Why I Love Craig's List
There are so many reasons why I love Craigslist that it's hard to know where to begin. First, there's the online experience itself. It's like the world's largest flea market and I could spend days buying and selling furniture on Craigslist. You know how it is- the vast rabbit hole of stuff. I often find hidden gems that get me so excited I start emailing furiously to try to find someone to buy them even if they don't need what I've found. The thrill of the hunt is definitely addicting and you never know what you'll find. Things I've gotten from Craigslist include pea gravel, windows, french doors, my desk, an easel, sky lights and pachysandra, to name a few.
The list of things I've sold is considerably longer and far more interesting. And this brings me to my next favorite thing - the detective-like rigor you need to navigate the weird and wacky world of Craig's List people. There are, of course, the strange email inquiries and the no-shows, and while I know that there was a "Craig's List killer," I'm actually surprised that more people aren't kidnapped or hacked up into a million pieces given how easy it is to bait someone into your home with the promise of a KitchenAid mixer. And knowing that there is NO screening whatsoever has given rise to a sort of unspoken rule book among Craig's List junkies. Like. If you're a woman, you do NOT meet a man alone. Once I did have a somewhat creepy guy come to pick up two throw pillows "for his wife" and he started looking around and lingering a bit too long when my husband puffed up his plume and came bounding down the stairs as if to communicate in caveman, "This mine, you leave now." It worked. And then there are the times that I bring my son and explain that if anything funny happens he needs to run and find the nearest honest looking person, or anyone with a stroller, and tell them to call the police because someone is murdering his mother. He laughs at me but I have the distinct feeling that this secretly disturbs him.
Lastly, there's the unbelievably good feeling of not only finding something unique and at a great price, but knowing that you are perhaps fulfilling the cycle of life of this object in a way that respects the planet and doesn't contribute to the sea of greed, waste, and planned obsolescence that seems to have hypnotized us all. Craig's List is always the first place I look, and I am never sorry.
I've also been very lucky. In fact, I have Craig's List to thank for the start of my design practice. Over the years I had so many people assume I was a designer and compliment me and ask where I got this or that item that I had to sit up and take notice. After all, who are we to question where the truth comes from or how many times it has to come knocking at your door. It took a parade of crazy Craig's Listers to convince me that this is what I was meant to do. And they were right.