I had an idea. What if the Chicago Craigslist users had a voice? What if they told me what they liked / didn’t like on Craigslist? And, most importantly, what if I didn’t have to write a column today?

Tiffany from the South Side [1]: Rip-offery
“I was trying to find someone honest to buy frequent flyer miles from Craigslist. I had a personal family issue and needed to be in Texas. I come across this guy who took my money and I got nothing. His reply to me being upset was ‘I know how you feel missing that funeral and all but oh well.’”
Her story had a slightly happy ending, tho’.
“I purchased a Vending machine locally from a really nice guy named Adam. He was so nice to me.”

Chelsea from Uptown [2]: Snagged a jobby-job
“I had a great experience using Craigslist to find a part-time nanny job! I was looking for a way to make some extra spending money. I found a woman on Craigslist who was looking for a nanny a few days a week with some weekend nights. She has an adorable 3 year old boy who is so much fun to take care of. I was concerned about meeting with her at first, but she gave me a really good vibe through our emails. Turns out, my boyfriend and her husband attended the same high school and their parents live near each other in Michigan. For every creepy Craigslist story there are surely more successes such as mine!

Randy: Toolin’
“Craigslist.com has been very useful for me with selling merchandise in the “tools” & “wanted” sections, getting some good stuff from the ‘free’ section and buying items in the ‘material’ section. As with anything, most of the people I encounter are good but there are a few screwballs.”

More soon!