How Does Craigslist Work? – ItStillWorks
i LWA/Dann Tardif/Blend Images/Getty Images Craigslist is an online classified ad website divided into different city areas. Users post ads in categories including Services, For Sale, Jobs, Housing, Community and Personal. Basic knowledge of Craigslist allows users to interact with one another safely. Posting AdsCraigslist divides its ads into several different categories. Anyone can post an ad with or without a Craigslist account. Creating an account allows you to easily access all of your postings to revise or delete them. Without an account, you receive an email after posting with links to modify the ad. Click the Post to Classifieds link at the upper left corner of each page on the Craigslist website to create an ad. Fill the template fields including Posting Title, Posting Body and additional details such as Price and Condition. The ad may take a few minutes to appear in the category on the selected city’s Craigslist page. Finding AdsIf you’re interested in browsing the Craigslist ads, select the closest city on the right side of the Craigslist page. The main page of your city’s page shows the ads organized under main categories. Subcategories appear below to help you find the specific items you want. The For Sale section includes categories such as Antiques, Appliances, Books, Furniture and Jewelry. Click on the desired category to see a list of ads posted from newest to oldest. You have the option of sorting those ads by price instead of chronological order. You can also see the ads from the selected category represented as expandable info-bubbles on a map based on the buyer’s location. Responding to Ads On Craigslist, all negotiations and transactions happen directly between the buyer and the seller. An interested seller contacts the person with any questions, then eventually may commit to buy an item and make arrangements to meet. Read all of the ad details before responding. Each Craigslist ad features a Reply button in the upper left corner. Click the Reply button to show all of the contact methods provided by the poster. Craigslist provides a service that masks the seller’s email address so it appears as a Craigslist email address and any mail sent to the address, Craigslist automatically forwards to the seller’s personal email address. Users choose if they want their actual email addresses or the Craigslist version to show when creating the ad. Staying SafeSince you interact with strangers on Craigslist, take precautions to protect your identity when inquiring about an ad. Plan to meet in a public location, such as a busy parking lot. In some neighborhoods, police stations encourage Craigslist users to meet outside the station for transactions. Take someone with you or tell another person where you are going. If the situation seems suspicious, trust your instincts and leave. Never wire money or pay for something before meeting with the person. References Writer Bio Based in the Midwest, Shelley Frost has been writing parenting and education articles since 2007. Her experience comes from teaching, tutoring and managing educational after school programs. Frost worked in insurance and software testing before becoming a writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in elementary education with a reading endorsement.
Using the Web to Get Stuff Done: What is Craigslist?
Lesson 4: What is Craigslist?
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What is Craigslist?
Craigslist is a website for viewing and posting local advertisements.
It works a lot like the Classifieds section of a newspaper, and it’s completely free to use. You can find a listing for almost anything on Craigslist—jobs, apartments, garage sales, used cars, personal ads, and a whole lot more.
Why use Craigslist? Because you can easily connect with people near you to find, buy, or sell just about anything.
And because it’s free to use, you’ll be able to find things that people might not have bothered listing with a paid classified ad. Many people even post things you can have for free, as long as you’re willing to pick it up.
It’s easy to get started with Craigslist.
Just go to in your web browser. Next, you’ll need to choose your location (or allow Craigslist to use your current location).
This will direct you to the Craigslist page for your region.
In our example, you can see that we’re browsing You may also notice that the Craigslist homepage isn’t very pretty. That doesn’t mean it’s any less usable or trustworthy than other sites on the Web; because most of Craiglist’s content is created by users, the site just doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on its design.
So how do I actually use this site?
You can use Craigslist to find just about anything. In this example, we’ll show you how to buy something on Craigslist.
Choose a category, or use the Search tool.
In our example, we’d like to find a new bike, so we’ll select bikes under the for sale section.
In our opinion, some of the most useful listings on Craigslist can be found in the jobs, housing, and for sale categories. You might find useful postings in some of the other categories, such as community or personal ads, but note that these can be inconsistent—or even a little fishy.
In some cases, you may also need to choose a subcategory.
