Craigslist Search Tool

Just in case you're not aware of this tool, www.craiglook.com lets you do searches of all Craigslist across the U.S. or within a set distance from a specific zip code.

(I have no affiliation with craiglook and it's a free service - I just find it very handy and wanted to share the information.)

That's awesome! Thanks for posting. I thought I was soooo clever with "site:craigslist.org" searches.

Awesome tool, thanks for sharing.

Oh yeah, I like that tool!

I don't use it enough, but it's nice to know.

-David

Here s another one -

http://www.crazedlist.​org/

It may require you to tweak your browser, but you can search all Craigslist sites nationwide with specific search terms that you select.

smacatl wrote in post #10642373
Here s another one -
http://www.crazedlist.​org/ ...
.

Yeah, Crazedlist is good too. In general, Craiglook is better for searches that are either nationwide or within 250 miles while Crazedlist is best for searches of entire states or scattered locations across the country.

In Craiglook (and I think in Crazedlist also), you can do a search for a term (e.g. "Canon Lens") within a 30 mile radius and then save the link (jut drag the icon from the internet browser window to your desktop) and re-run the search by merely clicking on the saved shortcut. Really handy if you are on the constant lookout for particular items.

I was formerly using a system that sends an email to me when an item matching a keyword is listed locally (yotify.com) but I really like browsing with Craiglook best of all.

I have a question. Do people trust each other if it is not local transaction? I send you the money and you may not send me what I tried to buy. Then what can I do?

Awesome stuff! Thanks!

colormaniac wrote in post #10647090
I have a question. Do people trust each other if it is not local transaction? I send you the money and you may not send me what I tried to buy. Then what can I do?

Much more dangerous on Craigslist, than on the forums. You have no idea who is the seller and there are no "threads" to refer to, and the communication history is limited; unless you document everything very carefully. But why go through the hassle?

Usually if the seller is a professional photographer with a real website, I feel a LOT better.

Keep in mind: Even local deals I've heard of people getting scammed.

I would be very careful dealing with people on Craigslist, especially if not local.

-David

colormaniac wrote in post #10647090
I have a question. Do people trust each other if it is not local transaction? I send you the money and you may not send me what I tried to buy. Then what can I do?

This is a tricky situation for sure, and really comes down to your gut feeling when dealing with a prospective buyer/seller. I've done some out of area Craiglist transactions, all of them successful. However, I'm very cautious and try to look for any sort of sign that things may be funky. I find that you can generally (not always) tell if someone is legitimate through a couple phone calls. Just trust your instincts (unless your instincts have screwed you over in the past!) and lean towards being overly paranoid. As far as payment, Paypal is set up for these sorts of deals, and offers some level of protection as long as you follow their guidelines.

Nightdiver13 wrote in post #10647855
This is a tricky situation for sure, and really comes down to your gut feeling ... unless your instincts have screwed you over in the past! ...

That's the truth! Trust your gut unless common sense tells you your gut feelings are no good!

Meeting someone on Craigslist or on a forum is like meeting someone on the street downtown. I try to be cautiously optimistic while performing due diligence but always keep in mind how the story is going to sound. As long as people think of Craigslist as a store, we're going to hear tales like, "Yeah, I mailed this stranger $2,500 and never heard from him again." "Insurance?" "Boy I wish I had thought of that."

I would never buy anything on CL that was not a face to face transaction.

I use the multi city search tools to gage prices, and pre search cities that I will be traveling to for deals.

Since I travel all over the Eastern half of the US, the tools are a lot easier than pulling up every individual city.

Good luck to everyone!

Smacatl

Love It! Thanks

Nightdiver13 wrote in post #10647855
This is a tricky situation for sure, and really comes down to your gut feeling when dealing with a prospective buyer/seller. I've done some out of area Craiglist transactions, all of them successful. However, I'm very cautious and try to look for any sort of sign that things may be funky. I find that you can generally (not always) tell if someone is legitimate through a couple phone calls. Just trust your instincts (unless your instincts have screwed you over in the past!) and lean towards being overly paranoid. As far as payment, Paypal is set up for these sorts of deals, and offers some level of protection as long as you follow their guidelines.

I personally don't think that trusting your gut feeling is going to help in any sense. But YMMV. What I am interested now is the PayPal protection that you mentioned. Could you please elaborate a bit, or provide a URL? How can a PayPal payment for such a transaction be protected? I suppose that, if it is personal gift, PayPal is not going to protect you, right? And a tracking number is a must in order to prove that a shipment is dispatched and received. is that correct?

Nightdiver13 wrote in post #10647855
This is a tricky situation for sure, and really comes down to your gut feeling when dealing with a prospective buyer/seller. I've done some out of area Craiglist transactions, all of them successful. However, I'm very cautious and try to look for any sort of sign that things may be funky. I find that you can generally (not always) tell if someone is legitimate through a couple phone calls. Just trust your instincts (unless your instincts have screwed you over in the past!) and lean towards being overly paranoid. As far as payment, Paypal is set up for these sorts of deals, and offers some level of protection as long as you follow their guidelines.

Paypal leads you to believe they are set up to protect you, but actually they offer no protection at all.