Whether you are on a strict budget or just like getting something for nothing, Craigslist.org is the website for you. This online classified website has a large selection of free things listed by internet users who are looking for nothing more than extra space in their home or garage. What can you find? Just about anything. It is common to find used kids clothes, dressers, couches, books, movies, and more. If you want to use Craigslist to find free things, what do you need to do?
Don't Just Focus on Your Local Craigslist Page - Expand Your Search
Most Craigslist shoppers are so trained to automatically select the nearest city they think of first that they don't focus on anything else. Personally, this is what I did. Once I took time to examine all New York listings; I realized while I lived 25 minutes away from one city listed, two others three 30 minutes away in opposite directions. So, what did I do? I spent days thinking about all the good free items that passed me by. Since I basically live smack dab in the middle of three Craigslist location pages, I now search them all for free stuff.
Don't Waste Time Searching on Craigslist
If you are fortunate enough to live in between two or three Craigslist location pages, search them all. But this is a pain in the butt to do on Craigslist, as you can only search one location page at once. Cure that right now and eliminate wasted time. Download and use a Craigslist search tool, which enables you to search multiple locations at once.
Craigslist search tools also enable you to search multiple categories at once. Of course, we don't want to bash the people who give us an endless supply of free stuff, but some have not clue what they are doing. Craigslist has a section just for free stuff, but not everyone lists their free stuff there. They list it in another category. A Craigslist search tool allows you to select all categories and search with the word "free." This way you won't miss any good free deals because a seller mistakenly selected the wrong category.
Know that Many Free Things on Craigslist Are Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
I recently looked for free things on Craigslist. I found some junk, like a free television from the 70s and a free mattress that looked just plain nasty. On that same note, I saw some great items too, like a dresser that looked brand new it just needed the handle to a draw re-attached. The junk you see listed will likely stay on Craigslist until the posting expires, but the good stuff will go quick.
Speaking from personal experience, you want to scream and yank your hair out when you arrive to pickup free stuff or call the poster to only hear that someone just picked up the goods five minutes ago. If you find something neat or expensive listed for free on Craigslist in Detroit, act quick. For curb alerts, either leave to get the stuff right away; for anything else, contact the seller by phone or email immediately.
