Despite the trademark black-and-white simple design, Craigslist is not streamlined for mobile devices. This makes both browsing and posting classifieds a bit of a nightmare from your iPhone. Luckily, there’s an app (or three) for that.

Before We Begin

The three apps I’ve chosen are, in my experience (and according to favourable App Store reviews) the best ways of browsing Craigslist from an iPhone without spending money. Unfortunately nearly all of them have vague names, sometimes incorporating other names within them – making them hard to find.

In addition to a link to the App Store, I’ve noted the developer in brackets so you can check to make sure you’re grabbing the right version. Believe me – there are more Craigslist apps on the App Store than any of us will ever need.

Craigslist Free (Lifelike Apps Inc.)

Featuring a stylish presentation that really makes boring old Craigslist look exciting and easy to read, Craigslist Free is a highly capable CL solution for iPhone. The app mimics a daily newspaper’s classifieds in its design, an aesthetic choice which suits the service to a tee and provides some useful extra functionality.

Along the bottom of the screen are five tabs – Location (for choosing alternate cities, worldwide), Categories (for browsing), Favourites (limited to just two in the free version), Font (for changing text size quickly) and another menu called Post, etc for uploading an ad. Posting from the app is a relatively painless affair that’s possible with or without a CL account and comes complete with an image upload option.

Browsing adverts is as easy as you’d expect, and there are a few more tricks to help you on your way. In order to add a favourite, simply circle the classified with your fingers (as you would with a pen in a newspaper) or hide an advert altogether by scribbling it out. The limitation of only having two favourites makes this rather nice feature a bit useless, though you can hide as many ads as you like by scribbling.

My main complaint about this app is the image sizing. Pictures look great in an advertisement’s title, but once you’ve clicked the advert they’re relegated to tiny thumbnails afoot the screen. It would be nice to have tappable images that could be easily zoomed or even shared. Aside from the odd crash, this is all I can find to complain about. If you’d like to buy the paid version (no adverts, unlimited favourites) then you’ll find it here for $0.99.

Craigslist Mobile (YYH Creative)

Two different developers, two different apps, two very similar names. The first Craigslist Mobile on this list is an advert-supported app with all the functionality of the website. The presentation of this app isn’t quite as polished as the previous, but the classifieds are easy to read and the app comes with little in the way of limitations.

Three main tabs – search, favourites and post – separate the main functions and the whole process is kept very simple indeed. Searching through sub-categories is fast and painless thanks to the quick-access to the main sections on the right-hand side. Once tapped adverts are formatted very much like the iOS Mail app and easy to share or favourite using the bar along the foot of the screen.

Unlike Craigslist Free (above) photos seem a bit stretchier, often filling the width of the screen and providing a decent eye-full. If I had to pick a complaint it would be that perhaps the app is a bit dull to look at, and at times it feels like there’s just too much text on screen. That’s pretty much all I can think of for negatives, and I don’t even mind staring at a few ads considering the functionality provided.

Craigslist Mobile For iPhone (Escargot Studios, LLC)

Another full-blown browsing and posting client, Craigslist Mobile For iPhone is an ad-supported CL app with some interesting features. The app allows filtering of classifieds by parameters such as whether a photo is included, price range and sorting. Results are displayed tidily either in list view with text or via photos.

Classifieds are well-laid out, with large images and even an option to report the listing. It’s also easy to save or view an item on the map using the bar at the bottom of the screen. Posting to Craigslist is also included, though unfortunately the option to advertise without a CL account is absent. For those without an account there is an option to register in-app.

A few things have been niggling me whilst playing with Craigslist Mobile For iPhone and one is the constant, laborious reminders that I can purchase Craigslist Ultimate for extra features – I just don’t care, I’m not going to buy it (certainly not after being constant told to do so). The other is the fact that functions are displayed above searches that require another app to be purchased (Craigslist Ultimate again) in order to use.

Conclusion

It’s quite tough to choose between these apps, as each has its own quirks and drawbacks. The first (Craigslist Free) is hands-down the best looking of the bunch, its iBooks-esque approach and newspaper design is eye catching and pleasant to read. The second app (Craigslist Mobile) is unrestricted, fairly plain and entirely functional whereas the final app on the list draws the line somewhere between the two.

