How do you search Craigslist?

Hi all,

Unfortunately Crazedlist.org shutdown while agoI have tried http://www.searchtempest.com/ and don't like that site, because it doesn't always pick up everything. What does everybody else use?

Can't help much, I only seem to browse it on my Ipod. I have an app for it.

I use http://www.craigslist.com

Set Max price, set minimum and sift. Thats it. No special trick websites.

I've been using the "Craigslist helper" extension for Firefox. It loads the Craigslist search pages from your computer so it doesn't depend on an external web site. It works pretty well. I preferred Crazedlist to how this thing works but since that's gone ... I'm using this.

@N Sperlo: But multi city search is a real pain that way.

I've been using a national Craigslist ap for iPhone. Unfortunately it doesn't allow you to search by category, and it always returns a list of expired/deleted ads.

petegossett wrote: I've been using a national Craigslist ap for iPhone. Unfortunately it doesn't allow you to search by category, and it always returns a list of expired/deleted ads.

I use this app as well. Just as you said though, you can't search by category. Also, (unless I'm missing something) you can't refine the search with a maximum/minimum price. I do however like the app's ability to search through multiple areas, so if I'm searching for something specific, it's great for basically checking the whole state.

I'm with N Sperlo. Unless I'm trying to do a national search, I just look right on CL's site. On the rare occassion I do a national search, I muddle through searchtempest the best I can.

N Sperlo/Klayfish

I found my k1200s through one of the nationwide searches before it was shut down.....in TX and flew out and rode it home. That was an awesome way to find rare/hard to find items. It was also a great way to get yourself into a roadtrip. The localized searches are all but useless for that unless you love wasting time. Just searching all the cities in TN that way drives me crazy.

I'm not really looking to go out of my way for anything. Clem does those searches for me anyway.

I use Searchtempest as my primary search engine, but I have found that it does miss some stuff.

i search Craigslist by watching the $200X Classifieds on this site.

iPhone app.

I often just do a google search with "site:craigslist.com" in addition to my usual local CL crawling.

I just use regular Craigslist. Just make sure you search to the lowest common denominator so you don't miss anything. For an RX-7 search you might use:

[rx-7|rx7|FC3s|rotary|rotory|manual|manuel|5 speed|divorce]

Here is some recent and relevant discussion on the same topic.
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/what-search-engine/54251/page1/
I continue to recommend Craigslist Helper over anything else!

Brett_Murphy wrote: For an RX-7 search you might use: [rx-7|rx7|FC3s|rotary|rotory|manual|manuel|5 speed|divorce]

This tip given here is also golden.
That vertical line between the words allows CL to search both words.
Not search for rx-7 and rx7 but rather search for rx-7 or rx7 in the listing. It will return results with either version.
That little vertical line is hard to find on your keyboard but it is right below your backspace key.

Not sure if it was directly from Brett Murphy above but I learned this tip right here on GRM and I thank you all.

Also wild cards work - the asterisk means "any letters, any quantity, even none." So searching for rx will return any ads with rx7, rx-7 in them. Now, just rx"" will also return the Lexus rx300 so you probably want to throw in mazda to filter that out. You could do rx"*" -lexus which would exclude all ads mentioning lexus.

Edited: added the quotes around the asterisks or else the forum software makes the words italics and leaves out the asterisks. Heh.

I use a web app called CL Alerts .. Simple and Fast to use..

I use wild cards and negations as well when I search on Craigslist before I hit the bookmark button..

My trick lately has been to open cl, do a search by category, set owner/dealer options as well as price point. Now just edit the first part of the web address to the next city you want to look through.

trigun7469 wrote: Hi all, Unfortunately Crazedlist.org shutdown while agoI have tried http://www.searchtempest.com/ and don't like that site, because it doesn't always pick up everything. What does everybody else use?

Hi trigun,

Nathan from SearchTempest.com here. Just wanted to let you know that SearchTempest actually has two modes of operation. The default mode is powered by Google, which is fast and convenient, but as you say won't always find every single result (especially those posted very recently).

Alternatively, you can use the Direct Results mode, by clicking Direct Results on the results page. That will give you results straight from the source, so it picks up everything. It's just like searching directly, except that you can easily flip through multiple cities. This entry in our FAQ has more info: www.searchtempest.com/faq.php#missing

Hope that helps!

espeed wrote: I use a web app called CL Alerts .. Simple and Fast to use.. I use wild cards and negations as well when I search on Craigslist before I hit the bookmark button..

Canoe here...four posts, joined yesterday, all about this CL Alerts.

Tempest Nathan wrote:

trigun7469 wrote: Hi all, Unfortunately Crazedlist.org shutdown while agoI have tried http://www.searchtempest.com/ and don't like that site, because it doesn't always pick up everything. What does everybody else use?

Hi trigun, Nathan from SearchTempest.com here. Just wanted to let you know that SearchTempest actually has two modes of operation. The default mode is powered by Google, which is fast and convenient, but as you say won't always find every single result (especially those posted very recently). Alternatively, you can use the Direct Results mode, by clicking Direct Results on the results page. That will give you results straight from the source, so it picks up everything. It's just like searching directly, except that you can easily flip through multiple cities. This entry in our FAQ has more info: www.searchtempest.com/faq.php#missing Hope that helps!

Thanks Nathan I used the direct results in a 200 mile range and was able to find a lot of items that I was looking for.

psteav wrote:

espeed wrote: I use a web app called CL Alerts .. Simple and Fast to use.. I use wild cards and negations as well when I search on Craigslist before I hit the bookmark button..

Canoe here...four posts, joined yesterday, all about this CL Alerts.

No canoe. here.. Long time lurker.. I work in the industry and was browsing. I use the above mentioned service.. So I thought I would add something of value.. I guess I failed..

Hence why most people lurk.. the fear of being called a canoe or worse

JohnRW1621 wrote:

Brett_Murphy wrote: For an RX-7 search you might use: [rx-7|rx7|FC3s|rotary|rotory|manual|manuel|5 speed|divorce]

This tip given here is also golden. That vertical line between the words allows CL to search both words. Not search for rx-7 and rx7 but rather search for rx-7 or rx7 in the listing. It will return results with either version. That little vertical line is hard to find on your keyboard but it is right below your backspace key. Not sure if it was directly from Brett Murphy above but I learned this tip right here on GRM and I thank you all.

Thanks! Now how do you add the vertical line?

espeed wrote:

psteav wrote:

espeed wrote: I use a web app called CL Alerts .. Simple and Fast to use.. I use wild cards and negations as well when I search on Craigslist before I hit the bookmark button..

Canoe here...four posts, joined yesterday, all about this CL Alerts.

No canoe. here.. Long time lurker.. I work in the industry and was browsing. I use the above mentioned service.. So I thought I would add something of value.. I guess I failed.. Hence why most people lurk.. the fear of being called a canoe or worse

No one's calling you worse than a canoe. However, you only have six posts, all relate to this CL alerts thing, and you posted in a semi-zombie thread to do it.

Not meaning to offend, because we're pretty welcoming around here (and this CL alerts thing seems to be half-decent). We've had a problem with shills, though, and we don't like it when someone uses a free service that GRM puts out for their own financial gain.