Craigslist Search Tools

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 137]

Please list any craiglist search tools that you use in finding Wheel Horse tractors on Craigslist.

I have used Craigspal (free version) and Craigslook (but data is lagged). Also, using the FireFox browser with Greasmonkey installed along with the "criags list images" script that displays photos without having to click each ad.

Juss10 identified using http://www.crazedlist.org/ in another post which is a real time web application that doesn't seem to be plagued with the delays of Craigslook. At first blush that looks better than Craigspal and Craigslook. Craigslist tries to block most tools from harvesting their data so it's important to follow the setup for crazedlist.org to get it working. I also use a manual method of just having several tabs open in FireFox to the various Craigslist locations that I'm searching and use the "ReloadEvery" plugin to automatically refresh the browser at set intervals which I can view quickly.

Additionally the AutoPager plugin for Firefox is handy in that you never have to hit "next page" to view more listings because it will automatically load them for you as you scroll down the page (this may not be advisable for dialup customers). I haven't checked but a some of these plugins may be available in other browsers like Chrome, IE8 and Opera.

I've used www.searchtempest.com a few times but not enough to opine on.

[JUSS10 250]

great thread!

i will give my input on the two that i use.

for windows:

for windows i use craigspal. its a free install that works quite well. the thing i like best about it is it will put all the newest listings at the top. this is great if you want to quick see what has been listed since the last time you looked. i used to have issues where if i didn't keep it updated it just wouldn't work. also if your connection isn't fast enough it errors and stops.

for mac :

for mac i use crazedlist.org with firefox. what is so cool about this is you can select where you want to search then it opens a new page with windows (much like tabs in tabbed browsing) of each of the cities you wanted to search as if you went to each of those through craigslist its self. i have had really good luck with this because, to the best of my knowledge, you get up to date searches as if there were 10 of you looking at each area. the best part is its not a program, its a website so no need to install more junk on your computer and there aren't any ads or anything either. the down side is its not as fast as you still have to look at every area for the newest listings. to me thats a real minor set back for its convenience. you can also save your searches so when i open the page it automatically pops up with wheel horse search. oh and it works with PC's too :thumbs:

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 137]

for windows i use craigspal. its a free install that works quite well. the thing i like best about it is it will put all the newest listings at the top. this is great if you want to quick see what has been listed since the last time you looked. i used to have issues where if i didn't keep it updated it just wouldn't work. also if your connection isn't fast enough it errors and stops.

Do you use Craigspal Free or Pay version? I've been pondering purchasing the pay version as it has the auto pilot to send sms messages and email to a phone. I thought about writing a similar app for an android phone but it's hard to justify the time VS something I can buy for $30 that will meet my needs.

[rmaynard 16,291]

Very good information.

I use SearchTempest.com

Bob

[VinsRJ 723]

Craiglook.com for me.

[JUSS10 250]

i use the free version but as happy as i am with the free, i would almost consider paying for a full featured version

[dw1973 17]

Craiglook is no more - now what???

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,880]

I use an app for my Android phone. It works very nicely.

[DoctorHfuhruhurr 137]

I use an app for my Android phone. It works very nicely.

craigsnotifica for Android is pretty slick. I use that also with a couple others for some redundancy to search for tractors across several states in near real time. Craigsnotifca is a little buggy if you have several OR conditions on one search so I break them up. The developer told me if you change how often the software polls Craigslist to be less than every 15 minutes you will probably have your IP address blocked by them because they'll think you're harvesting data.

[jwilbt 0]

I use Search Tempest on my PC and CraigsPro on my iphone. It's a $0.99 app but it works great; both allow saved searches. The iphone app is really my preference.

[JUSS10 250]

yeah i just got an android last week and found that app. its great having real time updates every 15 minutes of anything wheel horse. pretty slick. don't need to use the computer anymore.