Allofcraigs: #1 Free Site to Search All of Craigslist

One way or another, all of us have checked Craigslist before. Be it to check some items, buy unnecessary objects for cheap, advertise your unnecessary items, look for a job, offer a job, or have a good chuckle at the people trying to turn Craigslist into Tinder. It’s one of the most popular sites on the internet, and the great thing about Craigslist is that it does not cost anything to post or reply to. This is probably also the reason that scammers litter the site.

Another downside of Craigslist is the website seems to be stuck in the nineties. It tried to make searching easier by categorizing the ads per location but also limited the search results. If only there were a way of searching all of Craigslist in one go. Oh, wait. There is. This is when Allofcraigs will make its entrance. I am pretty sure you have heard about Craigslist before. But for those who haven’t, it is a website where people post ads to give stuff away, ask others for things, offer, or search for jobs.

What is Allofcraigs?

Allofcraigs was a custom search engine for Craigslist, the most popular classifieds site ever. Since Craigslist only allows you to search one location at a time, Allofcraigs gave you a more comprehensive option. However, that site is no longer around, and there are now two alternatives: Search Craigslist and AllCraigsListSearch.

On either website, you will still be inputting your search term, and the system will still search at Craigslist. However, you can select entire regions instead of being limited to one location per search.

It’s an interesting search interface that allows you to quickly check all the Craigslist cities at once, saving you a lot of time, in theory.

If you think that the generated results are then too broad, there are specific categories that can further break down the search result. This will lead to a narrower list of results so that you may find the particular product you are looking for. The website itself is not much better than Craigslist. However, the function and features truly matter, especially when you’re looking for a difficult-to-find item.

Allofcraigs vs. Craigslist

When you use the search feature of Allofcraigs, you will be given a list of cities or regions where your item is most likely to be found. Then you can select one and start browsing through all the results there. You can choose a different region if the location does not have any posts for what you are looking for. Even the listings that do not contain your search word will be shown to you so you can compare what is available in another city or location.

The best part about Allofcraigs is that all your searches and browsing are conducted at Craigslist. This means that many of the functions of Craigslist are available to you, such as browsing categories and filtering through different types.

Saving time

Often when I am looking for an item in a specific area, it can be very annoying if the item isn’t found, but there are so many similar items that are also not the ones I need. Allofcraigs will be especially helpful to people looking for a specific item, such as a job they require to move or a particular car they need.

The best thing you can do before using Allofcraigs is to make sure that your search word is particular, so its count will be greater than 1. The system only saves you time if you can find what you want.

Why can’t I search all of Craigslist?

This is complete speculation on my part, but I believe it’s because Craigslist’s point was to facilitate local buying and selling, not searching the entire country so you can buy from other cities and states entirely. In that context, it makes a lot of sense, but as you know, there are many reasons for wanting to search the entirety of Craigslist, such as comparing prices and seeing what’s available outside your local area.

Does it also search the Facebook Marketplace?

No, Allofcraigs only searches Craigslist. It’s focused on being a Craigslist search engine, but I agree… it would be great if it could also search Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji, and other marketplace sites.

Here are a few tips to avoid scammers on Allofcraigs

The search results provided by Allofcraigs are still original advertisements posted on Craigslist. Unfortunately, Allofcraigs does not have the feature to identify and block possible scam classifieds. Hopefully, they decide to make some improvements, but in the meantime…

We have gathered a few tips to avoid getting scammed and losing money.

Do not engage with offers that are too good to be true

The rule of thumb states that offers that seem too good to be accurate are likely too good to be true. Rule 1 of a scammer’s playbook is to entice possible victims with exaggerated offers. Be cautious and avoid any advert or offer like this. This is especially relevant if the seller is trying to have you pay in advance or online, as I’ll explain below.

Do not send any payments in advance

Keep in mind that Craigslist was originally a localized website. This means that sellers expect to meet their customers to deliver the product and receive the payment. If an offer or a seller explicitly asks for advance payment, that seller or request is a scam. Do not engage further and hide in your fort blanket. 

Check for extensive grammar mistakes

It is normal to spot a few grammar mistakes in a typical Craigslist ad you’ve found through Allofcraigs. It is, however, not typical for an ad to have at least three grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors in every sentence. If a seller cannot spell correctly and offers significant discounts, they’re probably trying to scam you. This is especially prevalent with car ads, for some reason.

If they try and lowball you when you meet up

If the person changes their mind when they meet you and says something like, “Actually, I can only pay $100 instead of $200″, then politely tell them no and disengage. This is a common scam that buyers use. They’re hoping that you’ll accept their low price because of the sunk cost of having wasted time meeting up with them in the first place.

This is always super annoying, but better to leave and not waste any further time on them.

Don’t offer to ship items out of town

I’ve come across a handful of times that people from other cities request that I ship them whatever I’m selling on Craigslist. Though this isn’t a hard and fast rule, I would be skeptical of anyone requesting this. If you decide to go through with it, I highly recommend requiring payment in advance in a form that they can’t charge back after receiving the shipment from you.

If the person asks for a serial number, don’t reply

When a person asks you for the serial number to verify that the product is genuine, they usually try to scam you by going online and registering that product in your name online. I don’t think I need to explain how this could cause you all kinds of problems.

Any other tips?

With so many sites popping up to help you search Craigslist, it can be hard to know which is the best. What we like about Allofcraigs is that they have a lot of filters and sorting options for narrowing down your search on their site. They also allow you to save searches in case you want to come back later or if there are multiple posts from one person who might not respond instantly. Have you found any other sites that offer this kind of service? If so, let us know what features helped make them stand out!