“Just put an ad on Craigslist,” they say. “Someone will come right over and pick it up. Then everyone benefits.” Usually ‘they’ is people who never had to use Craigslist.

Every Craigslist Ad Ever Should Say… [NSFW] is a post from: The Inquisitr

A U.S. Marine vet is recovering in a Florida hospital after he was shot during a Craigslist transaction. According to witnesses the Marine plugged his bullet holes with his own fingers, borrowing from his Marine training which likely saved his life.

Lt. Col. Karl Trenker, 48, met with a Craigslist buyer in Miramar, the buyer who went by the name “Galven” told Trenker he was interested in buying the men’s chain necklace his fiance had posted on the free marketplace.

While Trenker was made to believe they would be meeting in a well-populated area it turned out to be an apartment complex.

Trenker told ABC News’ Miami affiliate WPLG-TV:

“He just picked it up, looked at it and then just started running. I said, ‘Listen, we can just drop this now. You set that thing on the ground, walk away, we’re done. Police are going to be on their way in a minute.”"

The Marine then ran after two men for several blocks before they turned and fired several shots in his direction.

According to a police report he said of the incident:

“I got shot. I didn’t know I was shot as many times as I was shot,” Trenker said. “I felt the one go into my chest and then one through my abdomen.”

After putting his fingers in the bullet holes he then ran back to his car, made sure his four kids were okay and told them:

‘Listen, Dad’s been shot. There’s an ambulance already on the way.”

Speaking to WPLG his fiance Tanya Saiz noted:

“He called me and said, ‘Honey, I’ve been shot,’” and ”I nearly fainted. He saved my life. That would have been me.”

It was Tanya who was originally slated to meet with the potential buyer.

While Treker is obviously happen to be recovering he never thought injuries from gunshots would be sustained in his own hometown and not war time where he served for many years.

Marine Veteran Uses Own Fingers To Plug Bullet Holes is a post from: The Inquisitr

MIAMI, FL – Selina Hodges is only 28-years-old but a failing kidney forced her to spend nine hours a day on dialysis as she waited for a kidney transplant, a wait that ended this week thanks to free posting community Craigslist.

In July Hodge took to the site with a request for a kidney and she soon received a slew of media attention with responses from 800 people, one of those responses came from 23-year-old Florida resident Stephanie Grant who agreed to help Hodge by donating one of her own kidney’s.

The transplant was successfully performed on Tuesday and both women are said to be doing great.

While posting on Craigslist for a kidney might sound a little strange it’s not only legal when no money changes hands, it’s a practice that some doctors are recommending as they encourage patients to find their own organ donors willing to help. As the United Network for Organ Sharing group points out, while people in need of a kidney must wait on a long list a living organ donor can choose who they give their kidney to.

Speaking to WPBF after the transplant Hodge said:

“I’m so thankful, you know, letting me know there’s still kind-hearted people out there in the world.”

In her final revelation she noted:

“It’s like, wow, people still care.”

Have you had your own Craigslist inspired successes? Share them below in our comments section.

Craigslist Helps Desperate User Find A Kidney is a post from: The Inquisitr

We’ve all been there. A spouse pisses us off. We shout at them. They shout at us. We put them up for auction on the Internet.

A Utah wife, for example, recently put her husband up for sale on Craigslist. His crime? Becoming addicted to Modern Warfare 3. The Xbox widow’s ad pulls the hard sell, pointing out her husband only needs food and water every few hours:

“I am selling my 22 year old husband. He enjoys eating and playing video games all day. Easy to maintain, just feed and water every 3-5 hours. You must have Internet and space for gaming. Got tired of waiting so free to good home. If acceptable replacement is offered will trade.”

Alyse Bradley says she posted the ad after her partner recently indulged in a 48-hour long gaming stretch (at once?! Surely an exaggeration). She says it left her feeling alone and ignored by the recently discharged military veteran.