Let us know what you think, which you prefer or if there are any other Craigslist applications that you swear by in the comments, below.

It was then and there that I realized there are probably some other crazy things among the virtual classifieds, and fortunately, I found the Best Of section of the site. While there, I found some very strange items on there, so I thought I would share them with you!

Spokane: Bigfoot

When I first saw this ad, it mentioned something about an imaginary friend. Naturally, I figured that’s all it would be – a goofy ad about an imaginary friend seeking real friends. Not exactly… What I did find was an entire ad about Bigfoot looking for love, and it’s definitely worth checking out. (Responding is optional.)

Baltimore: Body Dumping Site

With all the humorous stuff concerning Siri and body disposal, I thought I’d put this one on the list. Someone in Baltimore offered up their backyard for a good body dumping site. Why? Apparently, it’s legal to dump a body in Baltimore, and furthermore, civilians don’t have to report a dead body. Don’t take my word on this, for I’m just reiterating the ad.

Asheville: 1970s Avocado Green Toilet

Oh, the seventies – a time in which home decor was bad and earth tones ruled the day. This porcelain wonder is advertised as a place where you can sit “while leafing through a Reader’s Digest, smoking a cigarette, watching Chico and the Man”. Sounds like a party, indeed.

Washington, D.C.: Actor Needed

I don’t know why I clicked the simple ad request for an actor, but I did. Basically, someone needed an actor to “lose” the family dog so the kids wouldn’t be too hurt. The premise of this was both cruel and genius. I loved it. Also, the fact that it was a $500 gig wasn’t too bad, either.

Minneapolis: MacBook Wanted

Before I got my MacBook, I was willing to do whatever I could to get one. This college kid obviously wanted one really bad for school. However, instead of offering up cash, he opts for the barter system, offering items such as his Robin Hood: Men in Tights DVD and a can of vegetables (your choice!).

Raleigh: Ghost Wanted

This is actually the most recent BOC I found, but it’s different, fresh, and unique. To put things short and sweet, it would appear that a documentary filmmaker is looking to contact a ghost. Ah, but not just any ghost – a ghost who is using the Internet. Brilliant, really.

Orlando: Human Soul

Much like how I was forced to sign away my soul when I began writing for MakeUseOf (I should really start reading contracts more thoroughly – kidding, I love MUO), a fellow right on Craigslist tried to sell his soul on a “Black Friday special”. His purpose of doing this was to simply earn money for Christmas shopping. However, he was also open to bartering. Perhaps the MacBook kid could haven taken a note?

London: Henchmen Needed

Based on the details of this ad, Jacques “The Zapper” Zerapi was in need of a few good henchmen to get his super-villain lifestyle started. With desired traits such as a “flexible moral code” and “being a corrupt government official”, I’m sure there were plenty of applicants available.

New York: Potato Cannon

This… I don’t know what to say about this. Apparently, the fellow was wanting to get rid of his 8-feet long potato cannon because “the neighbors figured out what was happening”. I’d like to know the story behind this, so if any of you want to email him and ask, leave your findings in the comments.

Conclusion

I really don’t know if all of these ads are real (some are obviously fake), but I almost wish all of them were. The world could use a few more interesting things, don’t you think? Perhaps Craigslist is where we could start! For more Strange Craigslist, check out the Best of Craigslist.

What other strange ads have you found on Craigslist? Do you know of any other places with odd items such as these?

Craigslist is an obvious solution, and one I’m familiar with, as I’ve worked with several businesses that I found through Craigslist’s Jobs section. However, I also found myself wasting time on supposed opportunities that turned out to be scams. Learn from my experience and you’ll save yourself time and heartache.

Don’t Pay To Play

Okay, okay. This one might seem a little obvious, but I feel like it is worth saying for those who are just starting in the world of Craigslist job hunting.

Never, ever pay for job opportunities.

Often, these are scams, but they’re not always so blatant. Creative types, such as writers, graphical artists and even programmers, will often come across advertisements for job boards focused on a specific area of expertise. Joining is usually free, but you’re not allowed to apply to jobs without paying – or if you’re allowed to apply, your application is given some disadvantage that virtually guarantees you won’t be selected.

Technically, sites like this aren’t always scams because some people do in fact find jobs through them. Even if you do find an opportunity, however, it will often be of poor quality. The employers who use these boards are often aware that someone desperate enough to pay money to find jobs will also be willing to work on the cheap.

