Product and Affiliate Review

According to Alexa, Craigslist.org reaches just under 2% of the global internet users everyday.  That is a huge number of people.  When I first heard about Craigslist in Details magazine over 4 years ago, I had a completely different impression of Craigslist than I do now.

That article told the story of girls selling their worn panties for outrageous sums of money; they even charged extra to remove them in front of the buyer in a public place.  After reading that article, I dismissed Craigslist as legitimate online classified ads.  I figure it was mostly for obscure adult fetishes and online prostitution.

About 2 years ago I heard that people were selling their World of Warcraft accounts on Craigslist, so I posted my account in the for sale sections.  24 hours later I had $700 in my PayPal account and a ton of extra free time; Craigslist started gaining a little legitimacy to me, but I still wasn’t sold on it.

The early 2008 I met Leah.  She is by far the best bargain shopper I know (and I’m not just saying that because I know she’s going to read this… It is very true).  Leah, like many girls I have come to learn, was a Craigslist addict.  Not in the way a shopping addict blows money they don’t have, but in the hunt for hours on end for the best more ludicrous deal possible way.  Leah was able to furnish our 4BR, 3 living room, 2 dining room house for less than half price (we decided to sell all the furniture we each had, and to get all new furniture so it would be “ours” and not “mine” or “yours”).  We are talking multiple couches, tables, chairs, dressers, etc… The furniture is all high end and looks brand new. If you take the time to obsessively check the furniture section for a particular piece of furniture you are looking for, you can save hundreds, if not thousands by buying it off Craigslist.

Not only can Craigslist save you bundles on furniture, but any other product too.  Looking for a designer purse or nice jeans?  Leah grabbed 31 pairs of name brand jeans for $100 and regularly finds designer jeans for under $40.  Occasionally, you’ll come across a “Divorce” sale, aka lying cheating husband/wife sale, where you can find people practically giving away their stuff to get back at their ex.  You can make a ton of money buying from these people looking to sell in a hurry if you are patient like the guy who traded a paperclip for a house.

Craigslist job section is amazingly useful too.  Since employers have to pay to post ads on Craigslist, the majority of them are serious positions they are looking to fill ASAP.  Sites like Monster and Career Builder might have loads of jobs too, but many of those positions are already filled before the posts go up.  Many of them are also recruiters posting about the same job opening.  If you’re having a hard time finding work, get on Craigslist and apply to anything that you look even remotely qualified for and watch the responses come in.

The free section has all sorts of gems.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure has never been more true.  It’s also really nice to be able to get rid of that extra stuff laying around the house without even having to leave home.  Most people will haul it out of your house for you.  We got a office quality solid wood L-shaped desk, credenza, and bookshelf for free because we were willing to rent a dolly and haul them down from the third floor of an apartment.

Finally, the amount of business you can generate from the for sale section is unbelievable.  For about three months I helped a flooring company develop a presence on Craigslist classifieds.  They were generating over $300,000/month of business exclusively from Craigslist!  As a reference, without Craigslist, selling $50,000/month is considered doing well.  Never underestimate the power of a strong Craigslist advertising campaign.

If you haven’t tried Craigslist before, give it a shot.  It just might save you enough money that you can buy that big screen TV or sick laptop you’ve been dying to buy; you might even be able to find it on Craigslist!

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