In this case, we’ll select bikes that are for sale by owner, but we could also look at bikes for sale by dealer or for bike parts and accessories.
Browse, filter, and search your results.
Any relevant postings will appear, much like the results from a search engine. You can then use the filters to narrow your results by price range, location, and more. You can also search within these results for something more specific. If you see something you’re interested in, just click it for more information.
If you find something you want, look for more contact information in the listing.
This will usually be an email address or phone number. Sometimes you may need to click show contact info to view the details.
Send a short, simple message to let the poster know you’re interested.
In this example, your message might look something like this:
“Hi! I saw your listing for the Girls Novara Pixie 20″ bike on Craigslist. I can offer you $100. Is it still available? ”
You should also include a phone number or email address so the seller will be able to return your message.
Complete your transaction, and make sure to do it safely.
If the poster agrees to sell you the item, you’ll need to agree on a time and place to meet. For many, the idea of meeting a stranger and exchanging money is uncomfortable—and maybe even a little scary. However, there are several ways to make sure you can stay safe when completing a transaction through Craigslist:
Meet in a public place during daylight transfer money electronically—most people on Craigslist prefer to use your instincts; if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
You can learn more about personal safety on Craigslist here.
OK, so those are just the basics of using Craigslist.
And you can use Craigslist for so much more—finding a place to live, a new job, or just selling some of your old stuff.
Happy Craigslisting!
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about | help | how to post – Craigslist
How to submit a free craigslist post
Follow the steps below to submit a free post to craigslist without using an account.
If you want to post using a craigslist account, go to your account homepage. Select a city from the dropdown at far right, click “go, ” and follow the steps below starting with step 3. (If you have trouble finding the right craigslist site, visit our list of available sites, and choose the most appropriate one. )
Please note that the steps may vary a bit depending on the category of your post.
1. Visit our homepage,
Make sure the location named at the top is where you want to post.
If the location is not correct, visit our list of available sites, and choose the most appropriate one.
2. Click “post to classifieds” in the top-left corner.
3. Select a category for your post.
Depending on the type of post, you may be asked to choose additional categories.
In “for sale” you can select a more specific category (such as “bicycles – by owner”).
In some cities, you may select a subarea (e. g. “manhattan”) and neighborhood (e. “SoHo”).
4. Enter the text for your post.
This page will vary depending on the category of your post. Important fields include:
posting title: your post’s name. It will appear in the main list of posts.
posting description: the body of your post.
reply to: the email address you want to use for responses. Please enter it twice.
5. When you are finished writing your post, click “continue” at the bottom of the screen:
6. In some categories you will have the option to add images to your post.
For further assistance with uploading images, please visit this page.
When you’re finished adding images, click “done with images. ”
7. Make sure your post looks right.
Confirm that your email address and the location of your post are accurate.
To make changes, click “edit text” or “edit images. ”
If everything looks good, click “publish. ”
8. You will now need to confirm your post via email.
When the system says “further action is required, ” check your email for a message from craigslist.
9. Open the email from craigslist, and click the confirmation link.
If you are unable to click on the link, try copying and pasting it into your web browser.
You may be asked to review the terms of use or confirm your phone number.
If all goes right, your post should appear on craigslist about 15 minutes after your confirmation.
Need to edit or delete your post?
Frequently Asked Questions about craigslist how it works
How does Craigslist work?
Craigslist is a website for viewing and posting local advertisements. It works a lot like the Classifieds section of a newspaper, and it’s completely free to use. You can find a listing for almost anything on Craigslist—jobs, apartments, garage sales, used cars, personal ads, and a whole lot more.
How do you list on Craigslist for beginners?
Visit our homepage, craigslist.org. Make sure the location named at the top is where you want to post. … Click “post to classifieds” in the top-left corner.Select a category for your post. Depending on the type of post, you may be asked to choose additional categories. … Enter the text for your post.
How much does it cost to sell on Craigslist?
All craigslist postings are free, except for: Job postings in US and selected CA areas—$10-75 (fee varies by area) Apartment rentals in Boston, Chicago, and NYC areas—$5. Commercial real estate in the US—$5. All for sale by-dealer categories in the US—$3-5.