Avoid Suspicious Sales Jobs

Another folly that often trips up Craiglist job searches are the mysterious sales jobs. These are companies that compensate their employees primarily by a sales commission, and often promise outrageous income for little work. Such a job might not be bad if reasonable base pay was available, or if employees weren’t often expected to spend significant amounts of their own time and money in the search for a big sale.

Ironically, these jobs often catch searchers off guard with promises of high base pay. Usually this is qualified by a phrase such as “per appointment” or “expected” because employees are paid not by the hour but for individual sales appointments and leads, plus whatever commission comes from them.

Also look out for group job interviews or promises of preliminary training sessions made by overly enthusiastic employers. Often these so-called interviews turn in to sales pitches, where employers eagerly convince a captive audience to ignore the terrible base pay and lack of benefits in the hopes of earning big commissions.

Apply Now! Seriously

The Internet is all about the now. News, now! Entertainment, now! And of course, jobs – right now!

If you’re going to be successful on Craigslist, you need to approach it with the ability to act immediately. Often, an employer who posts a general advertisement will receive a few hundred resumes within a day. The chances that you’ll be picked aren’t great if you’re not one of the first twenty or thirty applicants. Job hunters applying to positions that require special skills will have a little more time, but it never hurts to be quick.

How can you make sure that you’re one of the first to apply? Use Craigslist’s RSS feeds! Many people forget that this function is available, and I don’t blame them, because the site tucks its RSS feed button down in the bottom right hand corner of its pages. If you want to be lightning-quick, subscribe to your local Craiglist Jobs RSS feed both on your computer and on your mobile device.

Tapping Out Templates

Using templates is controversial among job hunters, but I fall on the side of using them. Today’s high-volume online job search forces hunters to be brief, giving them time to apply for as many jobs as possible.

What I don’t recommend however, is that hunters use pre-packaged templates. Instead, create your own! This can easily be done using Microsoft Word. My suggestion is to create templates for each specific type of job you might apply for, such as customer service, office management, etc. Make sure the template has sections where the name of the specific company you are applying to, if known, can be inserted.

You can even save a copy of the template to your email or on your mobile device so that it can be altered with a document editing app. This will make it possible for you to apply while out and about, ensuring that your application arrives first!

Use Alternative Craigslist Search Engines

Perhaps the biggest limitation you’ll encounter when using Craigslist to search for jobs is Craigslist itself. The grouping of jobs and locations that you are sorting through may not be the best for your specific job hunt.

Fortunately, there are other Craigslist search engines that can help you. We’ve already covered these in a separate article, so go check them out! They could save you a lot of time.

Conclusion

Job hunting is no one’s idea of fun, but these tips will hopefully keep your time unemployed as short as possible. If you have any of your own advice, let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: Job Hunting – The Blog 

Check out these four more ways to make your Craigslist browsing just a little easier by letting you search all of craigslist at once.

Allofcraigs

Allofcraigs has a posh landing page that offers a textbook execution of a GIF, but the question is this – does it actually work? Well, I’m happy to tell you that besides it being just a pretty face, the site does exactly what it is supposed to do. Just punch in what you are searching for, and sure enough, Allofcraigs will search all of Craigslist and then present to you your search results from all over the country (or in a specific region).

Besides scouring Craigslist, Allofcraigs will actually run searches in Craig’s competitors, such as Kijiji and Backpage. Furthermore, the site offers a Firefox add-on and a Chrome extension among a few other items.

AllofCraigslist.org

AllofCraigslist.org has quite the similar title to the first site that I mentioned in this post, and as you might guess, it does basically the same thing. I guess the only question that you need to ask yourself is whether or not you want to give someone ad revenue. Using Google Custom Search, AllofCraigslist.org allows users to search nationwide for items of interest.

Granted, it functions a little like a watered-down version of Allofcraigs, but it does allow users to search in the traditional classes (“for sale”, ”community”, “gigs”, etc.)

Dailylister

Dailylister is a lot like the sites shown here, but it lets you search in the formal categories that Craigslist has to offer. For instance, I could search for a Chevy Camaro in the category of “cars+trucks – by owner”, but it still searches for items nationwide. The site uses Google Custom Search (much like the others).

