Home: Articles: 10 Craigslist Tips for Power Users
More and more people worldwide have gotten hip to the power of Craigslist and what it can do for them. This article will outline what you need to know to get the most out of this site, either as a buyer or a seller.
Craigslist, the online classifieds site that has all but destroyed its print brethren, has blasted past MySpace to become the number one Web search term in the United States. That means more and more people have gotten hip to the site's expansive resources.
Almost entirely text-based, Craigslist is one of the simplest sites on the Net: Anyone can find what they're looking for with a few clicks of the mouse. But with the help of a few advanced tricks and tools, you can cut through the clutter and discover precisely what's available, all the while avoiding scams and wasteful search software. Follow our advice, and you can use Craigslist with greater efficiency--and with style.
Here are 10 tips that will make your Craigslist experience a more rewarding one.
1. Use Google as the Middleman
One of the best ways to get the most out of Craigslist is to start outside of the site itself. Using Google Advanced Search can narrow down your browsing options in an effective, clean manner. Say you're looking for a couch in Boston, but you don't want to drive 25 miles to pick it up. Using Google Advanced Search, you can put your desired neighborhood in the 'this exact wording or phrase' field and keep "couch" in the generalized search. You can also add other words you'd like to see in the posting, such as "good condition." Specify your city's Craigslist site (boston.craigslist.org, in this example) in the 'Search within a site or domain' field, and tell Google to do its work. You'll see your results, organized how you want them, in Google's easy-to-read format.
2. Search on the Move, With iPhone Apps
Need to scour listings while you're on the go? A variety of iPhone/iPod Touch apps exist for that express purpose. Craigsphone and CraigSearch are both free and available in the iTunes App Store. Functionally and aesthetically, not much differentiates the two. I found CraigSearch to be superior, however, since it loaded results faster and it lets you e-mail posters directly from the app. Craigsphone, on the other hand, appeared on the edge of crashing at all times, and it failed to show me the results I wanted.
3. Dig Into Listings With Free Desktop Apps
CraigsList Reader is a free download that provides a deep search of Craigslist and has a friendly (to some) Microsoft Outlook style. The app is intensely thorough: You can search any listing anywhere, set up notifications, change and save parameter options, and more.
The program functions best for people who embark on epic searches of Craigslist's database rather than those who hope to pick out only a few tidbits. It lets you categorize results, and helps you establish a variety of updates and notifications. In my experience, though, the software complicated tasks that should be simple; for example, it incorporated many features that I found unnecessary for the basic search I conducted. Another drawback is that the app requires Microsoft's .Net framework, which takes forever to download. But heavy Craigslist users--and those who are obsessive about categorizing their searches--may find CraigsList Reader helpful.
4. Monitor Posts Through Paid Desktop Apps
CraigsPal is like CraigsList Reader, but pared down and easier to use. The $30 version, which features an Outlook-like appearance, comes chock-full of features. You can set up e-mail or SMS notifications or e-mail digests, create a favorites list, flag posts, and add posts to the 'Best of craigslist' section.
A free version is available, but it's a vicious tease of these great features - you can see, but you can't touch. If you have money to spare and you really want to dig your fingers into Craigslist, go with the $30 program, since the free one functions about as well as the original Web site does. Paying $30 can be hard to justify; but if you're intimidated by CraigsList Reader, spending money could be worth it.
5. Have Listings Sent to You via RSS Feeds
Why continuously check a site for updates when an RSS reader can do that for you? Make Google Reader do the heavy lifting. Simply set up the search you want to run constantly--personal-assistant gigs in Los Angeles, for example--and click the orange RSS button located on the far-right side of the URL bar. Google Reader will do the rest of the work, and all you need to do is check your Reader page, which you can do in any browser and on most mobile devices. If you're really motivated, you can also have RSS results texted to you.
