Thread: Craigslist & Newsreader

Occasionally, I search Craigslist for straight razors. But, not too often because it takes too long to open the page, make sure I'm set to the right location, and search. However, I just found out a way to much more easily search Craigslist, and in fact search Craigslist on a continual basis without costing me any time.

Put that on hold for a moment...

Some of us use RSS readers, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format), to read blogs, and generally keep up with news. If you don't use a RSS reader, you should.

Briefly, you subscribe to an RSS feed, like the CNN news feed. When you go into your RSS reader software, (I use Google Reader - http://www.google.com/reader), if a new unread article exists, it will display that fact in some way. (Eg, bolds the line.)

I am now using my RSS reader to scan Craigslist for "straight razor" in the Dallas area. (No one can use this tip in the Dallas area without a visit from my lawyers.)

Here's how to do it...

Quoting from the Wired magazine article that contained this tip, "Every Craigslist query is XML-enabled, which means that it can power an RSS feed."

So, go into Craigslist and search for "straight razor." It will generate a search string in the address bar. Copy that generated search string to your clipboard. Here's mine...

--http://dallas.craigslist.org/search/?areaID=21&subAreaID=&query="straight+razor"&catAb breviation=sss

Go into your RSS reader and in the "subscribe to" query area, paste the Craigslist search string.

That's it. I renamed the name of the subscription to something a little more descriptive. But, that's window dressing.

I go into my RSS reader 5 or 6 times daily. If no Craigslist ad containing "straight razor" exists in the Dallas area, I see nothing. But, as soon as someone puts up an ad in my area, when I go into the Reader I am notified.

Bring on the Dubl Ducks and Wade & Butchers!

I did something similar and thats how i got my 3rd razor $25

My $25 Craigslist Razor

Try http://www.crazedlist.org/# You can search by Town,State, or Region all at once.