I too wish I had a shitty product like that. However:

> And I even use it regularly to find stuff I want, locally, and cheap.

Are you really successful at that, though? 9 times out of 10 when I use craigslist the transaction is a horrible experience--for example:

    - the buyer of an item claims it, then flakes out
    - the seller of an item jacks up the price at the last
      minute, when I'm there in person, saying, "oh well
      there are 5 other people that want it"
    - potential rideshare flakes out, or changes plans at
      the last minute
    - potential landlord turns out to be unreliable

The one area where I have had great success with craigslist is hiring, which I suspect is due to craigslist charging for job listings (which keeps the bar high).