Master the Art of Quickly Searching Craigslist
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My husband and I agree not to do a search on Craigslist looking over each other’s shoulder.
If I am the one with the keyboard and mouse we are whizzing through a page of listings in under a minute unless one grabs my attention. My husband doesn’t get to see much. If he does point out something I’m already telling him no.
If he is at the helm, I can feel the hair on my head turning grey. I tell him some variation of, “Don’t click on that/it is going to be a bad listing/waste of time/aaaaaah/NOOOOOO!”
Then he asks how I knew (after he clicked on it and was disappointed).
I did not think much of it, but of course as an engineer, I had already developed a system quickly eliminating wasting time on dud listings. If you don’t have some sort of system how many hours can you waste clicking on each listing looking at disappointment after disappointment?
Too many.
How frustrating is it to look and find nothing?
Not just frustrating–extremely maddening especially if you have the also spent a lot of time clicking through way too many listings.
New “tools” for your Craigslist deal hunting abilities:
Walking through an example will show you several tactics to speed up your time online and help you find exactly what you want. Let’s pretend we are looking for an oven. This is a screenshot of how I would search:
Generally, I do not expect too much from the title or words in a listing. I do however, expect at least one keyword in the title. In this case my search is simply “oven”. Notice the filter on “search titles only.”
Of course, if a listing title says “appliance set” I will miss it, but the vast majority of the listings will have the keyword in the title. I have made my peace with filtering those out for the time savings it would be to find those postings.
Also search on variations of the keyword. “Oven” and “range” are used interchangeably. “Refrigerator” and “fridge” is another example. Also consider misspellings such as “refridgerator”. Listings with misspellings get less hits and can often be sitting for longer amounts of time resulting in a lower price.
Do not get too specific with the text part of the search. For example, I do not expect to see the word “stainless” although often times a listing will have whatever is the latest hot buzzword. Instead, a picture will tell you if it is stainless or is not. This is why I filter on “has image” and do not bother searching for “stainless oven.” The image also lets you know exactly what you would be getting without getting out of your chair. If I am going to drive to your house across town I do not want to find a ding in the middle of the stainless.*
The “bundle duplicates” option is new. I have never used it, but I am already in love.
THANK YOU SUPER SMART AND MERCIFUL PERSON AT CRAIGSLIST!
How often have I looked for tile and gotten the same dealer posting the same listing daily (sometimes multiple times a day!). Why??! Is business that slow where you can do that on top of Facebook on your phone? In my head I’m imagining some poor admin sitting at the front office storefront “Oh, look, there’s nothing new on Facebook from my father’s cousin’s brother’s former college roommate. Maybe I’ll get that next raise if I duplicate that Craigslist ad a couple more times and someone feels bad enough to visit me.”
OK, I DO know why: the latest listings get the most hits. But could you please remove some of the previous 100 listings of the exact same shit?
Did I mention I am thrilled to see this new feature?!? SELECT IT NOW!
Last but not least, enter both ends of the spectrum for price. In this case, if there is a stainless oven less than $100 I probably don’t want it. I’m not in the oven repair business. Second, dealers are notorious for putting in no value or $1. If you do not tell me how much you want how do I know if it is a good deal or not? I’ll move on.
Sorting is another useful feature. If you sort the listings by price (low to high) to see what kind of quality is out there at the lowest price.
Also consider leaving “all” selected instead of choosing “owner” or “dealer”. I have been surprised often enough by dealer offerings to give them a chance. I would never have met Rich at Southwest Set’N’Stone who had the best price on 18” x 18” travertine tile.
However, if you know the exact brand and model, like “Frigidaire Professional Series” go ahead and search without filtering on “search titles only” and “has image”. I lucked out on finding my microwave using this method although the listing fell well outside of my criteria.
- The listing didn’t have a photo.
- It did not have the word stainless in the listing description.
- To top it off it was a couple weeks old.
But for only $150 my husband insisted it was worth a phone call to see if it was stainless. He made the phone call, I am happy to say, and proved me wrong.
Look! A stainless diamond found in the nether regions of Craigslist.**
Why are we suckered into looking at some of the listings:
That second listing looked so pretty I *had* to click on it.
I don’t even have gas in my house!
Let’s break down why the listing caught my curiosity:
- It had a picture.
- It is a good looking oven!
- The price is also eye catching.
I would be on the phone right now if I needed a gas oven,*** although I would not be totally surprised if it was already gone since the posting is 8 hours old. I would ask the seller for a couple more photos showing the bottom drawer and the back of the top part of the range, both of which are not shown in either uploaded photo.
It is a good thing I did not use “refrigerator” as an example. I might want to upgrade if I found something researching for this article…
Last, comparison research against a new unit:
Don’t assume the price is a good deal just because it is on Craigslist. Market research is a must.
After finding a listing which particularly appeases my pocketbook and eye candy threshold I look to see if I can determine what a comparative price would be if I bought it new. Part of it is to find out if it is a good deal, but the deal hunter in me wants to know *how* good of a score it really is.
This classy-looking Frigidaire Gallery gas range is being offered at about half off before factoring any taxes and shipping.
Second, don’t compromise on quality just because it is a good price. I do not have much brand loyalty, but I do want one that has good reviews of reliability. For example, when I was looking for dishwashers my research at the time said Bosch was one of the best especially if it had a stainless interior. I ended up getting one for my rental.
I could not find a similar suitably sleek Bosch when I was looking for my own house, but I found a Kenmore Elite. My good friend has the exact same model in her much more high end home. I also noted it had a stainless interior casing just like the Bosch. I clearly recall thinking, “If it is good enough for my friend it is good enough for me” and bought it without a second thought. It is a good phrase to repeat when I know someone who speaks highly of whatever the subject, being appliances, contractors or pretty much anything. We all know word of mouth works.
In summary, use the tips above quickly searching Craigslist to efficiently acquire a list of great options. Fall in love with your new item at first sight (yes, this is one time you can!). Get a great price for a reliable item.
Take your savings of time and money and move right on to the next project!
*I know I have said 99% of my dealings with people from Craigslist were positive. However, I also had the unfortunate incident where I bought a set of stainless appliances for my parents many states away. We were already driving there so we took advantage of the much better selection and prices in metro Phoenix and got a good deal on a set. The problem was the seller taped a copy of the listing to the dishwasher door. I did not think about it at the time because they had a couple sets. So in my head I had given them the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was to keep their listings straight. It wasn’t until we drove 23 hours to my parents’ home that we found they had just covered up a really big dent in the stainless. Your reaction is exactly what we were thinking as we were staring at it in horror. Lesson learned: CHECK EVERYTHING YOU POSSIBLY CAN BEFORE LEAVING WITH THE ITEM.
**Just in case you were curious about the round color circles on the top left of the microwave that look suspiciously like beer bottle caps… In fact, they are magnetized beer bottle caps! Thoughtfully made by Jodi at Jodi Richey Design and Tom at Nebraska Inspections.
Beer bottle cap magnets. A fine addition to any refrigerator magnet collection (or microwave once you have a two year old).
***I would buy it, but only if I have the proper childproofing in place–those front knobs look as every bit as attractive as the knobs on my washer and dryer which is one of the main reasons my laundry door stays closed at all times.