It does have quite a few ads clogging up the white space of your search results. However, they have to pay for the site somehow, right?

Craiggers

We’ve discussed Craiggers before on MakeUseOf, but perhaps the site should be given a second look. Out of all the sites shown here, I believe that Craiggers is the prettiest to look at. Even while browsing, the user interface is clean-cut and incredibly easy to use, and although I am someone that believes in function over form, I’ll admit that this site’s appearance was what made me want to use it.

Beyond appearances, Craiggers does exactly what you would expect it to, and it does it with style. The site claims to be better than Craigslist, and I’m beginning to think that this might be true.

Conclusion

These sites simply make Craigslist-browsing a little less frustrating, and if you’re up for seeing the site in a different light, you should try them out. Granted, you may be like Craigslist (who has kept the same style design since 2001) and appreciate the same old thing that you know and love. There’s nothing wrong with that, and you shouldn’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

What other sites have you used to search all of Craigslist? Have you ever used the ones shown here?

I also noticed that Craigslist does not offer the ability (out-of-the-box at least) email yourself new Craigslist search results. These basically include latest advertisements you care about. Do you ever get tired of constantly running the same search over and over, hoping the item you’re looking for will show up? Well, since Craigslist search makes use of RSS feeds (Track A Craigslist Category In a Feed Reader), searching for the same item multiple times is a complete waste of time. Let me show you how to take a search term, find the RSS feed for that search term, and have the feed updates emailed to you!

Let’s start with Craigslist, the search, and the feed.

First find your local Craigslist page. Head to Craigslist.org, and look to the lists off to the right to find your local country, state or city (or nearest).

Once you find the closest location you can find, search for what you are looking for.  Just type something in the search box.  NOTE: you may find better, more narrowed search results by navigating to a category and then running the search, but it’s all up to you.

One thing that Craigslist does do right is it adds RSS feeds… everywhere!  For instance, they have feeds set up for categories, subcategories and even search terms!  In each case, just check out the bottom right corner of the page for the RSS icon.

Now all there is to do is have the FEED updates emailed to you.

There is a tool called FeedMyInbox (for more information on the tool, check out MakeUseOf’s overview).  Basically this site offers you the ability to enter a feed and your email address, and have the updates sent directly to your inbox.  You can do this without even signing up for an account! Please note that email updates will only be sent once every 24 hours with all updates from that time frame.

So, head back to Craigslist to copy the feed for your Craigslist search. The easiest way to do this is to right-click on the RSS icon and click COPY (or COPY LINK LOCATION – may depend on your browser of choice).

Now head over to FeedMyInbox and paste the feed address into the website URL field.  Then, obviously, enter your email address into the email address field.

Next, you will have a verification email sent to you to make sure it was really you who signed up to receive the updates.

Just click the confirmation link knowing that you always have the option to cancel the updates anytime you want.

And that’s how to save the time of repeating a Craigslist search over and over on Craigslist by have the results sent directly to your email inbox! Did you find this helpful? I am sure there are tons of other ways to email yourself Craigslist search results. Do you have another method? We’d love to hear it in the comments.

Image credits: MorgueFile.com

In addition to powering classifieds listings to several major newspapers, it recently welcomed Facebook Marketplace, AOL Classifieds as well as MySpace to their network. Why is Oodle the best player when it comes to online classifieds?

First of all, let’s talk about the interface. Craigslist has received a lot of criticism for its barebones 1990′s design but it has a major advantage that most didn’t perceive at first glance:

• An extremely simple interface means a low barrier to entry for new users.
• No graphics, animations; no distractions at all for the user. While not exactly pleasant for the eye, it means the user would get in and find what they were looking for fast.
• Minimal operating costs; transferring text has the lowest bandwidth requirements and it doesn’t use too many CPU resources either. You could literally run a million dollar business out of your closet. No need to hire coders to maintain the service, debug code; designers to create new promotional images/videos/layouts.

The idea behind Craigslist is genius, and so is the implementation ““ to a point. Create a balance between eye-candy, usability and costs and you’ve got a Craigslist killer: Oodle.

What’s special about Oodle?

• It mashes together “˜80,000 sources’ according to their website; which isn’t that far fetched considering they manage classifieds for a number of big players in the market.

