Holiday Gift Guide

That time is upon us...and it came up fast. We are down to the last few days of holiday shopping. Without further adieu, here are a few unique and economical gift ideas for the outdoor minded. If you see something that you're interested in, click on the images and links below for more information:

Explore the life of Georgie White Clark, the woman who instigated commercial rafting in the Grand Canyon. This is a fascinating book! By pioneering the use of large rubber rafts, she helped turn an elite adventure sport into a widely enjoyed outdoor activity. Some of the stories in this book are unbelievable and captivating even by today's "extreme sport" standards.


Oooooh, the Planetary Design Double Shot Travel French Press Mug... this product is time tested: durable, easy to use and clean, and makes great coffee. This mug is the mug to have for everything from commuting, to car camping, to expedition rafting. I've even taken this mug backpacking. Love it.

Binoculars are an awesome thing to have along during outdoor travel. Binoculars can be used for scouting climbing, mountaineering, and scrambling routes - as well as rapids. They are indispensable for bird and wildlife watching. And when you are gazing up at a canyon wall and wondering if you see some yet undiscovered petroglyph, binocs can help you confirm your sighting. :)

Protective, colorful and handy for backpacking, day hiking, paddling, or just about any expeditionary trip. Once you have a dry stuff sack to use, you would be surprised at how many things you decide you'd actually like to keep dry!

Just look at this fancy multitool. For the cyclist on your list, this is a solid pick. Out on the trail, having the right tool, and in many cases, just having a tool at all can be indispensable. This is also a great thing to keep in your car or garage for simple bike adjustments at the trail head or before you head out on the road.

Duct tape is universal outdoor equipment. And...nothing says "holiday gift" quite like good old fashioned duct tape. Save your friends from having to wrap duct tape around their golf pencils, hiking poles, and Nalgene bottles for travel. Give them a tiny pre-made roll of their very own. Besides...if you can't duct it...

So, you saw it here first - duct tape on a holiday gift guide. Only on igearlist! Don't forget to come back and sell all of your old gear when the holidays are over and you are out of garage space. :)

- igearlist

Good Things Happen

Good things can happen when you sell your used outdoor gear. Beyond the obvious things - more money in your pocket, more space in your garage - there is an often overlooked side-benefit: connecting with people. Think about it, who are you most likely to have something in common with? Yep, someone who has the exact same outdoor recreation interests. Depending on what you're selling, you might find that the person you're selling to lives in your area, and is the same size or at a similar skill level as you. Pretty cool.

I sold my Alden 16 the other night (yep it was posted on igearlist!) While I was a little nervous in the lead-up (will they find the house? will they want it? who are they?) I ended up meeting two of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. We chatted about rowing, kayaking, white-water rafting - and one of my favorite topics - rivers. To spend a few minutes talking enthusiastically about the Colorado river on a Tuesday night was totally fun.

And, relieved of a 16-foot open water scull, oars, and rigging, you can imagine how much space was freed up. Now this durable piece of equipment is no longer degenerating in storage - it will be used and enjoyed fully, as it was intended to be.

So, go ahead, post something. While you will always need to follow common-sense safety precautions when buying and selling gear, you might be in for something fun!

-igearlist

Selling off rental outdoor gear or a livery fleet?

If you are in the business of renting outdoor gear, or if you run an outdoor program and have equipment or livery (i.e. rafts and/or kayaks) to sell off - we can help.

We will send you a spreadsheet that you can quickly fill out with descriptions and prices. Send this back with pictures of the gear you are selling (optional) and we will post the items on igearlist for you, for free. Your listings will run for 120 days and we will promote them for you via Facebook and Twitter.

(You'll be responsible for following up with any inquiries, negotiating, and conducting the sales and shipping.)

Please contact us for a blank spreadsheet or to get started!

- igearlist

Anatomy of a Scam

More often than not, the folks who respond to igearlist ads are great people who are sincerely interested in buying your gear. Every so often, a scammer replies to an ad. What should you look for when you get a response to your ad?

- A strange email from someone who either states that they are from a foreign country, or just seems like it.
- Urgent request to send a money order to you (sometimes with a request that you "send back the difference")
- Person requests your name and address, etc. for a money order
- Person claims to be acting on behalf of a client
- In general, mentions of money orders should be a huge red flag!

