UofMUSCLE.com – M.U.S.C.L.E. Figures from Mattel

Collectors rarely reveal their collecting secrets. They fear others will destroy their source. For the vast majority of M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors the source of figures has always been eBay and/or LittleRubberGuys.com. These two sources are an excellent resource, but some collectors want or need more. They branch out into other areas to find the M.U.S.C.L.E. items they desire. One underused resource is the website known as Craigslist (link to Wikipedia). It features free online classified advertisements. The advertisements are broken up into different categories. The majority of regionally specific classified advertisements are in North America, but the website has been spreading out to global locations. The participation rate varies greatly by location.

There are numerous advantages and disadvantages to using Craigslist.org (www.craigslist.org/). The University of M.U.S.C.L.E. does not endorse or discourage people from using Craigslist. However, special care should probably be used and any potential users should conduct their own research regarding the website to insure their own safety.

The easiest way to use Craigslist is to search in the section that is closest to you locations. For example, if you live near Chicago, then http://chicago.craigslist.org/ is likely your best place to start searching. Because Chicago is such a large metropolitan area, there are even subcategories (i.e., North Chicagoland). By searching closest to where you live you are likely to find sellers willing to meet you to sell their M.U.S.C.L.E. figures.

In general, sellers on Craigslist are not looking to sell things to people they can’t personally meet face-to-face. Sellers are also not looking to ship items or use PayPal. However, this is not a rule. Many sellers are willing to sell to people they can’t meet face-to-face. This opens the search possibilities for Craigslist to multiple locations.

Historically many “Super Rare” figures have been found in Northeastern part of the United States, specifically in the New York/New Jersey region. Additionally many Class A Color M.U.S.L.E. figures have been found in Western Canada. These are both general locations that collectors would likely want to target.

Similar to searching for figures on eBay, there are literally hundreds of potential search terms. Unfortunately Craigslist does not have a central search that looks at multiple locations. This results in having to do multiple searches in multiple locations. A potential way to elevate this redundancy is to use an external Craigslist search such as Craiglook.com or SearchTempest.com.

Searching for figures on Craigslist is not limited to searching the current classified advertisements. You can also post your own classified “Want Ad.” Similar to the search your “Want Ad” can only be done in specific locations.

There are likely dozens of additional tips, tools, and websites for using Craigslist.org to find M.U.S.C.L.E. toys. If you have any additional suggestion, please feel free to post them in the Comments section below or email the University of M.U.S.C.L.E..

Good luck!