Alas, she also says it was all a “joke”! Booo! Rubbish! But that’s not to say she hasn’t had a few replies, including from some opportunistic males:

“I’ve had a couple personal ads from men saying, ‘Oh I’m housebroke, I’m trained, I’ll trade him places.’”

For his part, up-for-sale husband Joseph Baddley admitted his obsession with the game “is not normal,” but said the game helped him stay connected with friends from the military. Just not his wife.

Wife Sells Husband on Craigslist is a post from: The Inquisitr

When Southwest airlines passenger Ambre Boroughs had her checked bag stolen from a Southwest airlines terminal she was told her laptop and the bags other contents were lost forever and the airline couldn’t do anything to help her. Not willing to accept that outcome Ambre searched Craigslist and found her bag and other belongings.

It turns out a group of three criminals were hanging around Southwest airline baggage claim areas and stealing various items, when Boroughs reported the sellers to the police they were arrested and found with various pieces of electronics which had been stolen from checked Southwest airline bags.

When all was said and done Ambre had her computer back although it had been wiped clean of it’s contents.

In the meantime Boroughs has called Southwest Airlines out on was appears to be a complete lack of security at their terminals which allowed for various thefts to occur as a group of men stood around their baggage claim terminals picking out bags at will.

In the meantime Ambre’s theft should send an important reminder to airline travels, don’t check your laptop or other valuables when you can keep them by your person when flying.

Have you run into any similar type of situation when flying on Southwest airlines or other carriers?

[Image via Carlos E. Santa Maria / Shutterstock.com]

Southwest Passenger Hunts Down Stolen Laptop Using Craigslist is a post from: The Inquisitr

Craigslist controversy is certainly nothing new. Beyond the already questionable content found on the site just about daily, there was that whole Craigslist killer ordeal that put Craigslist in the spotlight — not the kind of spotlight the site’s owners would want to be in, no doubt. Unfortunately for them and the victim involved in this case, they’re in the spotlight once again.

Timothy Smith, 26, from Woodstock, IL was charged with pimping his wife out to clients on Craigslist and fatally shooting one of her clients. The man was ordered to be held on a $900,000 bail after a hearing at McHenry County Circuit Court this past Monday.

Smith was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, pandering, obstructing justice and pimping in connection with the murder of Kurt Milliman, 48, of Prairie Grove, IL this past Saturday.

The man’s wife, Kimberly, 28, is also being faced with charges: prostitution, obstructing justice and disorderly conduct. She’s currently being held on $50,000 bail.

According to the report, the two contacted local police and had requested that the man be removed from their residence. By the time police arrived on the scene at around 11 p.m., Milliman had a gunshot wound and was rushed to nearby entegra Woodstock Memorial Hospital, where he died from his injury.

via Chicago Tribune

[Image]

Craiglist: Scams, Prostitution, and Murder? is a post from: The Inquisitr

The medical student known as the “Craigslist Killer” due to meeting victims using the popular classifieds site, has died of an apparent suicide at the Massachusetts jail where he was being held.

23-year-old Philip Markoff was found in his cell this morning at 10:17 after he failed to report for breakfast and exercise. Markoff, who was awaiting trial for the murder of Julissa Brisman, was found with his wrists cut and an unspecified tether around his neck:

He didn’t come out for breakfast. He didn’t come out for morning rec [recreation]. They went in to check on him and he was dead,” one law enforcement source told ABC News.

“He clearly knew what he was doing,” the Nashua Street jail source said. “He used his medical expertise.”

Markoff was suspected in at least three Craigslist-related assaults:

Markoff, 23, was facing a slew of charges stemming from the murder of masseuse Julissa Brisman, an aspiring drug counselor from New York City who was shot dead in her room at the Marriot Copley Place Hotel on April 14, 2009. Brisman had allegedly booked a “sexual release” massage appointment with the BU medical student that day.

