Craigslist

One of the reasons that newspapers supposedly are having difficulties is because Craigslist has taken their lucrative classified ads away.

I used to find my cleaning and handyman services through the paper and had good luck. The past two years I've been using Craigslist since the ads in the paper are so slim. My Craigslist experiences are less than satisfactory. There are so many ads, but the quality of the people is significantly poorer than what I found through the newspaper classifieds.

I'm currently looking for handyman services to fix wood rot and do other home repairs. Most of the people I email don't answer -apparently the economy isn't THAT bad, or they're enjoying Obama's extended unemployment benefits. Of the ones that do answer, all have struck me so far as "sketchy." I think the mere ability to pay $20 for a newspaper ad clearly had a great sorting benefit.

I've had similar experiences with cleaning people found through Craigslist. They either don't answer back, seem shady when I talk to them, do lousy work, or don't show up after a couple of times.

Anyone else have the same experiences or is it just me?

Funny, the only ad I ever ran got people who were TOO qualified.

I was looking for an artist to do a comic cover for a screenplay I wrote. Young and hungry, Mexican or Chicano style a plus.

I got like a hundred responses. Most were from seasoned pro's, showing portfolios with covers in major comics like Dell and Dark Horse. And wanting $300.

We have only sold things--worked well.

Ok, well, try to find a handyman and get back to me, lol.

Well, couldn't be much worse than the handyman who "helped" me. He has a general contractor's license and remade a friend's bathroom. He is the husband of her friend. I had my bath remodeled for my mom to use with a larger shower, higher camode and seat in the shower with exit bar.

The grout leaks. The toilet is the same low boy as the original. The seat has unseated. When I had him come back and look, he said the grout wasn't his fault and was gone. My mom has never set foot in the shower and I now have equal the $$ to pay to have it done over - worse than the first time.

I think a handy husband beats a handy man hands down. At least he suffers his own mistakes.

As for Craigslist, I check it every day regarding local employment. I advertised there when I had an opening for a nursing instructor. I think it has its plusses & minuses. The prostitutes ran into some trouble......so I think that section is closed.