Craigslist How To 101

For those of you who have been living in a closet or are not junking/treasure hunting professionals, you may have never heard of Craiglsilst.org. If you fall into that catagory, here is what you have been missing in a nutshell:

Cragislist is a free online classified site that is largely community run. You can buy and sell most any new or used merchandise, real estate, time share, vehicles, antiques, etc. You are also able to browse or post job listings, resume's, advertise or request services, find out about local events under multiple community headings, connect with long lost lovers, find your high school english teacher who changed your life, and last but not least vent your gripes about politics and what your favorite celeb was wearing at their latest movie premier! You can, without exaggeration find ANYTHING on Craigslist!

Who is Craig? Per information gathered from the CL's factsheet ( http://craigslist.org/about/factsheet ) Craigslist was founded in the San Francisco area by Craig Newmark in 1995 to advertise local events. He still works with the current regime, but only in a customer service capacity as well as being the spokes model for the brand. It has been run by CEO Jim Buckmaster since 2000. Since Craig started listing events in 1995, Craigslist has blown up internationally to more than 700 sites in 70 countries in 5 languages other than! So this means next time your child breaks a piece of your English china, you can search the British CL for a replacement possibly cheeper than from a china finders site!

Unless you live in an ice hut in Antarctica and the penguins can't get a solid Wifi connection, you have a local Craigslist site. (Just checked...there is no CL in Antarctica!) Simply follow the link, find your city, and start poking around! http://craigslist.org

While you are poking, there are a few topics that I need to cover out before you get too involved. While CL is the land of wonderous schtuff that you never thought you needed, wanted, or heard of, it can also be a bit dicey. The underbelly of CL can pop up in many forms, mostly where you least expect it. So please heed these few tips as you look around:

- As with most things, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you find a brand new Escalade in the For Free section, someone is messing with an ex boyfriend or something and this poor guy he has gotten a hundred phone calls and wants them to stop. Be a dear and "flag" it (upper right hand corner of the ad, this helps keep the baddies at bay) so the he can turn his phone back on. Believe it or not, this really happens!
- NEVER send people money orders, checks, cash, or otherwise via the mail! EVER! I can't believe people still fall for this, but when an heart is honest, it is hard to believe that all others aren't. Trust me on this, you will thank me later.
- Over the years and especially recently, I always connect with the person via email first asking for a phone call back. I like to talk to people before I invite them to my home or meet them at theirs.
- If you aren't OK with meeting at a home, set up your pick up or drop off at a public place. This happens all the time and it is perfectly reasonable to ask. If they are put off or inconvenienced, oh well. You will find that "something" again another time.
- Emails in a garbled mess that are horribly vague and misspelled are scammers. Period. if you give the benefit of the doubt and think that maybe they are just mildly illiterate, hit reply ONLY and see if the email changes in the new window. If it does, it is most definitely scammers! Close the outgoing email window, delete their message, move on with your life.
- Last but not least (for now...much more detail to come!) if you aren't feeling it, just let it go. I had to do this just last week...sometimes your insides know when things aren't right.

In the next few posts I will be showing you the ropes of the Craigslisting world! I will run you through a few of the most common rules and terms of use, how to post and set up an account, importance of photography, posting etiquette and safety, and how to buy and sell safely. Once you get the hang of it, just know that you do run the risk of being totally and completely hooked on selling off your old junk and countin' bills! I recently sold off over $200 in a week and still have a pile to go!

True, there are some dark spots to be aware of, but when you are aware, you have the upper hand and most people who use the site are good hearted with the best of intentions. So don't let the couple of meatballs get in your way to second hand happiness! Stick with me and get your CL on !