Is selling on Kijiji free in Canada?

Most personal-item categories on Kijiji are free to list. Kijiji charges in specific cases: a $5 CAD fee for pet listings (introduced to deter pet flipping and fund animal welfare initiatives), Top Ad and Bump Up promotional features, business categories like Real Estate and Cars Wanted, and some specialty categories. For typical reseller activity — furniture, electronics, clothing, household goods — listing is free.

What sells fast on Kijiji in Canada?

Furniture (especially mid-century, IKEA, sectional sofas), baby and kid items (strollers, cribs, car seats), tools (power tools, snowblowers in season), exercise equipment, and bicycles all move quickly on Kijiji. Items requiring local pickup do better than mailable items — Kijiji buyers expect meet-up sales. Electronics work but require buyer trust; new-in-box electronics sell faster than open-box. Seasonal items (snowblowers in October, AC units in May) move at peak season.

How do I avoid Kijiji scams?

Take cash or e-Transfer only. Never accept overpayment (the classic 'I'll send $100 extra, you pay the shipping company' scam — the cheque or transfer bounces a week later). Meet in a public place during daylight for high-value items, or do an exchange at a police station (most Canadian police forces have designated safe exchange zones). Never ship without confirmed payment first. For e-Transfer, wait for the deposit to show in your account before handing over the item. Document the buyer's name and a description in your reselling tracker so you can flag repeat scammers.

How do I respond to Kijiji lowballers?

Three options. Option 1: ignore. Kijiji's culture tolerates being ghosted by sellers; you don't owe a counter. Option 2: short counter at firm price. 'Price is firm, thanks.' Option 3: meet in the middle once, but only once. The behaviour pattern on r/canada and r/PersonalFinanceCanada Kijiji threads is that lowballers who get one concession ask for two; lowballers who get a flat 'firm' move on or pay. Listings priced at 'OBO' (or best offer) get lowballed three times more often than listings priced at a flat number. Avoid OBO unless you genuinely want offers.

Should I do shipping on Kijiji?

Kijiji is a local-pickup-first platform; most sellers don't ship. Kijiji introduced a shipping feature (KijijiPay) for select categories, but adoption is patchy. For items you'd ship, Poshmark, Mercari, or eBay Canada are usually a better fit because shipping is integrated and tracked. Kijiji's sweet spot is items too bulky or low-value to ship — furniture, exercise equipment, anything 'come pick it up'.

Do I pay tax on Kijiji income in Canada?

The CRA distinguishes hobby income from business income. Selling your own used personal items at break-even or a loss is generally not taxable. Reselling at a profit on a regular, organised basis is business income and must be reported. The GST/HST registration threshold is $30,000 CAD in taxable supplies over 4 consecutive quarters — Kijiji sales count toward this. Below that, GST/HST registration is optional. Speak to your accountant or check the CRA website for current guidance; this article is not tax advice.

What's the difference between Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace in Canada?

Facebook Marketplace has overtaken Kijiji in urban Canada (especially Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal) for clothing, household goods, and quick-flip items. Kijiji still dominates in cars, larger furniture, and rural/regional listings — places where Facebook penetration is lower. Both are free for most categories. Most Canadian resellers cross-post the same item to both. Kijiji's search is more category-driven; Marketplace's is more algorithmic and visual. For an item under $50, Marketplace is usually faster to a sale; for a $400 sofa, Kijiji buyers are more committed.

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Last updated: 14 June 2026

How to Sell on Kijiji in Canada (2026)

14 June 2026 Selling 8 min read

Most Kijiji categories are free to list in 2026. Listing fees apply only to pets ($5 CAD), Top Ad and Bump Up promotions, and some business categories like Real Estate. Buyers and sellers meet locally for cash or e-Transfer in the large majority of transactions — local pickup is the default expectation. Furniture, baby items, tools, electronics, and bicycles move fastest. The two recurring risks are scams (overpayment, fake e-Transfer) and lowballers — both are universal and both have well-rehearsed responses.

Kijiji fees (2026): what's free and what costs money

Category	2026 fee
Furniture, electronics, clothing, household, baby, tools, bikes	Free
Pets	$5 CAD per listing
Top Ad (top of category)	$5–$30+ CAD depending on category + duration
Bump Up (refresh listing to top of "new")	$2–$10 CAD
Real Estate, Cars (business-tier), Services (commercial)	Subscription / per-listing fees

The pet fee was introduced in 2020 (the r/canada thread "Kijiji now requires people selling pets pay a $5 fee" got 2,164 upvotes when the change rolled out — confirming the price + the reason: better tracking of seller identity for animal welfare). For typical reseller activity, you list for free and pay 0% on the sale.

