3Mar

I love "Top" lists, so I'm sure this will be the first of many. To start, here are the top five reasons to use Ad Alert.

1) The Best Deals Go Fast

If you've ever sold something on Craigslist just because you wanted it gone or needed cash quick, then you know how fast the first offer comes. Usually within the first five minutes. As a buyer, to get the best deals you need to be quick  

You can set Ad Alert to notify you when a sweet deal shows up on Craigslist.  Make sure to add your SMS address for instant text message notifications.  That way you don't have to be watching your email.

2) Hard To Find Items Become Easy

I often look for things on Craigslist that are rare or hard to find. Apartments in the Hartford, CT area aren't rare, but an apartment that allows dogs in the particular the town of Windsor is indeed rare.

It was searching for this apartment that got me into developing NotifyWire.com

The same search would be easy now.  I could set up an Ad Alert to watch Apartments in the Hartford area, check the allows dogs checkbox, set the max rent to $1,500 and set the keyword search to: Windsor not "South Windsor" not "East Windsor".  Then I could sit back and wait for a sweet apartment to fall into my lap.

3) Quick Multi Location Search

For some things we buy, we're willing to travel, right?. When I bought a 13 foot whaler two years ago, I was looking across all of MA, CT, and RI. That was like 10 locations and I was checking multiple times a day, looking for the right boat.

Right now, Ad Alerts lets you watch up to three different locations per search.  At a later point in time I can expand that, but first we need more members with NotifyWire's Agent software installed, so tell all your friends to join and install the software even if they don't have an immediate need.

4) Find Stolen Property

I should say "your" stolen property. The unfortunate reality is that Craigslist is a thief's best friend. Stolen cars are often sold for parts on Craigslist.

The more identifiable the item, the better your chance at recovery. For example, your Nintendo DS is too common to go around accusing people of stealing yours.

However, if someone stole your one of a kind bike then you probably have a good chance at find it, if the loser tries to sell it on Craigslist.  Seriously, if your bike really was stolen, you could set up an Ad Alert based on the make or model.  In this case, I'd keep the search broad and weed through the results by hand.

5) Make Money

OK, you CAN'T make a million dollars by buying under-priced items on Craigslist and flipping them on eBay, but I bet you could make more than working at McDonald's and you'll have more fun doing it.

I know of a few people who do this. It's great for high school or college students who have to work around difficult schedules or someone who can't find a job in this economy and still wants some income.

Basically, you need to specialize in a genre, say cell phones or cameras. Then use Ad Alert to get notified when a good deal is available. Buy the item on the cheap and sell it on eBay or sell it directly to Gazelle.com. The trick is to specialize so you know the margin you can expect from the transaction.

Those are my top five reasons.  What's your reason?