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    CraigsList Vancouver is just like any other CraigsList city in the United States or Canada. Hiding on every computer is a virtual goldmine of bargains. Pretty much anything you are looking for. The secret is diligence, patience and the willingness to say no. The following is my experience on Craigslist. I think some of the basic things I have "Learned by doing" will benefit almost everyone participating in the CraigsList Vancouver community.

    Having just relocated to a new state with the intention of building our retirement home you can understand the frustration my wife and I experienced when we learned the land that we purchased had problems with access. We had paid for the property and only discovered that it was landlocked following the survey in preparation to execute the legal documents. Yeah, I know we should have known this before we paid our money but we bought the three acres from a community of nuns and felt we wouldn’t lose our investment even if we did the transaction backwards. Besides we wanted to seal the deal because the land is worth significantly more than what we paid.

    During the months that have passed since we hit the easement roadblock I have built and rebuilt the house in my head a hundred times. During the dead time while the easement was being negotiated, I discovered the "general for sale" and "material for sale" links on Craigslist. (Craigslist Vancouver has the exact same headings). WOW! What a goldmine. I monitor these subheadings several times a day looking for deals. My diligence has paid off. You can even set up an RSS feed for exactly what you are looking for to save time.  Click here to learn more.

    The first items that I discovered were brand new windows that I purchased for 25 cents on the dollar. Enough windows to complete my entire house. Happily, when I arrived with the truck to pick up the units I discovered the lady also had exterior doors, lighting fixtures and bathroom laboratories with marble countertops for sale. These after-the-fact bargains have popped up almost every time I arrived to pay for and pickup an item. The seller is  motivated to get rid of his stuff because you are there with cash and a truck to haul it away. "A bird in the hand and all that…" Anyway I bought everything at bargain basement prices and continued my Craigslist quest. I frequently check cities within 150 miles of me.

    Probably the best buy I have gotten was some Corian, that high dollar kitchen countertop material by DuPont that was popular before the granite craze. Lowes and Home Depot still sell Corian so I was able to estimate that I purchased about $3,000 worth of the material that had never been used for $15. $15! The seller just wanted to get rid of it. Remember the "other bargains" I mentioned that you’d find at each pickup location? Well, it happened again with the Corian purchase. The seller threw in $60 worth of Corplast" (4′ X 8" sheets of corrugated plastic), a SnapOn tool-brand stool in perfect condition and an electric clothes dryer for free. I had to invest $35 to fix the dryer but I gave it to my mother-in-law and now I’m a hero for the moment (unfortunately that moment just passed). As we were pulling out of the driveway a fancy "cowboy Cadillac" duelie pulled up to buy the Corian. To  late… you snooze… you lose on CraigsList Vancouver, Nashville, Seattle, everywhere.

    I continued to monitor the list looking for kitchen cabinets. BINGO! A couple who coincidentally had bought their million dollar house - you guessed it: on Craigslist - had remodeled the kitchen and were selling the cabinets. Can you hear the spoiled wife saying, "the cabinets were just not me." All I could think while we were loading was, "PLEASE don’t throw me in the briar patch!" These were custom cabinets that the previous owner (the resort developer) had put into his custom mountain "cottage" (approx 5000 square feet). Even the shelves were solid wood. The best part, however, was the fact that his wife had had a mural artist paint barnyard animals on all the cabinet doors, chickens with chicks and nests, ducks, geese, etc. On the end of one of the floor to ceiling units was the painting of a cow and a barn in the background. We paid less for the cabinets than it would have cost to paint the cow and barn. Oh yeah, don’t forget the other stuff just laying around that the seller ALWAYS wants to get rid of. This time he gave me a bathroom vanity with cultured marble sink and faucet plus an almost brand new Jacuzzi-brand two person bathtub with gold faucets. Pinch me and let’s get out of here!

    Another non-house related deal I got was a Schwin AirDyne exercise bike. A medical doctor was moving and wanted to get rid of it. They sell for $700 in exercise equipment shops. We drove away having paid $100 for an almost brand new bike and the doctor threw in a $100 heart monitor for free.

    One last story. We went to check out a shower enclosure that the lady was asking $60 for. When we arrived she discovered that there was a 6" hairline crack in the back wall of the fiberglass that she didn’t know about. In her embarrassment for having us drive out to her house she offered to give the $300 shower to us if we’d just haul it away. A $25 fiberglass repair kit and an hour of work made the unit as good as new.Obviously, I believe in the old saw, "once the car is driven over the curb, it’s used." My being open to second hand and used stuff may not be your cup of tea but some of the money I have saved will go towards a hot tub that I frequently see on CraigsList for less than $1500 and or a bigger deck to put it on.

    The point of all this is that taking the time and being patient will pay GREAT dividends if you will monitor CraigsList Vancouver like a hawk. TIPS: Always take cash in relatively small denominations so you can offer less for the product. Cash talks especially when there is a potential buyer standing there holding it! Always ask if there is anything else the seller wants to get rid of (see above). Always negotiate as this is like a third world bazaar in that the seller wants to move the item and will usually be willing to dicker. Be willing to walk away. This more times than not will get the seller to agree to a lower price.

     Not only is Craigslist a bonanza for the buyer, but for the seller as well. Selling is more difficult because of the Craigslist protocols implemented to prevent abuse. Critically important tips and tools for sellers are at Must Have Tools For Successful Advertising on Craigslist Vancouver.

   May you have as equally as pleasant CraigsList Vancouver experience as I have!