Four days earlier, Markoff allegedly bound and robbed a Las Vegas hooker at the Westin Hotel. And on April 16, 2009, police say he attacked and robbed an exotic dancer at a hotel room in Warwick, R.I. All three victims posted erotic advertisements on the online networking site Craigslist.

Had Markoff not been arrested for the crimes, his first wedding anniversary would have been Saturday.

[Image]

Philip Markoff, ‘Craigslist Killer,’ commits suicide in jail is a post from: The Inquisitr

As we discussed nearly a year ago, meting out revenge through Craigslist’s hook up sections is a bad idea.

You’ll almost definitely get caught. Craig Newmark probably doesn’t approve. You’ll look like a major dick in the media when the story inevitably gets out. Philip Conran, of Hartford Connecticut, apparently didn’t hear the story about the man who arranged for the rape of an ex-girlfriend over Craigslist- and decided to use a similar scheme to get back at a female neighbor. In a posting titled “Looking for Lust,” Conran advertised an early-morning orgy with a “bored soccer mom,” saying she wanted to “please as many as I can before I go to work!”

By the time the post was located and removed, at least six people (perhaps as many as 12) had approached the house and several more reportedly circled the neighborhood suspiciously. The incident wasn’t without unintended victims, either:

One man who showed up went to the wrong house, where he groped a teenage girl, police said. He has been charged with sexual assault and other counts. His attorney said his client has psychological issues and plans to plead not guilty.

Charges against 42-year-old Conran include reckless endangerment, harassment, criminal trespass and risk of injury to a minor.

If your neighbor upsets you, don’t go on Craigslist and invite people to an orgy at their house is a post from: The Inquisitr

[Dontevenreply.com, via Geekologie]

Awesome: Man seeks disguised weapons, hilarity ensues is a post from: The Inquisitr

A 40-year-old Long Island social worker is accused of using Craigslist’s adult section to mete out vengeance in a dispute between 4th graders.

Hauppauge mother Margery Tannenbaum is facing charges of aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child after posting a salicious ad on the site known for its naughty “casual encounters” hookup sections. Tannenbaum posted an ad with the email “lacethong23@yahoo.com” along with the 9-year-old girl’s real name and phone number. The victim’s mother reports than men called in response to the ad, asking for the little girl.

Tannenbaum’s daughter attends the same Smithtown elementary school as the girl, and Tannenbaum was class parent for both girls last year. In light of the charges, which indicate seriously impaired judgment, the Suffolk County DA is asking the state to review Tannenbaum’s license to practice social work. Tannenbaum maintains her innocence in the case, and her lawyer commented to press:

“She’s a good mother, she’s never been in any trouble before, she takes good care of her kids,” he told CBS 2. ”I’m defending her to the fullest, she maintains her innocence.”

Long Island mom uses Craigslist to retaliate against 9-year-old is a post from: The Inquisitr

I saw that brand new at Toys in Babeland cheaper…

[I Heart Chaos]

“Charming children’s bracelet” found on Craigslist is a post from: The Inquisitr

An unidentified man found himself on the business end of four angry, jilted women in a motel room and ended up with a superglued penis.

The ambush was allegedly orchestrated by one of the four women- the man’s wife. She apparently tired of his philandering ways and tracked down as many of the other women her husband was sleeping with as she could. Therese Ziemann, 48, is one of the accused and met the man on Craigslist. Last Wednesday, Ziemann met the man’s wife and also learned that he had several other girlfriends. During their relationship, she’d paid for all their hotel stays and also given the man $3,000.

By Thursday, the plan was in motion. Ziemann, her sister, the man’s wife and another of his lovers, Wendy Sewell, arranged for a tryst at a local hotel. Ziemann bound the man under the auspices of a sensual massage and summoned her new friends via text message. She then assaulted the man and superglued his penis to his abdomen.

When the man began screaming, his attackers fled with his wallet, phone and car. Police were summoned, and now all four women, including his missus, face various charges including false imprisonment.

