CraigsList Email Notifications

Wouldn't it be nice if you could receive a little email message when that collectible widget is up for sale on CraigsList.org. Unlike eBay, there is no built in little saved search in CraigsList. You have to check every day and you can miss a day or just get tired of looking and finding nothing.

There is however a free, easy and uncomplicated way to receive notifications when something appears on CraigsList.org.

Here's how you do it.

First, you need to search Google for the item. Google, it turns out, is very interested in CraigsList and checks it frequently. In my example I am looking for "vacuum tubes", those old glass electronic instruments that used to power every radio and TV. I collect certain kinds of vacuum tubes and equipment that uses them.

Here is a typical Google search:

"vacuum tube"

As you can see, I put quotation marks around the search because I don't want to find pages that have words vacuum and tube randomly scattered around the page. I need pages that have the exact phrase.

I can now refine that by saying that I want to search only the Boston CraigsList. The address of the Boston CraigsList is boston.craigslist.org. I can tell Google to search only the Boston CraigsList by entering:

"vacuum tube" site:boston.craigslist.org

This search will show me all the things on the Boston CraigsList with the phrase "vacuum tube" in it. As I write this I find 27 items, but most are a week or more old.

You, of course, might not live near Boston, so you would use the correct CraigsList. Go to CraigsList.org, click on the city nearest you and see what the site address is show in the browser address area. You might see Alaska.craigslist.org or newyork.cragislist.org or delhi.craigslist.co.in.

After checking that you typed everything right and you do indeed find things at craigslist, it is time to use Google email alerts.

Use the mouse to highlight the search phrase you typed in and copy it. Use your browser to go to www.google.com/alerts.

There is a dialog box that asks for search items, type, how often and your email address.

Put the search phrase (including the site: information) into the search items box.

Select  "Web" from the type drop down, and make select "Daily" from the how often drop down. Next put your email into the email box and press select alert.

If you are not using a Gmail account, you must confirm your email address. Google will send you an email and you have to click on the link in it to confirm. Also, if you are not using a Gmail account, you are limited to 10 alerts. I suggest getting a Gmail account. I like the service and it lets you control all of your alerts from one screen.

Once a day you will receive a nice little notification about your CraigsList search if Google finds anything. If Google hasn't found anything, you won't get any notification. Also you won't receive more than 10 listings a day in the email.

I find that my searches usually arrive in a bunch in the morning, but sometimes they don't arrive until well into the afternoon. They do come, however, and are usually not long after the listing appears.