GUEST POST: MY BEST FRIEND CRAIG!!

Hi Everyone!  I'm Charmaine from the blog My Best Friend Craig.   I'm happy to be here today to share with you some Craigslist shopping tips specifically how to search Craigslist successfully.

 

Here are my tips:

 

Search often.  New items are added all the time and the best items move quickly.  I use to search Craigslist every morning before the kids woke up.

Use the search tool wisely.

Search for items in the home page search bar so you don't miss out on things.  You never know where sellers would list their items,  it could be under "Antique", "General" or even "Free".

 

 

 

 

Check off the box to view only listings with photos and click on the show images icon so you don't have to click on every single listing just to see what the item looks like.

 

 

 

 

 

or better yet, use a Craigslist helper extension like the Craigslist Preview Extension for chrome and Craigslist Pro for iphone or ipad.  This extension enables you to view all the photos at the same time...

 

 

 

 

In searching terms, try to use different words.  A side table to you can be a nightstand, night stand, end table or just table to others.  Also, take into consideration the spacing, and other punctuations like "midcentury", "mid-century" or "MCM".  You will also be surprised how often sellers misspell items  like Ottoman, automan or otoman.  Search for those too!

 

To search for a specific item, enclose your terms in a quotation, like "hollywood regency mirror" or "faux bamboo dresser" This will only show listings with those words together in that order.

 

Every time you enter more than one word to the search bar, it automatically searches for listings with all of those words.  I typically try to use one word terms like "bamboo" vs "faux bamboo". You can use the pipe character -  |   (shift + \)  to break this and search for 2  or more items at the same time.

 Like, "hollywood regency | lucite" or "midcentury | retro | vintage"

 

 

Here are some of my go-to search terms:

 

mid century modern | mid century

 retro | vintage

brass | gold

wicker | bamboo | cane

chrome

lucite | acrylic

asian | oriental | chinese

lamp | light fixture | chandelier | pendant

 

 

Using the above search terms, these are what I have found on Nashville's Craigslist...

4 MCM chairs

 

wicker chair

 

MCM sofa

 

vintage yellow lamp

 

vintage end table by Baker furniture

 

 

vintage tulip table

 

kilim runner

 

Thomasville Dining set

 

Milo Baughman Barrel chair

 

pair of chrome chairs

 

pendant lights

 

brass floor lamps

 

 

4-piece glass table set

 

italian nesting tables

 

vintage leather wingback chair 

 

triple oval mirror

 

Bar carts

 

large octagon mirror

 

2 dolphin end tables

 

acrylic barstools

 

zebra rug

 

set of chrome tables

 

pair of vintage lamps

 

retro dining set

 

retro square chair

 

antique chinese vase

 

chinese chest of drawers

 

pair of chinese chairs

 

peacock chair

 

giraffe plant stand

 

Not bad, right?  What are your Craigslist searching tips?

Next, of course, is contacting the seller, negotiating and buying! 

(That would be for another post)

 

Thanks for having me over, Brandy!  This has been fun!

And thank you Charmaine!  You were one of the first to welcome me to the blog world earlier this year and I'm so thankful for your time, friendship and priceless knowledge.  - Brandy