Selling a vehicle privately is very stressful.

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it puts pressure on me to describe it perfectly so I don't waste their time.

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i think its nice of you to be so concerned about the buyer, but you can only do so much in describing the vehicle. Quit sweating it.

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Any way to avoid being low-balled by folks who show up?

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just say NO.

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so I don't have the title in hand

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tell them this up front. Try selling it thru the dealer from whom you want to buy your next vehicle if thats possible.

I hate wicker.

i posted on that give me the vin site out of curiosity. They actually gave me a really good offer. I'm jut not really ready to sell just yet. Apparently, they send someone to you with a check and pick up the vehicle.

I tried it for a while and it just wasn't worth it. Meeting strangers in random parking lots. Not wanting them to drive away with it so rode with them to test drive which was creepy as hell. None could get financing, etc.

I ended up selling mine to Direct Auto in Houston. Offered me a great price and was done in 20 minutes (granted I had the title). Prob could've got another $1k if I would've been patient for the right individual buyer but their price was fair and painless.

Is paying it off first an option? Having the title in hand makes things easier. You get a little less when trading it in but in my opinion it's worth it not have the hassle.

Give me the vin dot com!
So easy you could do it in your underwear!

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Any way to avoid being low-balled by folks who show up?

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They're going to low ball you regardless. Make it clear you are absolutely firm on the price before they make the trip.

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Worst part is that I still owe money on it, so I don't have the title in hand. Just an added wrinkle I've never dealt with. 

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Is it worth more than you owe on it?

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Any tips, advice? Stay firm-ish on price for a week or so to let the advertisements see the most people possible? Any way to avoid being low-balled by folks who show up? Just say for now it's a firm ask? I set it a bit high so I'd get what I want in the end. 

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There's two different sales approaches here.

Decide what's the lowest amount you'll take and ask higher, then let them "talk you down" to make them think they got a great deal.

Or decide what's the lowest amount you'll take, and advertise it at that price and list it as "firm". This usually gets more offers from people but they'll still try to negotiate a better price. Especially if it's a Mexican. You could offer those frickers a 2017 F150 crew cab Lariat 4x4 with 5,000 miles for $1000, and instead of whipping out the cash as fast as possible, they'd say, "You take $700?"

Decide on a price and stick to it if it's reasonable. BTW, what did you use to value the car?

It has a manual transmission, it a damn Toyota. I had to go out of the TX, LA, MS dealer region after putting down a deposit for them to find what I wanted. Then I went to the AL, GA, FL region and put down a deposit with a AL dealer to find what I wanted. They found me a truck in BFE Florida, but obviously at that point I'mnot getting a deal on a vehicle. I'm not dumb, I just wanted a specific truck. To me if I'm paying $500 a month for 5 years I should at least get WTF I want. In no way is this an expensive truck either, probably half of a fully loaded F-150.