Whether you are looking for something in particular, or whether you just want to unload something on someone who will appreciate it more, there are two apps in particular that do it in an easy-to-manage attractive way, making it unnecessary to subscribe to so many different Craigslist feeds to keep up with the latest ads.
1. Craigslist.
The Craigslist. app opens with the front page, or “The Craigslist Times”, if you will, that shows each category as well as the sub-categories. It automatically sets your location to help witnt to unload something on someone who will appreciate it more, thereh local ads, and also allows you to add additional cities if you wish. In the settings, it allows you to turn off the Search Radar if you would like. You can also choose to use Custom Gestures and whether or not you want the app to display Personal ads or not.
Choosing a category and entering a search term displays a whole page of ads that are relevant to your area as well as available globally. The page is set to keep with “The Craigslist Times” theme, making it look like the classified ads from a printed newspaper.
Selecting an ad opens it on in a larger, full view, complete with pictures. If contact information is not available within the text in the ad, there is also a Reply button on the top left of the ad. The other ads are available in a listing to the left. In the upper right are controls that allow you to place the location of the ad on a map, save it as a favorite, or flag it.
Returning to the listings, as you go through them, you can block out or keep whatever suits your needs. If you’d like to keep an ad, you can draw a “Z” with your finger over the ad, and this crosses it off your list… literally. If you draw a circle around it with your finger, it places a red circle around the ad and adds it to a list of favorites. Entire searches may be saved as well.
This app isn’t just for searching posted ads. You can also post your own ads to Craigslist. Setting up an account helps aid in the process, but isn’t a necessity. A posted ad can use photos as well.
2. Craig’slist
The big draw of the Craig’slist app is in its design and graphics. It, too, allows you to set multiple locations. Instead of having all the categories available on the Home page, it allows you to pick and choose the ones you want to search. It also allows you to choose options such as displaying ads with photos and searching within a pricing range.
The list of items from your search is presented in a new page with even more graphics, and is easily scrolled through. The entire experience of this app seems to utilize the best graphic abilities of the iPad.
Selecting an item on the list takes you to yet another page with all the info from the ad. The contact information, if not listed in the ad, is also listed within the heading at the top, or the item can be added to the favorites from here. There is also an option on the bottom left to go to the original ad which opens it up within the app, making it look like it would within a standard browser.
Going back to the listings view, the list can also be displayed with photos only. Depending on what is being searched for, this could be a very helpful way to scan through a list.
Additionally, the listings view can also be displayed via a map view. All the items in the list are plotted out on a map. If doing a local search, this could be a great aid in the search, as it shows you exactly how far away it is from your own location. Like with the first app, this one can also place ads on Craigslist, although with this one, a Craiglist account is necessary. It should also be noted that both of these apps are free, yet offer paid versions that remove the ads and offer more options for saving favorites and lists.
