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Over at Watthackers, one of the ways we help the environment, our pocket books, and the economy is to buy local and buy used when practical.  Reusing objects helps to cut down on manufacturing, reduces material in our landfills, and in many cases puts cash directly in the hands of local citizens.  I’m amazed at what can be obtained on the open market and there is no more convenient local market than Craigslist. 

I know, the interface sucks and so does not being able to search multiple regions, but there are some tricks to getting an upper hand when dealing with Craigslist.  We have a sure-fire method to not only save you from navigating the featureless interface, but also let you know when items you’re looking for are listed.  I’ve used this successfully dozens of times and often I’m the first person to call and the listing was uploaded within the hour.  Here’s how it works:



First, you will need an RSS feed reader. There are a ton out there and I’m not about to get into a “which one’s better” debate, so if you use one, perfect.  If not, I suggest you check out the Google reader.  It’s simple, works well and best of all it’s free.  So sign up and let’s keep moving. 

Go to Craigslist and pick your region and then click on the “for sale” category.  Now searching in craigslist is a bit like hunting through a box of chocolates.  If you like all chocolates or already know how to find the caramel and almond clusters, skip the next few paragraphs on search refinement.

Let’s say you like cherry nougat (I know, nobody likes that crap, but for the sake of the article…) , you type cherry nougat  and POW!, you get orange marmalade with cherry nougat sprinkled in.  It’s sort of the carpet bomb approach to commerce.  So you need to figure out what key works trigger the fewest, most accurate results.  Let’s look at a real life example:

We are currently looking to add on to the detached garage and add some workspace and home office.  My goal is to use recycled materials where possible.  Craigslist is perfect for this.   So let’s say I need lumber.  If I just type “lumber” in the search box, I get the following results:  

In true Craigslist style, I’m greeted with a framing nailer, Ford pickups, Chevy Van, a Forklift, and of yeah, lumber. The trick to Craigslist is to be specific.  Instead of lumber, how about we type “beam” since our design calls for several large structural beams for the roof system.  Here’s how that comes out:

That’s even worse.  We have some poor chump that has lost is sand rail, a Hyundai, even an Apple studio display near the bottom.  Pretty lack luster results - time to bring out the big guns - multi-word searches.  Let’s use the term “lumber beam” and see what we get:

Oooooh, better. Not perfect, but no trucks, Apple displays, etc., so try your best to isolate your desired items by using multiple key words.  Now on to the rest of the program. 

Once you have a search that limits the list of what you are looking for, you are ready to take advantage of a little known feature of Craigslist.  Here’s a hint, it’s orange, has the letters RSS in it, and is in the example search results above. Yes, it’s the RSS link that is found at the bottom of the page.  Click this link and you will be taken to the magical RSS feed page.

This will look different if you are not using Internet Explorer 7, but how the page looks doesn’t matter; you want the link in the address bar.  Select the full URL address and copy it. 

Once you have copied the URL, navigate to your feed reader (I like to have multiple windows open to do this.)  Since I use Google reader, that will be the example given, but if you use another reader, just add this link like you would any other feed.  In Google, click on Add Subscription and paste in you link.

Once updated, you will see any new listings that match your search criteria in your reader.  Get in the habit of checking it every time you look at email and you should have a leg up on most Craigslist viewers.   To simplify the processes of checking the reader, I also use the Google homepage so I can have my eMail and Reader widgets side-by-side.

Now just by opening my browser, I can see new mail and Craigslist items all at once.  How sweet. Add a feed for each of the distinct items you are looking for and you have the services of a personal shopper, without the hassle of cutting her a check. What’s better is you are using items that might otherwise end up in a landfill and paying a fraction of the price. Be patience and the perfect deal will come, but the prize comes to those who are quick.  Flakes abound on Craigslist so it’s the typically first one with cash wins. Be there.

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