Selling on Craigslist to make ends meet

This is not good... :(

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A nationwide survey finds more and more Americans are now selling their personal belongings at swap meets, second-hand stores and online auction sites just to make ends meet, in some cases even parting with family heirlooms just to put food on the table.

San Diegan Sylvia Hackett is spending her weekend at Kobey's Swap Meet for one reason.

"To make money… I can't make ends meet," she said.

Hackett says she's trying to unload some of her most prized possessions - including a cross and a set of collectible figurines - even though their sentimental value to her far outweighs their sale value.

"I don't want to get rid of some of it. I really don't want to sell it, but I need the money," she said. "I won't be buying much of anything other than food with it. With the economy the way it is, and the price of gas what it is, it's very hard."

Hackett is far from alone. More and more families facing rising costs and mounting debt are taking more and more desperate measures to make money, such as selling personal items like engagement rings and wedding bands online. The number of for sale listings on Craigslist, for example, has shot up more than 70 percent since last July.

At the Treasure Trove in City Heights, which has been buying and selling jewelry, coins and other collectibles for more than 40 years, it's pretty much the same story.

"With the unemployment and the lay-offs and the cost of living going up, people are always looking for a way to get a few more bucks to make ends meet," store owner James Hill said.

Hill says some customers try to sell family heirlooms to pay their bills.

"I sometimes even talk to people and say, 'Do you really want to get rid of that? Your grandfather gave it to you or gave it to your dad and your dad gave it to you....' So sometimes we even counsel people," he said.

But for many people like Sylvia Hackett, who lives on a fixed income, there often is no choice.

"You do what you have to do to make it. This is an expensive state - very expensive," she said.

A new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds 44 percent of Americans say that rising gas prices are a serious problem for them, followed by health insurance, paying their rent or mortgage and paying for food.

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