“Shop local” usually makes us think farmers’ markets and mom and pop hardware stores. While those are wonderful for so many reasons, we had another positive experience shopping local the other day.

On Sunday we bid on a lamp on eBay just before the auction ended. We ended up with a bargain $4 alabaster lamp. The seller was local, so on Monday we decided to go a couple extra stops on the train to pick it up rather than spend $33 dollars on shipping.

Local pickup saved a lot of money, avoided a lot of potential headache filling out post office insurance claim forms, and kept us from giving desperate looks to the company mail guy every time he walked by our cube empty handed. (Almost) instant gratification.

Now we’re hooked. It’s like Craigslist armed with seller-feedback information.

eBay lets you search by zip code in the “advanced search” mode. Etsy has a new Shop Local feature. Here are some favorite local sellers to keep an eye on. (Always ask the seller about local pickup before bidding/buying. Also note that California sellers must charge sales tax for California buyers.)

eBay: