Conquer Craigslist with a Small Business Web Tool

OK, here’s my confession. I love Craigslist. So do millions and millions of other people or otherwise it wouldn’t be ranked as high so high; it’s ranked number 31 in the world for websites. Now that’s putting it up in pretty rarefied air.

But sometimes Craigslist can be a pain in the neck if you’re trying to find a particular item. You have to keep going back to the site and checking for the items that you’re looking for. Well, that’s where our latest free Web tool comes in. It’s called CLGenie (short for Craigslist Genie), and it’s pretty neat. The site lets you create searches for all or part of Craigslist, and then it notifies you when it finds what you’re looking for.

You go to the site and enter search data on whatever items you’re interested in finding. For example, I’ve been looking for amateur radio gear for a long time. It’s manufactured by a company named HeathKit, so I entered that information into the search criterion. Then I added my mail address and asked CLGenie to do a nationwide search.

CLGenie makes finding items on Craigslist quick and easy. (Click for larger image).

Before my search became active, I had to check my email for a message from CLGenie and verify that it was OK for them to email me with the search result information.

My search for HeathKit equipment turned up dozens and dozens of listings. One in particular — a HAM linear amplifier — was the exact piece of equipment I was looking for. Clicking on the link within the email took me straight over to the Craigslist page for this piece of gear. What a great time-saving tool.

I was so pleased with CLGenie that I went back and entered another search. I love guitars, and so I looked for my favorite, the Gibson 335. It didn’t take long for CLGenie to search and send me an email with listings for 50 Gibson 335 guitars, including one for sale or trade.

You can set CLGenie up for a particular regional area, or you can set it up for nationwide searches. Set up searches in this nifty Web tool, and  it will fill your mail box with the items that you’re looking for. It’s a great place, so give it a try. You’ll love it.

Woot.com

Don’t ask me where the name comes from, because I have no idea, but what I can tell you is that Woot.com is the bargain site of all bargains. It’s nothing short of amazing.

I’ll explain how it works. At 12 am Central time every day of the week, a single offer is posted on the homepage at Woot.com. A set quantity of the item is available, and it’s first come, first served. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. That’s why sometimes you’ll hit the page and it’ll say ‘sold out’.

An example of an offer is shown in the screenshot – two Braun Oral-B Vitality Sonic rechargeable toothbrushes for $25, which is obviously a good deal.

Andrew Lock is a self-described maverick marketer and the creator and host of Help! My Business Sucks, a free, weekly Web TV show full of practical small business marketing tips, advice and resources to help small businesses “get more done and have more fun.”

Small Business Computing is on Facebook. Join us on Facebook and interact with the site’s editors, post messages, share your small business challenges and successes, discuss technology and suggest topics you’d like covered on Small Business Computing.