Auction? Garage Sale? On-line Store? No--it's Craigslist!

One-year old electric dryer in excellent condition--$50.  Six-year old queen mattress, box spring, and frame in excellent condition--$50.  Small chest of drawers--$25.  Saving money by buying on-line from local individuals or companies and avoiding shipping charges--priceless. 

No, this isn't an ad for MasterCard.  My wife and I have made these purchases in the last three months.  Welcome to the wonderful world of Craigslist.

But Craigslist isn't just about buying and selling garage-sale items.  People use Craigslist to post things like job offerings, housing opportunities (buy/lease/rent), services, and personals.  Discussion forums are available for a number of topics.  Even though Craigslist isn't involved in the individual transactions, it still offers information on frequently-asked questions (FAQ), help, abuse of the system, and even some legal information in the event of problems.  There's a search engine to help find what you're looking for.  There are fees for ads related to job postings and apartment rentals in certain areas of the country, but otherwise there are no memberships to pay for, no fees necessary to add an item or view items.

The site's format isn't fancy, but high-level graphic content doesn't always mean a great site.  The basic operations the site offers are all on the main page.  Because of the simplicity of the layout, it's very easy to find what you want.  (I don't have to wade through a multiplicity of pretty pages to get where I need to go!)  And it's free, for crying out loud!  What more do you want?

So the next time you're looking for something and don't mind going the gently-used route, check out Craigslist.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.