Oodle covers listings from national and local marketplaces in 289 regions, 494 colleges in the United States, 120 cities and 84 universities in the UK, and 39 regions and 31 universities in Canada. ““ Oodle Blog

• It has an alert system that notifies the user once a product is available. Instead of searching every day, you sit back and receive the notification in your inbox.
• A large inventory ““ many sources means more products and a good angle for negotiating.
• Other classifieds sites use Oodle’s API to provide results ““ which means your posting will reach more than one single service. These sites are in the “˜hundreds’.
• Oodle generates more revenue by attracting advertisers and having a paid inclusion program. Submission to the site is still free ““ but if you want more exposure you can pay for it.
• International reach ““ just recently opened for Ireland and India.

Oodle is definitely a better implementation of the online classifieds idea ““ and while it is not as revolutionary as Craiglist was when it first appeared ““ it does the job better and that’s always what matters for the end-user.

I’ve asked Kirsten Bollen, from Public Relations at Oodle, a couple of questions:

Q: What makes Oodle, in your opinion, better than Craiglist? What feature would you say differentiates you from the other services?

A: Oodle operates the largest network of classifieds services in the U.S., so buyers can easily find the best deals with access to more than 40 million listings aggregated from more than 80,000 different sites. Oodle also offers a compelling platform for sellers to promote their listings by leveraging the reach of Oodle’s extensive network of more than 250 partner sites, including AOL, Comcast and MySpace, among many others.

Q:How would you see the service evolve in the future?

A: Oodle recently launched Facebook’s new Marketplace, where we introduced a new feature – Sell For a Cause – which allows you to donate the proceeds from items you sell to over a million participating charities including UNICEF, the Sierra Club and local organizations like the Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco.

I’d like to hear what you think about Craigslist and Oodle. If you haven’t tried it yet, go to Oodle.com.

Much of the power of the multitude of Craigslists are that while they certainly cover local communities, the lists are spread throughout the entire world. With Craigslist, it’s just as easy to search through electronics for sale in Poland as it is to search for auto parts for sale in Greece. The scope of the Craigslist database is just staggering.

However, this size also represents a significant search problem. While it’s fairly easy to search through listings within a specific city or town, how do you search listings posted throughout an entire country, or even the entire world?

Solving The Craigslist Search Dilemma

Everyone who has ever used Craigslist knows that the site is about as non-user friendly as it could possibly be. The front page consists of nothing more than a huge listing of locations that stretch from the U.S. all the way throughout Europe and Asia.

The front page offers not a single search feature. Instead, you must select a location first, and then you can search. A few MakeUseOf articles have covered some potential solutions, such as this article by Abhijeet which discusses the website SearchAllCraigs.com, or CLHack which lets you search Craigslist for listings with pictures.

However, by far the best free tool I’ve found for searching all of the Craigslists is the free CraigsList Reader by Motion Technologies.

Overview of The CraigsList Reader

The CraigsList Reader is a well written application that allows users to drill through the entire database of Craigslists, based on any search criteria whatsoever. The application is aesthetically impressive considering it’s a completely free application. Search results are displayed in the pane to the right, and individual ad content is displayed in the panel below it.

The Reader offers users a comprehensive search based on categories, geographic locations, and even subcategories and ranges (such as price ranges) depending on which category you choose. The selection boxes at the lower left hand portion of the screen allow you to select which demographics and categories to search through, view your saved favorites from previous searches, set up notifications (see below), or configure your Craigslist Reader options.

This is also the corner of the screen where you can view the search status and number of results as the Reader application sifts through the millions of Craigslist listings.

How It Works

The power of this application really comes out when you start using it. While the search itself can take a fair amount of time depending on the number of connections you allow (consider the fact that it’s sifting through millions of ads across the world), the results are more useful than anything you’ll find trying to sift through the website yourself.

For example, whenever I’m hungry for writing work, I will often search the entire world for writing gigs. While this may sound like a bit of a stretch, I’ve found some of my best clients in countries like China, Australia, and even Ireland. The Craigslist Reader is useful for local searches as well, but when you can do work on a global scale, this application can really come in handy. The results for such a search typically take about 20 minutes or more to complete (with 5 connections), but by the time it’s finished there are thousands of results to sift through.

