I agree with you, Knot, Craig's list is a big pain. When you want something, it's not there, but when you don't want it, suddenly there it is and you don't need it, you don't have money for it. It's a terrible distraction.
it's also evil to look at craig's list in, say, San Francisco.. OOOOOOOOOOh
they have nice bikes but you CAN'T go look at them.
and it messes with your head.
of course buyer beware, but Craig's list isn't that much different from Ebay
or little nickel ads in that respect.