There is no word yet on the extent of the man’s injuries. While a speedy recovery would be one thing, perhaps a speedy learning of his lesson might be more appropriate. Not that I condone superglueing penises.

[Source: Guardian, Image: Transitiology]

When mistresses attack… with superglue is a post from: The Inquisitr

I guess when your mom told you that smoking pot would destroy your brain cells, she was right.

A Man in Quincy Mass. posted an ad on the classified site Craigslist recently advertising that he had Marijuana for sale. The ad stated “420 help is here. Give me a ring if you need some help.” and listed his phone number in the ad. Naturally, police called the number and arranged a meeting with the man. When they showed up at his house, the undercover police officer purchased a small amount of marijuana, and arrested him for dealing.

420 is an old code used by people who smoke pot and is believed to have originated at a California high school in the early 1970′s to let people know what time of day students would be gathering near the school after class to smoke up.

Guy Posts Craigslist Ad Selling Pot – Gets busted For Selling Pot is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Massachusetts man has been arrested for selling marijuana after he advertised his services on Craigslist.

The ad Christopher Gray posted was headlined “420 help is here” and said “Give me a ring if you need some help.” 420 is a term used to signify pot. Police took him up on the offer, and Gray handed over a small bag of pot in exchange for $45 before being arrested.

According to Fox Boston, Gray was unavailable for comment.

If you’re selling pot, best not to advertise the fact on Craigslist is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sometimes there is nothing worse than have to go out and find a new apartment what with having to hunt through all those ads and make all the phone calls to make appointments as well as actually having to find the apartment to view it. If you are finding yourself in this situation then you just might want to grab yourself a copy of Padmapper a free web based application that takes Craigslist apartment listings and puts them on Google maps.

Now for iPhone folks the people behind Padmapper have also made an iPhone application available as well. From the developer we get this snippet of info

Instead of having a big list and then using a map as a helper for the list, like most of the real estate sites, I threw out the list and gave the map as much room as possible. When you pan, PadMapper loads new listings automatically in the background. When you zoom out, PadMapper loads the surrounding areas, when you zoom in, PadMapper loads more listings for that smaller area. You can start your search at a high level, and then zoom in as you figure out what areas appeal to you more. If you’re particularly interested in a place, you can zoom in very close, and nearby restaurants, bars, shopping and more will show up on the map (in most cities), and you can click on them to see their Yelp Ratings. Or, you can save that listing to your favorites list for later.

[hat tip to apartment therapy]

Search for that perfect apartment on your iPhone is a post from: The Inquisitr

Craigslist recently implemented a telephone verification system for the “erotic services” section of the site, requiring a working phone number for advertisers, and enabling blacklisting of phone numbers for those who post inappropriate ads. Phone verification resulted in an 80% reduction in ad volume, and significantly increased compliance with site guidelines.

Craigslist will soon require credit card verification and a small fee per ad for posting in “erotic services,” to further encourage compliance with site guidelines. Paid ads that violate site guidelines will be removed without refund. The company intends to donate 100% of net revenue generated from these ads to charity, with net revenue to be verified by an external auditor.

The end goal should be to avoid this, this, this, and this.

Craigslist working with law enforcement authorities to prevent illegal activities is a post from: The Inquisitr

We first wrote about the company’s Social Call tool earlier this month when its HTML-driven Craigslist application — now rebranded as Private Call — came out. The Facebook utility offers the same service, just specifically catered to Facebook profiles.

Basically, Social Call gives you anonymous VOIP capabilities. You give the company your phone number and put the app on your page. It then lets anyone click to call you, without ever having access to your number. The program also lets you set parameters for when you want to receive calls, so you could tell it to only patch people through between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., for example.

The thing we initially liked about this application is its versatility. Certainly the Facebook platform adds a social element, but its HTML-based brother program could also have interesting uses for business purposes, or even for letting visitors to a blog/web site contact you only during specific times and without having to publicly post your phone number.

