Whenever the name “Craigslist” is mentioned, different people have different thoughts floating in their heads…

Craiglist has been in the headlines for the scammers, and rapists, as well as even a killer. However, several other people have talked about legitimate jobs they’ve applied to and got off Craigslist, so to each his own.

What I will tell you about Craigslist, will leave you wondering what my true thoughts are about the site. Instead of talking about what I think of the site, I will discuss the positive and negative experiences that I’ve had with it.

Let’s start with the positives 🙂
~I met a photographer that was able to provide me with photos that I could actually use in order to market myself as a model. He knows his craft, is great at dealing with people, knows how to pose models, is prompt at returning photos. Additionally, I became good friends with his wife and him. His business name is IMS FotoGrafix and his work can be seen HERE

~I landed a gig with JP Erickson shooting for HerFlexAppeal.com, by first finding his ad on Craigslist. I traveled to Vancouver to do the shoot and made a good sum of money.

~I found Eriko, a VERY AWESOME hair stylist who introduced me to Kat of Nightshade Beauty (published Make-up artist), and Shimon Karmel (published photographer). We did a photoshoot in order for Eriko to enter the Contessa, a national hair styling competition.

~I contacted a couple of marketing companies who hired me as Promo Girl for events held in Victoria. They constantly post on Craigslist advertising for event staff in various cities. The pay for promo work is very good, at least $15/hour. Considering that the average North American makes $12/hour, working jobs that are less fun than promotional modeling, it is definitely worth a try.

~Lynn of Empress Jade Vintage and I met through Craigslist and have worked together on several occasions doing catalog shoots.

~I was able to find countless other paid modeling gigs, which by the way did NOT involve nudity.

And now…the Negatives…Dun. Dun. Dun…
~There were a few sickos that contacted me asking me to send them full nude photos. Of course, I just ignored them, and moved on.

~Guys who promised “to make me famous” contacted me on there too, and invariably fed me a bunch of bullshit. Unfortunately for them though, I responded with something along the lines of “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. No legitimate person offers a girl guaranteed Super stardom just from working with them. Bye”

~People who gave no info on the gig responded to my ad solely with “Hey U, send pic and phone number”. I mean seriously? My ad stated that before I send any info/photos, I need detailed information about the project (time, date, budget, concept, location, contact name and number). If the respondent is serious, they WILL take a moment to add the “extra” but necessary info, as opposed to “Hey u, send pic and number”.

~There were people who claimed to be affiliated with major magazines/agencies/corporations/businesses who sent me shoot inquiries. The only problems were that the return email was a gmail/hotmail/yahoo account, the email was ridden with grammar/spelling errors, they offered me payment up front, and the person who sent me the email asked for far too much information. ID theft? Scam? Who knows??!!

~I’ve browsed through countless Craigslist ads, responded to them, only to find out that:
*the lingerie shoot that was advertised is actually a cover up for a nude shoot;

*the liquor promo gig is actually a strictly commission paid nightclub promo;

*the photographer who advertised Maxim Style photos is actually a pimp

*the person with some agency is a scammer who’s charging large sums of money to be listed on the “agency’s” site;

*the people shooting a calendar are gathering info for a possible ID theft;

*the guy shooting for a swimwear company is a perv who wants to get free pics of women in bikinis/lingerie to “use”;

*and so on.
Just be careful about sending your info/pics online!

In my next article,Craigslist Talk 2.0, I will discuss decoding ads, and ways to tell (based on my own experience) if an ad is legitimate & the benefit of the doubt (including how to respond to an ad where you question it’s legitimacy).

Check out My Facebook Page for more updates and pictures 🙂

Aviva