What's going on with Craiglook.com?

[melissab]

It looks like all the Craigslist search engines have been taken down. Any ideas why? I dont see how being able to search nationwide would hurt Craigslist. Nobody is gonna search every city in every state one at a time. Losing this resource hurts both buyers and sellers.

Melissa

[Peter_Crowl]

Craigslist's philosophy has always been that local transactions are best for you so - in their paternalistic glory - they shut down search engines on a regular basis. This is also why you can't wild card search CL. You can't search 196* and get all of the 1960's in one search like you can on Ebay.

Then there's Ebay's ownership interest in CL. They have a vested interest in keeping CL a Locals Only advertising medium.

All that to say...there's nothing you can do except search one market at a time...or rely on Google which will turn up CL listings but not as rapidly...and wait for another search engine to pop up.

Or we collectively move to another venue and enjoy it while waiting for Ebay to buy that one.

Peter
in Denver

[Raya]

Melissa,

I don't tend to use Craiglook specifically, but I do know (from using other similar sites) that Craigslist does not like the concept. They see the value in CL as being one of neighborhood/community type sales and connecting.

This to say that perhaps CL has had some effect on Craiglook; I believe they have tried/been successful at stopping other similar search engines (although I have not researched extensively or anything like that).

Raya

[Gina D.]

I ran into this yesterday doing a job search. crazedlist.org : search craigslist like a madman is still up, however.

[reinhold m]

and there's always the MASH on www.jaxed.com

here is the rv search link. one can search for all sorts of different things by category

rvs : craigslist eBay kijiji mash : US & Canada

[Mike Magee]

These search engine sites are great for spotting fraudulent postings, since the crooks often post the same trailer in multiple cities. It's too bad CL has to be so difficult about it.

[Peter_Crowl]

Excellent point!

[Nigel&JudyN]

I agree with those who like to be able to search CL nationwide. After all, that's how we found our "gently used" egg - it was in SC and we're in MD but the lovely previous owners worked with us to make it happen!

[reinhold m]

Originally Posted by Nigel&JudyN

...that's how we found our "gently used" egg - it was in SC and we're in MD...

ditto - OH to AK

[DonDeutsch]

Could one of our moderators send a note to Craigslist regrarding how valuable we here at FirglassRV find these search engines?

[Peter_Crowl]

That and a letter to the Times should take care of this matter quite nicely.

Truth is, as handy as I find CL search engines there's no substitute for browsing the individual boards. There are two many variables for a specific word search to turn up all possible choices. In this sphere there are dozens of possible word searches..if only "Fiberglass Camper" would do it - but it doesn't. "Scamp" barely sratches the surface.

Without veering off into the topic of crazy, inept, CL listings...the way people word their ads and their headers never ceases to amaze me. I used to chafe at dealing with ad takers at the newspapers, but truth is there are times when I long for the good old days - at least when it comes to wording :~)- and that lack of coherence in many ads makes the search engines less effective.

[Joe in MN]

I just downloaded an iPhone app today that does pretty much the same thing that Craigslook did. (No idea how long it'll keep on working before somebody sends THEM a cease-and-desist letter.) I haven't played with it a lot as yet, but it looks pretty good and is easy to use, and only cost one or two bucks, I think. I agree with Michael, a cross-city search really identifies scam listings quickly.

[Matt in SV]

Originally Posted by Joe in MN

I just downloaded an iPhone app today that does pretty much the same thing that Craigslook did. (No idea how long it'll keep on working before somebody sends THEM a cease-and-desist letter.) I haven't played with it a lot as yet, but it looks pretty good and is easy to use, and only cost one or two bucks, I think. I agree with Michael, a cross-city search really identifies scam listings quickly.

Possibly "CraigsPro" (in case anyone else is interested in this App).

Regards,

Matt

[Joe in MN]

Originally Posted by Matt in SV

Possibly "CraigsPro" (in case anyone else is interested in this App).

Yes, that's the one.

[Davie B]

It's an all-or-nothing solution, but using Google.com, you can do a query as follows:

casita site:craigslist.org

This will look for the word "casita" on any site that ends with "craigslist.org".