While doing manual searches yourself can provide a lot of opportunities, eventually you’ll make it to the bottom of the list. At that point, the real game on Craigslist is getting to the opportunity faster than anyone else. That’s where the “notifications” feature of Craigslist Reader is useful.

When you click the “Add as Notification” box before performing a search, you can add that search to your notification list. What that means is that the Craigslist Reader will repeat the search as often as you tell it to, and when there are any new results, it will immediately notify you through a display, sound, or even an email alert.

This is an excellent feature, especially if you’re in a highly competitive industry and need to jump on opportunities before your competition. You can also tweak the Craigslists search by modifying the application options.

The key feature in the Options section is the ability to modify how many connections, or threads, you want to allow the application to use. This lets you scale back the bandwidth that the Craigslist Reader uses if you want to just let it run in the background while you surf the Internet. By carefully selecting the right thread count, you can tweak the Reader to make the most efficient use of your broadband Internet connection.

Why Craigslist Reader is Unique

While there are a number of web based and application based Craigslist readers out there, Motion Technologies really nailed it with this particular free reader. The search capacity, bug-free features, and the ability to tweak the application and alert settings to your particular needs sets this reader well above the rest.

In particular, if you are looking for job opportunities, just set up your search notifications, let the application run in the background, and before you know it countless job opportunities will be knocking down your door.

Do you have a particular method or tool that you like to use to search the Craigslists?  Share your opinion in the comments section below.

Other people evidently feel my pain, as a number of Craiglist mashups have sprung up on the Web that take the Craigslist data, and use it in a better way. These Craigslist tools don’t have everything Craigslist does, but they typically help you look at one category or region of Craigslist far more easily and productively.

Here are five of my favorite ways to navigate Craigslist without typing “craigslist.org”.

Craig’s Helper

One of the things I like the least about Craigslist is that it’s limited to a particular place. If I want to buy, say, a bike, I’m limited to only the small regions Craigslist selects for me, unless I’m willing to do a lot of duplicate work.

With Craig’s Helper, you’re able to set how far away from yourself you’re willing to search for a particular item. I’m in Central Virginia, but I can set Craig’s Helper to search Craigslist to Washington, DC, or even to Vegas if I really want that bike. You set a price range, a category, and a distance, and Craig’s Helper parses Craigslist to find only the results you’re interested in and willing to go get. It does the same thing with eBay, and you can choose to search either or both sites.

Craigslist/Zillow

Real Estate prices are frequently skewed on Craigslist, but many people don’t know what to do, what the right price is, or even what they’re looking for. With the Craigslist/Zillow mashup made using Yahoo! Pipes, you can be more prepared.

All you have to do is input a real estate feed from Craigslist, by clicking the “RSS” icon at the bottom of the page when you search for real estate. Then the pipe shows you on a map where the housing options are, as well as the estimated price on Zillow, a users’ guide to real estate. You’ll get a sense of where things are, what’s available, and what the normal prices are – a major leg up for anyone trying to buy real estate from Craigslist.

Typo Buddy

People are notoriously bad at spelling, and notoriously bad at caring about it. With Typo Buddy, you get to use that to your advantage. Say you want an Apple computer. Type that into Typo Buddy, and it searches through both eBay and Craigslist for all the ways people could misspell that word.

Incorrect spelling means fewer people see the listing, which means cheaper prices for you! Since it relies on the stupidity of other people, it works pretty much all the time. I found eBay to have more results than Craigslist, but with some gold to be found in both places.

ByeByeList

Craigslist’s results page doesn’t show you pictures, which is the thing I like least about it. For every listing that sounds remotely interesting, you have to click through to see the picture, only to decide that “in good condition” actually meant “in thirteen pieces scattered about my house.”

With ByeByeList, you can search through the listings on Craigslist, with the pictures on the front page in a more eBay-style look. If there’s no picture, it says so, but for every listing with a picture you’re able to search just like on Craigslist, but see the image right on the results page. Helpful for when “use for parts” means “only if you’re savvy with a blowtorch.”

Weekend Treasure

Who doesn’t love other people’s junk, that they can’t wait to get rid of? With Weekend Treasure, you can do a search for all the garage sales nearby. Though the listings come from more than just Craigslist (a good thing, if you ask me), most of them do seem to be pulled in from Craigslist.

