No I am not dreaming. The popular classifieds site Craigslist, famously resistant to change, now has thumbnail photos in its categories. While I can understand they'd be reluctant to mess with success, I truly think this is one change that will be completely welcomed.
It will make browsing so much more effective and even entertaining.
Before, the only way I was accessing thumbnails on craigslist is on the CraigsPro iPhone app.
Good going, craigslist!
I finally found something that lets me view thumbnail images of Craigslist postings while browsing a category.
It's an iPhone app called CraigsPro, and I stumbled upon it by accident.
Above is an example of what browsing listings in the clothing+acc category in the craigslist in my city, Washington DC, looks like, with this app. (This is low-res, but if gives you the idea). So much better to get a glimpse of what's lurking behind each posting than having to click into each one.
Another thing CraigsPro does is lets you search multiple cities at once, and also post to the site and manage your account. You can use photos taken with your iPhone camera or ones stores in your Photo Albums.
See a listing you like and want to email it to yourself to print out from your printer? You can do that too.You can also call the poster from a listing, and use Google maps to see where the item is located or to get directions for it.
The overall rating for this app is 4 stars, with 353 ratings at this writing. The app is also FREE. I'm very psyched to start using it.
Do you have experience using this app, or recommendations for other iPhone apps? Post a comment here.
Looking for a way to get new (or new to you) stuff for free while getting rid of your unwanted stuff? Try a swap site or a swap group.
These sites are growing in popularity, as evidenced by the recent cover story in USA Today.
Here's a rundown of some major swap sites:
ClothingSwap.com
SwapMamas.com
ThredUp.com
BarterQuest.com
PaperBackSwap.com
DigNSwap.com
ReFashioner.com
SwapTreasures.com
RehashClothes.com
You can also find a local, in-person clothing swap via MeetUp.com. That's how I found the clothing swap group I joined.
I've been to one meetup so far, and in one fell swoop I not only got rid of my black leather "Jim Morrison" pants that just weren't "me" (never worn), and various tops and sweaters, but I also snagged a new-with-tags red suede Coldwater Creek jacket, leather boots, a Ralph Lauren velour sweatshirt, and jeans.
I'll be trying out some of these swap web sites and posting the results, so watch this space for reviews.
Meantime, try some trading up yourself!
Will Kijiji be able to take on or surpass craigslist as the go-to place for online classifieds? Of course it's hard to say. But in the Internet world, it seems anything is possible with the right mix of interface, perseverance, and critical mass.
This weekend a funny thing happened. I was online discussing Kijiji with a friend of mine, Paul Rapa, a commodities analyst who has a lot of thoughts on the topic, and I popped over to Kijiji to see what was up. It was interesting to be confronted with the big green U.S. map right away on the first page, but certainly eye-catching and clean.
So, lo and behold I drill down to the Washington, D.C. area where I live, and I find a estate sale listed just down the road from me. For whatever reason, I did not also see it on craigslist at that time.
Paul has these thoughts: "In order for
them to defeat Craigslist they would have to add Skype to Kijjii soon and drop
that dreadful name."
Also, craigslist is pretty efficient at eliminating spam, flagging postings, and self-policing its community. Whereas "Many of the ads on Kijiji NY are inserted 10x each," says Paul. "If Ebay wanted to get serious in fighting Craigslist they should have a fiilter to prevent these ads."
And yet, one journalist I read (I can't remember who now) was complaining that craigslist was slow to implement improvements..for example, he wanted a better way to filter items in his surrounding areas or different distances.
Paul thinks eBay should use the myworld domain instead of Kijiji. Other thoughts of his...
Stumbleupon and Kijijii have areas for dating -- "they can
get a jump start on all the dating sites by combining with Skype video and
chat...Skype video can be huge on a dating
site."
It will be interesting to see how this kijiji-craigslist thing plays out. (And if eBay has a 25% interest in craigslist, does it make it some kind of internecine fighting?).
Ellen DeGeneres has just started a new segment on her show where she picks items from the "free" section of craigslist and talks about them on the show.
Today's item was a bar and two stools -- the owner said it needed refinishing, and she suggested it could be done with carpeting. Ellen thought it was funny that the person listing it was suggesting how it could be fixed up. She said she had the same idea for a jacket and showed a photo of herself wearing a jacket made out of carpeting.
Then she said she'd had two "cutlets" made out of carpeting for her bra..."just a little bit of padding" -- if you need more padding you can use plush or shag, she suggested.
Send in your funny craigslist freebies, she says. So America, go for it!
A woman scored a sueded couch for $200, and $260 retail value end tables for $37.50 on craigslist. She's one of the craigslist "early responders," who troll the site regularly, sometimes many times a day, looking for good deals.
This according to a piece in the "Home" section of today's Washington Post, which has a feature article titled "Click and Brag." As I espouse in my ebook about craigslist, "Making Money (and Getting a Life?) via Craigslist": only $8.95!" (http://www.aolmemorabilia.com/clslscrgs.html), the earlybirds definitely get the..er, worms on CL.
The Post piece also urges you to pick up quickly, have cash in hand, and to exchange phone #s with the seller to check if the item is still free, if necessary, and to get directions.
