Unbiased Guide to Navigating Craigslist

In light of some of the negative press that Craigslist has received in the past, I would like to take an objective look at the overall benefits available at this site. Understand that they deal with millions of listings on any given day. People are buying, selling, wanting or needing one thing or another all day long including different forms of relationships. It stands to reason that with the amount of traffic this site receives that there will be some occasional negative stories that come up, as with any popular public domain. But lets take a look at the benefits and opportunities provided to the public if they take the time to learn and understand the site.

The Craigslist forum is a well known worldwide operation. There are sites available locally for almost every major city in the world, and about 300 represented cities just in the United States. No matter where you are located you can still find a Craigslist city close to you, or even suggest a new location for them to add. The list of Craigslist city sites is quite extensive, and they are all linkable for easy access to all the global locations. You can link directly and instantly to the location of your choice.

The services provided for on each site are also quite extensive, and cover a wide range of topics to choose from. If you are attempting to buy sell or trade an item, or are in need of or have a service to offer you should be able to narrow your search in no time at all. The jobs and services offered area is quite detailed, with a wide selection of categories to choose from. There are also plenty of discussion groups and forums covering a wide range of topics. Pictures are important to some postings and are easily added to the listing if desired by following the simple instructions.

The Craigslist site takes a lot of precautions to ensure that your privacy is secure. You have the option when you reply to a post to keep your personal email information from being sent. The site does this by utilizing an on site anonymous mailing web server, so your reply is sent through them instead of your own email. They also have warnings posted to alert site users to possible scams that are out there, which should be reviewed before posting.

Here are a few general guidelines to follow while utilizing the Craigslist ads, as well as any other online establishment you may use. They only require common sense.

1) Use caution when putting your phone number in a public post. It is best to wait until comfortable contact has been established through email.

2) Use prudence when placing your personal email in a public post. it is best to let the Craigslist email filter keep your identity private until you are ready to continue with your intended transaction.

3) Use common sense before you add your own photograph to a personal listing. Make sure you are willing to have your face known to whatever community you are posting to.

4) Guard all your personal contact and location information well, and use discretion when passing it out to strangers.

5 ) Always keep close tabs on your banking information, and be very selective in every transaction you may be considering.

Here is a detailed listing and brief explanation of the different categories available to the public, and the list is quite comprehensive. I have used the Detroit Craigslist area for reference only, just to highlight all of the different fields shown for every listed city. Please remember that you can reply to any given post in these fields, or post your own ad in any section.

Housing: In this section you can list to buy, sell, rent, lease or swap any type of real estate you may be interested in. Residential, commercial, and even vacation properties are all readily available. Apartments, rooms for rent, and even parking areas are also included in this section.

For Sale:Everything you can imagine for sale has a category here. You can buy or list to sell autos, tools, appliances, and household furniture. The for sale section section is far too extensive to list all the the separate categories here, but it does cover just about anything you are looking to buy or sell. There are also separate headings for barter, free stuff, and wanted items listed here as sub-categories.

Jobs: Here you can browse through a large selection of jobs offered, or post your own job that you have available to the public. Some of the larger city listings on Craigslist require a $25 fee to post a job offer. This is done to reduce the constant attempts to spam by using multiple postings. All types of jobs are offered here, from labor to waitressing to accounting and everything in between. There is a part-time area available as well to post in or reply.

Gigs: This section is for posting day work, or just a one time opportunity. Painting jobs, yard clean-ups, roof leak repair, and moving help are just a few of the types of work offers that are available here.

Resumes: This is below the jobs and gigs sections section and is a separate area to post your own resume for public viewing. You can list your work history here, or whatever qualifications you have for any given position you are seeking. if you are seeking to hire someone, there are plenty of resumes to look through.

Services: Provided here are all the services that are offered locally in your area. Skilled trades, computers, auto repair and financial services are just a few listings in this category. if you are looking for travel, beauty or even legal services they can be found here. You can search here for what you need to have done, or post a service that you are offering to the public.

Community:The community section is for more localized services that do not fall into any of the general categories. Here you can find or post ride-share information, local news bits, lost & found items, and even activities in your area. There is also a pet section and a childcare listing for your local area.

Personals: This section is for meeting like minded people searching for some kind of a hook-up. You may be searching for a platonic friendship or something more serious. A date for the night, a coffee buddy, or a spouse may be what you are hoping for. You can also search for your choice of gender, age or race. This section should be approached with caution. You are dealing with complete strangers and should be extremely cautious giving out your personal information.

Discussion Forums: There are several different forums here for discussing a multitude of topics. You can ask for, or post advice on subjects ranging from paying taxes to automobile problems. Gardening, pets, dieting, gaming and religion are just a few of almost 100 topics to choose from. There are ongoing conversations in all the discussion groups that you are free to join in at any time. These forums are a very informal way to talk with others about any given topic that suits you.

In closing, please remember that Craigslist is a global operation. You can go to any part of the world to see what people are buying and selling, or for housing prices in case you are planning a move. It is also an easy task to check the job markets in any location of your choice. Once you become familiar with the site you will find it can be very informative and quite a time saver.

Thanks for reading.