How to list items that sell fast on Kijiji

4–8 photos, natural light, plain background. Kijiji buyers scroll fast; the first photo determines whether they tap.
Title: brand + item + size/spec + condition. Example: IKEA Hemnes 6-Drawer Dresser, White, Excellent Condition. Avoid all-caps, avoid emoji, avoid clickbait.
Category — choose the most specific subcategory. Kijiji's search prioritises category-matched listings.
Description: measurements, dimensions, age, any flaws, included accessories. Verbose beats sparse for high-value items — buyers stop messaging when they have enough info.
Price — research recent comparable listings in your city. Price about 10% above your floor so you have room to "split the difference" with a polite buyer. Avoid "OBO" if you can; it invites three lowballs for every serious offer.
Location — pick your nearest neighbourhood, not just the city. Buyers filter by proximity.
Contact preference — Kijiji messages only, no phone, no text. Reduces the spam surface.

The five Kijiji scams to know

The overpayment cheque. "Buyer" sends a cheque for $100 more than the item price and asks you to refund the difference to the "shipper". Cheque bounces a week later, you're out the goods + the refund. Never accept cheques.
The fake e-Transfer email. Look for phishing traits — wrong sender address, suspicious links, urgency. Always log directly into your bank account (not via an email link) to verify the deposit before handing over the item. Never accept "auto-deposit pending" as proof of payment.
The "shipping company" detour. Buyer says they live far away and want their "shipper" to come pick it up. They send you a fake receipt for paid shipping; you ship the item; you're never paid.
The hostage offer. Buyer offers full price, asks you to hold the item for a week, ghosts you. Wastes a week of listing time. Always say "first come, first served" until cash in hand.
The classic switch. Buyer meets you, inspects the item, gives you cash, you both walk away. Later, you find some of the cash is counterfeit or a few bills are short. Count cash carefully on the spot, in good light, before they leave. For higher-value items, meet at a bank and deposit immediately.

The Montreal thread "How I got scammed and found the kijiji scammer thanks to Google Streetview" (1,806 upvotes, 462 comments) is the canonical Canadian Kijiji scam story. Read it before your first high-value sale.

Lowballer responses that work

From the cross-section of r/canada and r/PersonalFinanceCanada threads on Kijiji selling, the responses that get either a fair counter or a quick walk-away (rather than an escalating haggle) are short and not personal:

"Price is firm, thanks." Most-used. Honest, polite, ends the negotiation.
"Closest I can do is $X." Where $X is one specific number, 5–10% below ask, take-it-or-leave-it.
"Open to offers near asking." Use sparingly. Signals you'll budge but only a little.
Silence. Kijiji norms tolerate being ghosted. If an offer is genuinely insulting, no reply is the cleanest response.

What NOT to do: explain why your price is reasonable. Long justifications invite long counter-haggles. The shorter the response, the faster the deal converges.

Tracking Kijiji sales for tax

Kijiji sales count toward the CRA's $30,000 CAD GST/HST registration threshold (rolling 4 quarters). They also count toward business income if reselling is your business rather than your hobby. The platform doesn't issue you a tax slip — the record-keeping is on you.

Practical setup: keep a one-line record per Kijiji sale with date, item, sale price, what you paid for it, and any expenses. The free FlipperHelper iOS app logs each item from sourcing through sale with a CAD profit number per item, and exports to Google Sheets for tax-time. It tracks Kijiji alongside Poshmark, Mercari, eBay, and 12 more platforms.

FAQ

How long does Kijiji keep a listing active?

30 days by default, then it auto-expires. You can renew before expiry for free, or pay for Bump Up to refresh it sooner.

Can non-Canadians sell on Kijiji in Canada?

Kijiji requires Canadian listings to be in Canada with Canadian contact details. Cross-border selling is not the platform's strength.

What about Marketplace vs Kijiji for cars?

Kijiji's Autos section is still the largest dedicated Canadian car classifieds. Marketplace has caught up for sub-$10K cars. AutoTrader dominates dealer listings. For private $5K–$30K cars, post both.

Are there any Kijiji-specific scam reporting tools?

Yes. Each listing has a "Report Ad" button. Kijiji's trust and safety team is reasonably responsive for clear fraud. For police-level fraud (counterfeit currency, stolen property), report to your local police service in addition to Kijiji.

About the author

Oleksandr Prudnikov builds FlipperHelper, a free iOS profit tracker for resellers. Kijiji-specific content in this article is drawn from r/canada, r/PersonalFinanceCanada, r/toronto, and r/montreal threads where Canadian sellers discussed their Kijiji experience in 2024–26.

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