apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I search for "rug" under "for sale" everyday in Los Angeles. I also try to refine my results to "by owner" to avoid the furniture spammers. I also look up "vintage orange" since I love retro orange items.

I'm a poor student, so I search West Elm, Crate and Barrel, and some other high ends for nice items. In Sacramento its a bit harder. But when I stay in SF, I can usually hunt up something nice.

wow! thanks for these tips! i do a search for "1960's" or "60's" (or 50's, 70's, you get the idea) under furniture, collectibles, and free stuff.

we just scored an awesome danish modern credenza for under $100 by searching "teak" and pestering the seller to send pictures (that were not posted).

"scandinavian" in furniture.

i want that giant letter E. Badly.

i hear you on that one, SD!

i almost bought that big letter e!

I'm a total CL addict. I often search "Vintage" "retro" "50s" "60s" "eames" "danish modern" "urban outfitters" "crate and barrel" "west elm" "pyrex" and recently "ikea malm"

I am becoming a Craigslist pro...at buying, anyway. Here are my two biggest tips for the best deals for stuff you actually want and need:

1.
http://craigstoolbox.com/ It's a Firefox extension (super easy to install) that let's you preview all of the photos for each section without having to click a million times through the titles. It shows the titles and the photos for all of the 100 postings on each page. I like photos.

2. http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/06/23/subscribe-to-craigslist-search-results-to-grab-great-deals/ Subscribing to Craigslist searches via RSS feeds (say you're only looking for "seattle art glass," it'll throw only the items that match your search into your reader (I use Google Reader to read all my feeds, especially...well, I must admit...AT and Craigslist). This is the way I found 4 perfect stools on the cheap for my newly renovated kitchen within the past three days. The linked blog above has great instructions. Subscribing Craigslist search results lets you find what you want fast.

Seriously, if you do these two things your Craigslist luck will increase exponentially, promise.

Wow those searching terms are wonderful. I am a craigslist addict and use regional search terms (asian, african etc) as well as exotic or unique. But I am going to use some of the suggestions here. Yipee!!!

www.clpic.com

i like it better than the firefox extension

Great tips on Craigslist hunting! I've only found a couple of things there, but they've been biggies. First, tickets to a sold out rock show the day of the concert and, even bigger, our current apartment.

I appreciate these tips! I didn't know about the minus signs and all but I have found, when browsing randomly, that "primitive" and "rustic" yield some interesting stuff.

I haven't tried it yet, but there is also a plug in available for firefox called misspellr which allows you to find great items you may have otherwise missed. I think it also works with eBay.

Here is a great article from lifehacker on being a CL power user:

http://lifehacker.com/software/top/technophilia-craigslist-for-power-users-204312.php

I bought the "e"!!! Seriously, I really did, I'm picking it up next week. Its huge (5') -- its apparently one of the "e"'s from an old Bradlee's store.

Use www.crazedlist.org (and modify your firefox or opera-browser - no inetexplorer, sorry) to be able to search more than one area with just one click!

This might be my favorite AT topic EVER. Great tips!

I'm always on the hunt for chairs, and I like various 20th century styles. I'll do many variations - the typical 'eames or mid century' for obvious reasons, 'deco', ' craftsman', 'metal', 'aluminum', or designers I like, spelled correctly and with obvious misspellings. I used to find some great things cheap on Ebay before they did your spellchecking for you!

I'm looking for a credenza, so I also look under 'buffet', 'cabinet', 'sideboard'.

I'm so glad someone here got that 'e' - it's fabulous.

I also love this topic. I'm not very experienced with the Craigslist for purchasing stuff, I have used it for job searches. ... I don't recommend this utility for the lost found unless you have found a lost dog or cat.

I remember someone posting the thing with the pictures, but I didn't save the link before, but now I have it and the listpic, which has made my searches less boring. It is so boring to have to read every description and click to see what it is and maybe where they are that I kind of just wouldn't bother. Let everyone else find the cool things, I just can't spend the time! The lifehacker link seems a little advanced for me right now, but I saved it.

Thanks! and congratulations on your Bradlee's e. That's a weird thing to buy, does it light up or do you have to restore it?

this post is the best ever. thank you so much. I always swoon over the craigslist finds in NY, SAn fran, etc. But not being in one of those cities is sad for the finds. This is awesome!

Jeanine- If you ever get sick of the "e" let me know ;) You have a buyer!

I was initially skeptical of Craigslist but after finding my West Elm butterfly extension table and 4 T-Chairs for $125 I was hooked!

OH MY GOD I have been using craiglist for years and never knew of thus tips! "A Necessary Equal" just opened my eyes to a new world! I LOVE the craigstool and I am definitely going to star using Google reader. You changed my life! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!