Arzoola’s CEO swears to us the service will remain free, though he says it will likely feature pre-call ads and optional “premium” extras in the future.

Arzoola Launches Facebook Phone App is a post from: The Inquisitr

The research company has released a list of the top 20 Web 2.0 sites based on U.S. visits in July. It used Wikipedia’s definition of a service designed “to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users.”

Drumroll, please…

1. MySpace — 44.14% market share
2. eBay — 16.22% market share
3. Facebook — 13.03% market share
4. YouTube — 9.88% market share
5. Wikipedia — 4.76% market share
6. Craigslist — 3.14% market share
7. Yahoo Answers — 1.41% market share
8. myYearbook — 1.05% market share
9. Tagged — .95% market share
10. Flickr — .86% market share
11. Bebo — .71% market share
12. Meebo — .59% market share
13. BlackPlanet.com — .52% market share
14. GaiaOnline.com — .45% market share
15. Blogger — .40% market share
16. Adam4Adam — .35% market share
17. hi5 — .35% market share
18. WikiAnswers — .33% market share
19. IMEEM — .31% market share
20. LiveJournal — .30% market share

Hitwise points out that many of these are still independent and non-acquired. Also of note: Digg did not receive enough traffic to crack the top 20, according to the analysts.

Top 20 Web 2.0 Services is a post from: The Inquisitr

Arzoola’s Social Call lets you make and receive free VOIP-powered calls through social network-specific apps. What sets it apart from other services is the fact that it lets you do so anonymously: Users give out their phone numbers only to Arzoola, which then masks them from public view.

“We simply act as an intermediary, shielding the phone numbers from each party,” CEO Roie Edery explained to The Inquisitr. “Instead of posting your phone number online, you substitute it with our ‘Call Me’ link.”

The first application, launched Saturday, is designed with Craigslist in mind. You just go to Arzoola’s web site, enter your phone number, zip code, and an expiration time (i.e. only accept calls for two days) — then it gives you code to post within your listing. The code lets anyone click to call you without ever gaining access to your phone number. While the tool is being marketed specifically for use on Craigslist, it could be used anywhere you can post HTML embed code — on a MySpace profile, for example, or on a blog where you wanted to receive calls for a limited period of time without divulging your digits.

Next up is an app for Facebook, which Edery tells us will be launching “very soon” — likely within the next week or two, pending the network’s approval. It will add a “Call Me” button directly below your profile picture and will let you specify what days and times to let calls be patched through.

All the applications use a business-grade VOIP carrier. As of now, the calls are totally ad-free. Edery says that could change in the future — but end users will always be able to use the service free-of-charge.

“Our focus is to provide this service for free,” he said. “Once adoption picks up, it is our intent to enable our audio advertising platform. Basically, while a user is on hold waiting for us to call the other party, they will hear an ad.”

Arzoola’s Social Call will also eventually offer premium services such as voicemail and number-free text messaging, Edery tells us.

Arzoola: A New Voice In Social Network Communication is a post from: The Inquisitr

Craigslist has filed a complaint in the Superior Court in San Francisco today, charging eBay with unlawful and unfair competition, misappropriation of proprietary information, deceptive passing-off, business interference, false advertising, phishing attacks, free-riding, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and breaches of fiduciary duty. The complaint follows eBay suing Craigslist April 30 with allegations that Craigslist had unfairly diluted eBay’s shareholding.

According to a post on the Craigslist blog (and buried in the document above), Craigslist is asking the court to enjoin this conduct and order eBay to (1) make full restitution to craigslist, (2) disgorge their related profits (3) restore to craigslist all shares of the company acquired by means of, or for the purpose of unfair competition, and (4) pay punitive damages for their malicious behavior.

If you’ve got the time, the document makes for interesting reading. If it reaches court, covering this is going to be fun.

eBay vs Craigslist: Craig Strikes Back is a post from: The Inquisitr