TypoBuddy Finds Misspelled eBay, Craigslist (?) Deals

TypoBuddy, like previously reviewed TypoTracker, helps you find deals by searching for misspelled variations of the items you search for. Why?

Because most people that search for a particular item will try to spell it right - meaning that listings with typos might go unnoticed, and you'll wind up getting a sweet deal just because some seller was careless enough to not check his or her typing.

It's a great concept, but does it work?

I tried submitting a few queries to both sites, first looking for "thinkpad." Although TypoBuddy told me it had found 100 misspelled matches, clicking through to the eBay results netted only 76 - still very respectable. The search automatically homes in on your locale, so you may need to change locations to get more results.

I have to admit I was somewhat surprised that so many ThinkPad items had been listed as tinkpad or thinpad. Is it really that hard to spell? No matter, on to the next test!

Results were very different with Craigslist. Either their posters are much more fastidious with their typing, or the TypoBuddy search doesn't work very well. My ThinkPad query on major metropolitan areas (sorry, Winnipeg) like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco reported 70 matches. After click through, however, Craigslist had no actual matches for me to view.

I then searched for "laptop" with Craigslist to give the search another try, and again had no luck.

TypoBuddy is an interesting concept. The eBay search is certainly a good idea, it works well, and I don't doubt that you can probably score some nice deals by using it. If the Craiglist search gets sorted out, this is definitely something I'd add to my shopping bookmarks.