Here is a great example of a fraudulent ad response (and, this is real - I got this today):

Hello,
How are you doing? I am interested in your item available for sale on igearlist.
Please kindly get back to me with the Current Condition,Pics,Asking
Price and if still available for sale....?
Also get back to me if you have the relevant documentation for it..?
I have just contacted my customer who wants the item and he his is
okay with it . My client willing to offer you for the item, so do get
back to me with this following information's below..?
NAME : to be written on the Money Order
ADDRESS :
CITY :
STATE :
ZIP-CODE :
COUNTRY :
LAST PRICE
PHONE NUMBER( Land and Mobile) :
Once i get those details from you, i wont hasten to pass it down to
my client to issue and send you the cheque, and once the payment has
been sent to you through UPS COURIER SERVICE on a second delivery, i
would hesitate to let you know. But,note that shipment cost will be
included on the cheque.. So consider that the item was sold to my
client..
Take Care.
Mary

Sorry, Mary...we are on to you!!

- igearlist

Get a Widget

If you are looking to add content to your website or blog, contact us for some widget code!

Here is our backpacking widget:

All of our posts are moderated, so you will not display any junk or spam posts. Widgets can be by location, category, or...user (you?) We can even change up the look a bit, or help you fit it into the look and feel of your website.

We hope to hear from you!

-igearlist

Include a photo in your igearlist post

Here are a few ways that you can easily generate a Photo URL (direct link) for your igearlist post:

1. TinyPic - TinyPic offers easy image uploads with no need for a login. Just upload your image, and copy the link under "Direct Link for Layouts". The Website/Email setting is recommended. Back at igearlist, paste this link into the Photo URL field when you are posting or editing your post.

I just used TinyPic to upload this image. I chose the Website/Email setting:


2. ImageShack - ImageShack also offers free and easy uploads with no login required. Once you've uploaded your picture using the Webiste/Email setting, copy the link in the "Direct link to image" field.

Here is an image I just uploaded using ImageShack:


(Hi ladies!) Not bad, eh? This took me 2 seconds to do.

3. For any image that is being hosted on a website, you can find the photo's url or direct link by right-clicking on the image. In IE, click on "properties" and then copy the url next to "Address (URL)".

Unfortunately this third method won't work for every instance where a website is hosting an image. One great example of a site that doesn't generate direct image URL's is PicasaWeb.

TinyPic and ImageShack are great ways to generate an image URL for your igearlist post! Please always refer to the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy for any website service you visit and use.

Do you have an online photo album of the item you're selling? Not a bad idea - the more photos the better. You can include your online photo album in your post by putting the URL for your photo album in the Info Link field. (Just make sure it's a public album so folks can see it!)

-igearlist

Numero Uno

So, we are not quite open for beez-wax yet and we already have our first post! Pretty cool. Obviously, the site works, we just need to tweak a few things, but we've all been super busy. Seriously we're maybe a week away.

Here's the post:
Wanted: Toddler 30#vest style life jacket - $0-$20

Do you have such an item?

- igearlist

Missing Listings

Hi Everyone,

A few people have attempted to post their gear for sale on igearlist recently. (Thank you!!!) The trouble is, we're not quite ready for you. This is why your posts never showed up. (It's not you, it's us! Really, we mean that.) We are excited to see your posts come in, but we can't make them live just yet.

We apologize if you didn't see the "under construction" note on our website before posting - we know it's not up very high. The good news is that we're very close to launching, so if you can just hold on to your gear a little bit longer...it won't be long, we promise.

If you want to know the second we launch, just start following us on Twitter!

Thanks!

- igearlist

Progress

You probably haven't noticed, but several new pages went up this week. We're working on our database and we're just that much closer. Real close!

We're leaning on spring out here in California. That means spring cleaning, right? We'll be ready for when you decide to turn that mountain of outdoor equipment into cash...or when you decide to take that backpacking trip and need a place to get some good equipment for less money.

Thanks for stopping by!

-igearlist

Still chipping away!

Don't worry, we're still here, still chipping away at our relaunching efforts. It looks like we will be back up and running by the end of February! Yeah!

In the meantime, if you have questions for us, please be in touch. Email us at: info (at) igearlist (dot) com.

Happy winter!

- igearlist