Today I borrowed a truck and drove up to Wyoming, Minn., to pick up some firewood. Despite my disdain for the helplessness of Craigslist, I went there looking for firewood and came across this ad of two kids selling firewood to raise money to buy a goat through World Vision. Awesome.
They even threw in a dozen fresh eggs from the free range chickens that were wandering the yard. Oddly enough it was a pretty swank neighborhood for free range chickens.
If I have to buy firewood I’d rather help a couple kids help people in need.
Craigslist is one of the incredible success stories of the web. And they do it by thumbing their nose at conventional wisdom. They don’t care about stunning design, complicated systems or making more money. Craigslist is all about functionality. If you haven’t read Wired‘s August 2009 story on Craigslist it’s worth a look behind the veil at one of the web’s weirder successes.
As great a techno wonder as Craigslist is, I hate using it. Why? It’s nothing wrong with the site, it’s the people. Sadly people are often the downfall to many of technology’s innovations. Every time I post something on Craigslist I get countless e-mails with stupid questions, drawn out conversations that don’t go anywhere and time and time again I’m left hanging.
So here’s a tip to improve your Craigslist experience: Be helpful.
Continue reading Craigslist Tip: Be Helpful →
My numbers are improving on Craigslist. I’m now 2 for 5. My baseball cards are gone and now the remains of my Star Wars collection are gone (unless there’s another box hiding at my parents house, which I may disavow any knowledge of). A woman picked them up this afternoon for her 8-year-old son who is nuts about Star Wars. If my collection must go, I’m happy to see it go to a kid who will play with it.
I’m still waiting to sell the beast, an old scanner and my racing cards. And if I ever get around to photographing and posting it, my entire collection of Billy Graham memorabilia (Billy-o-bilia) that I scored from the free table in the closing days of the BGEA.
A work-at-home dad wrestles with faith, social justice & story.