years. You can find my articles here in the Computer and Internet Basics area. Check it out, there might well be more that will pique your interest!