I'm Addicted to Oklahoma City Craigslist

I started using Craigslist website since Jan 2007. I was in desperate need of a cheap reliable car. One of my friends told me to search in the Internet. I've heard about Craigslist and I was curious to search in this website. The page is friendly-user. There are selections of which city you live in. I clicked on Oklahoma City. I was looking for a local seller, so I browsed all the postings from the individuals. Some people posted their items with pictures, prices and contact numbers and some did not. I made a list of the prospect cars I was interested to buy. There were 3 cars that fitted into my budget. I didn't know about car engine, so I made an appointment with the sellers and called one of my friends, a mechanic, to come with to look at those cars. Out of those 3 cars, my friend suggested one car which according to him was good and if I maintained it well I still can drive it for 3 to 5 years and it had a clean title. After we did a test drive and checked the engine, I finally agreed to buy that 1995 Geo Prizm for $1500. It was a good deal.

After that successful moment to get a good used car, I became addicted to this website. I searched and bought some cool stuff from local sellers who posted their ads on the site. Sometime in Feb 2007, I lost some hours of work due to leak problem in the apartment. I needed cash to pay my bills, to buy groceries and to fill up gas in my car. I had some stuff to sell to get money. I posted an ad but nobody contacted me. I was so desperate so I changed strategy. I went to barter section. In my ad I mentioned that I was in need of cash to buy groceries and to fill up gas. I was not asking for free money but I have some stuff that I can trade with. I posted the items with pictures for people to consider. In a few hours, some nice people responded. One lady offered me one gallon of milk, another lady brought me some baby food and summer clothes and shoes for my daughter. One couple even came to the apartment I live and gave me a $20 7-Eleven gas card. When I told them that they could choose the items that I was willing to trade with, they refused. Their intentions were merely to help. They were like angels in disguise that day. If you are honest and are really in emergency situation you can do the same thing. You can barter the stuff that you no longer need or use with things that you badly need.

Summer 2007 the apartment got flooded again. There was a leak from underneath the carpet. I guess the concrete was cracked and water infiltrated. My husband and I was panic because the management didn't seem to care about it. They only came to check on it after a few days when the carpet and our furniture have been soaked and wet. My daughter got skin rashes because of that wet and nasty carpet. I immediately browsed Craigslist's housing section. Among all expensive apartments, there was one that caught my attention. The location was so perfect and I was already in love with the place when I saw the picture. So, I contacted the person who posted the ad. It happened to be two single ladies that leased this duplex. They said that they realized that the duplex was too big for them and they were out all the time because of their job and school. The lease contract would not be expired until the next year, so they needed a family to take over the lease. They were willing to leave their one-month deposit for us as a reward. This was a win-win situation. We needed to get in and they wanted to get out as soon as possible. Oh, Thank God for Craigslist!

When the storm in our life has calm down, I started to clean up the garage and wanted to sell stuff which we didn't need anymore. It's time to make some fast cash. Since June 2007 I have sold a few items through Craigslist. I sold Video camera, used baby toys, crib mattress, used baby clothes, collectible items, games and too many to mention. I also could find some stuff that I needed for my daughter like used toys or used clothes and furniture. My favorite section is the Garage Sale.

One time, I replied to an ad of a lady who needed someone to clean her house. It was an easy house cleaning. I could clean her house in less than an hour and she paid me $25 per visit. I cleaned her house for a couple of times for the sake of fast cash.

I have a few tips when you use Craigslist because some people have also been using and abusing the site by posting false ads that trap innocent people. Have you heard about a local young woman from Savage, Minnesota who was looking for job as a nanny and replied to a post and ended up murdered? So when you are doing transaction always insist to meet in a public place like a café. If it is a small item don't let them come to your house, meet in a public place. If you are selling furniture and you want them to pick up the item, make sure that someone else is with you in the house when they pick it up. Tell a friend or family member where you are going when you meet in a place, bring your cell phone along if you have one, consider having a friend to accompany you and trust your instincts.

When you are posting your ad, do not include email address and your contact number in the ad. Choose the option reply to: sale-xxxxxxx@craigslist.org and let Craigslist anonymizes your real address. Do not give your contact number even when someone replies to your ad. Take your time to analyze if this person is serious or not. It could be scammers, too. I just do deal with local seller or buyer. If someone mentions that they live in Africa and want to buy your stuff, forget it. They are scammers.

I still use Oklahoma City Craigslist until now. I found this website very useful if you want to find a local seller and if you want to sell your junk from your attic without posting fee. Like I said, I have become so addicted. I post my unused items almost every weekend and earn fast cash from selling them. You can do it, too.