They’re mapped out for you, and each listing provides both an address and a link to the sale site (again, mostly Craigslist). Weekend Treasure suggest searching on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, but there are almost always some listings to be found.

Craigslist is awesome at aggregating material and information, and not so great at displaying it. Using these Craigslist mashups, you can be a better informed, more efficient and more powerful Craigslist user.

Are you a Craigslist fan? Got any Craigslist Tool you like, or wish you’d see?

It’s hard to take some shots at Craigslist without running the risk of getting shot back at by the hardline Craigslist users, of which I am one as well. CL offers so many people a free way to advertise (or inexpensive depending on what you are advertising) that most of us are willing to overlook its flaws.

And if truth be told, the flaws are not so much with CL as they are with the advertisers. You see, CL is supposedly policed by the community with the moderators stepping in when enough community members “flag” a posting as being inappropriate. The problem with this method when dealing with real estate is that who knows enough about the property to be sure of what they are flagging? Is it the seller who in many cases may be desperate to attract any “buyer” with the hopes of sorting things out later? Is it the real estate agent who is often ignorant of online advertising guidelines? Or is it a “buyer” who spent time and gasoline to travel to a house that wasn’t what it was cracked up to be? Obviously, in these scenarios, there will be spotty enforcement of guidelines and your searching experience will reflect that fact.

Let’s take a look at the process and along the way I’ll give you some tips on how to safely navigate Craigslist real estate listings.

Here is the page you come to when you type in the Craigslist URL.

As you can see, CL is International in scope, and although there are some small regional differences, things work pretty much the same no matter which country or city you pick. So, pick your region and click on it. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so that is where I will start.

Notice the red circle. Under the major heading of housing, there are 9 sub headings from apartments to parking and storage. At the bottom you find real estate for sale. This is where we are going to look to start our search for the perfect home!

At arrow #1 you can see that it is possible to search the entire SF Bay Area, or search by the various regions within the Bay Area. It really helps to narrow your search down by using the region that you want to start with. At arrow number two you can see the considerable sized drop down list. Why Craig does this is beyond me. I can see just having the real estate categories there, but I guess Craig thinks that the users will change their mind and decide to look for a job while searching for real estate!

Here I have selected an area of the SF Bay Area known as the east bay (Arrow #1). Once I did that, the big drop down list (arrow #4) contains a list of the Bay Area cities. I wanted to look for homes where the seller was motivated (arrow #2) and all I want to spend is $500,000 to $575,000 USD (arrow #3)

This search (without actually selecting a city) found 12 listings. (Arrow #5)

Of those twelve, 7 are in one city, so we’ll concentrate on that city.

Now this is where we have to start to understand what is going on here. If you were to click on each of these listings you would find that there are three listings here by two local real estate agents. They have varying degrees of expertise in displaying the information on the houses. One uses Postlets (which I have previously written about here on Make Use Of) and the other uses his own template. Both are pretty effective in conveying the info you would want in order to decide to go see the house. Two of the ads are a ‘come on and get you give up your contact info’ to someone who claims to have a list of all the area foreclosures and the rest are being sold by the owners with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Here is one of the owner generated ads:

Not a lot to go on is there?

Here is a Postlets ad from a real estate agent.

As you can see, there is much more information available to you.

So, here is the wrap up. Craigslist is a grab bag of things. There is no consistency as to what you will find. You will find that some sellers advertise directly, but since most have never done it before, they don’t know enough to put lots of information in the ad. Even the real estate agents have no consistency in what they offer. And then there are the scammers who are trying to entice you to give up your contact info so that they can build a list of people to try to sell something to.

None of that sounds very good, so why use CL? In my opinion you should use CL as part of your search strategy for several reasons. One of the best reasons is because you can find things that are put on by the sellers themselves. There may be homes that are not on the MLS. In other words, you may find a lot of homes for sale by the owner.

But the most important reason, in my opinion, is the ability to search on words like “motivated” or “desperate” which can lead you to bargains that would be hard to spot otherwise.

You want to start your search on Realtor.com to get the big picture, and then you want to look at Craigslist to get some local information and to perhaps smoke out a bargain.

Next time we will look at Yahoo Real Estate to see how that search giant handles real estate search.

(By) Jerry Kidd is a California Real Estate Broker, blogger, educator and author of Realty Tech Bytes