Same here. There are actually quite a few listings that are reasonably local to me or in places that I'm willing to travel for various reasons. Occassionally I will also type 'quilt' just to see what's out there even though that comes back with lots of things that aren't what I'm looking for. But you learn pretty quickly what to scan through and what to actually read. I'm also in a very densely populated portion of the country which I think makes a big difference.

I agree with you that it seems that some sites (locations) are better than others. The one where my son and family live is very active and they can find almost anything. Ours doesn't have that much, but I did sell some furniture on it.

I live in a very small town and Walmart is my LQS. Other than that I drive 80 miles. But I found great stuff on CL that makes it worthwhile to drive if I have errands, sometimes not. I got a car load of batting for $70 and am getting some quilt store quality fabric at 3.50 a yard next week. The woman I am buying from got what must be a truckload of fabric at an estate sale. Most of it still on bolts or in huge boxes of FQ. I have to go past her on an errand next week and wow, better than a fabric store. Also I furnished my house, mostly, with CL, free wooden table and chairs (originally Pier 1) free. Grandfather clock $50. You just have to keep looking, make it a regular schedule and don't get distracted by, Oh I can use that. NOt if you weren't looking for it or it's not a list I keep. I type in quilting. Have fun and you'll have some great finds out there.
Khadija

I search "sewing" "quilt" "quilts" "quilter" "quilters" "quilting" in the search box to search all "for sale"... my browser is set up to make a pulldown list after the first time you type them in. So when you put in "q", it brings up all these words (except "sewing") so it's not as daunting as it sounds. Most of the searches bring up children's bedding!! But if you do it consistently, you'll figure it out and it only takes about 5 minutes to do it once you've done it a few days. You'll see a lot of the same ads over and over

I check crafts, then antiques, then household, then free. You just never know how someone will describe their item. Got my eye on an older Kenmore with cabinet and chair and shelves now.

Craigslist is just for sale-----------no bidding woes

I type in sew, sewing, quilt, quilting, fabric, cotton - it has worked for me. I typically do this under arts & crafts. I got a vintage machine for $5 and a big box of scraps for about $10 (that included shipping). I also check other surrounding areas if I will have time to drive there. I check a few times a day usually.

I love Craigslist, and I check it almost every day. There is no "logging on" to it; you are just looking at ads. I usually type in SEWING in the search box, because if you just type in SEW, you get lots of things like houSEWares, and others that don't have anything to do with sewing.

craigs list
 

I've bought some wonderful stuff on Craig's list, but have interested a scammer when I tried to sell something. If it sounds fishy, it is a dead fish.