Too Start things off....

If you’ve not experienced Craigslist.org, you’re missing out on one of the internet’s best ideas to date. Craigslist.org was founded by Craig Newmark in 1995, primarily for the San Francisco bay area. Craig moved to San Francisco as a java programmer (computer nerd). As someone new to the area he wanted to get to know people and noticed how people were friendly and helpful to others on the internet. He thought a centralized location for people to go to help and socialize would be good for computer users.

His idea worked! His website is now worldwide and new countries and cities are added daily upon request. He started as a non profit website funded by himself, but as it expanded and the need for employees arose, he incorporated his company as a private for profit. The only source of income for the website is listings for jobs in certain metropolitan areas, and paid broker apartment listings in New York City. The prices are much less expensive than traditional listings on sites such as Monster.com and jobdango.com. At just $25/listing ($75 for San Francisco), they are a far better value than the big name sites. In New York City, they charge a fee of $10 for brokers to list apartments they have for rent. The rest of the website is completely free to use and view.

What does Craigslist have to offer?

Craigslist is a website everyone can use. From the average joe computer user that is looking for a job, merchandise of any kind, and services other users have to offer, it's a perfect all in one location to find what you're looking for. It also has a community calendar, as well as about 75 discussion forums. The search area can go down to particular counties in an urban area (such as Yamhill County in the Portland metro area).

If you’re looking for a house to buy or rent, there is a section filled with homes for sale and rent in a given search area. The ads are free to post (except in New York City) and free to search, so it won’t even cost you a newspaper to look for housing or real estate. The For Sale section is my personal favorite. I find it a very useful tool when looking for a particular item. Chances are someone has what I’m looking for, and they want to sell it! It offers a two fold benefit for both parties involved; the person selling it doesn’t have to pay to sell it as they would need to do on sites like ebay.com, and the buyer can usually purchase the item at a far greater discount than the full retail price. It’s very advantageous when used merchandise will work just as good as new, the savings are even better! With categories such as autos and parts, electronics, computer, free (my personal favorite!), furniture, jewelry, sporting goods, and wanted, chances are you’ll find that item you’re looking for.

The website is for the most part uncontrolled. The site is designed to be self regulated. If two or more users find an ad on Craigslist that does not abide by the rules, they can "flag" the ad and it will be removed from the site. There are sections of the site that you may run across that you wouldn’t want your children seeing so monitor them if you allow them to use the site. I’ll have to say, they do have rules for certain sections about what can be listed and for the most part, the community follows these rules, but as with society, we have rule breakers. The sections that contain graphic language or images are usually marked with a consent where by you agree you are over a certain age.

Why Use Craigslist?

Craigslist is like a newspaper classified section that you can interact with. You can email people and ask questions about their merchandise, you can read discussion forums on particular topics that you may have an interest in; you can search for a job and read more than a 3 line ad about the job. When you list on CL, you can ad pictures to almost any posting to help sell your item or show someone what you’re talking about. A newspaper ad with photos would cost a fortune! You can get to know people and make new friends and possibly create future opportunities. I have personally met hundreds of people while buying or selling items. Sure you’ll meet some strange ones, but most of the people I’ve met are very interesting. Sometimes it takes me longer than I thought to make a transaction because I met someone very interesting and wanted to hear their story. I’ve made good friends after meeting them on CL. It’s basically a sub community of your community.

How Does It Work?

Craigslist is very easy to use and again, it’s absolutely free! Simply go to www.craigslist.org. From there, select the state (or country if outside the USA) you live in and click on the city closest to you. Not all of the city listings are as populated as others, but as more people discover CL, the more listings you will see on it. The experience isn’t quite as pleasing if you live in a small town or rural area. The distance to an item or event sometimes isn’t worth the drive, but it's worth looking into.

Once on the site, simply browse through it, you’ll find some very interesting items and people there. If you find someone or something, and would like to respond or reply, simply click on the “reply to”

email address on the top of the ad. A lot of people simply put their telephone number in their ad if you're looking for a quick answer to your questions.

To post an ad to sell something or to list a community activity, simply click on the “Post to classifieds” link on the upper left corner of the main screen. If you’re going to list many items and want to keep track of them, simply create an account by clicking on “My Account”. Then click on “Don’t have an Account? Click here to sign up” It’s a very simple process which doesn’t require any personal information. From there you simply log in and follow the prompts to post to certain sections of CL. The process is very easy and the step by step instructions work great.

A Little About My Addiction

My personal use of CL consists mostly of the For Sale and services sections. Apart from my "day job", I refurbish, resell and service small engine power equipment such as mowers, tillers, etc.

My process begins by placing an ad in the Wanted section. From there, people from all over the Portland metro area will either call or email me about a piece of small engine equipment that they want to get rid of for free. I'll respond and set up a time to pick it up from their residence. After I pick it up and get it home, I'll typically try to start it. You wouldn't believe how many mower I've brought home and it started on the first pull. From there I'll give it my standard tune up and post it for sale on craigslist, usually the same day! I'll make anywhere from $25-$200 for a lawnmower. It's been a very profitable endeavor for a young married couple struggling to get by.

My name has now become synonymous with FREE with my family and friends. Before anyone throws anything away, they ask me if I want it. Chances are I'll be able to sell it on CL. It's amazing what people will buy used. I've shipped item across the country when people looking for a particular mower part found me after searching for hours through CL. The strangest thing I picked up for free was a Teletype machine. I knew nothing about it so I researched it. Once I found they were very rare, I decided post it on CL. After sitting in my back patio for a few months, I decided to list it on Ebay. It sold for over $250 to a collector in Seattle. This guy bought it, refurbished it and put in a computer museum owned by Paul Allen (co founder of Microsoft).

When we got married, we both wanted out of car payments so we sold both of our cars on CL. We then bought our current vehicles off of CL. In my case, I drive the beaters so if it dies, I just buy another $500 pickup to get us by a little while longer.

There's even a barter section that you can trade goods or services. I've traded all kinds of things for things we've needed. I've acquired a few trailers and tools using the barter system. The opportunities are endless.

Now I’m not saying drop your job and take up CL, you’ll be sadly disappointed, but as a fun side hobby, or a way to make a little extra money on the side, I would definitely look into it!

So if you find yourself bored some evening, let CL entertain you for a little while. As with anything else, always do it in moderation or your spouse won’t be pleased….believe me. I’ve tried the “I’m trying to make us money” line and it doesn’t work when the baby needs a clean diaper, dinner needs to be made, and the laundry has piled up. Enjoy CL and as always, if you have any questions about this or any other topic, I’d be glad to help answer your questions.