Although Craigslist still exists, it has become more difficult to find appropriate match sets on the site–and there are many different alternatives to help you find a new place to stay or a potential date. For example, some dating websites offer better safety features than Craigslist.
Regardless of whether you are looking for furniture, a toy, an accessory, or else (for your new home), there are a myriad of apps and online marketplaces dedicated to specific product types that can help narrow the choices possible. A few tools to get started include 5 alternatives to Craigslist in lieu of this overwhelming process.
Craigslist Drawbacks
Craigslist is an online market for selling goods and services, and includes a few drawbacks. First, an issue that many Craigslist users face is mentioned; it’s the sheer size of the site. With more listings than one can count in any given category, sellers complain that it only takes about 15 minutes for them to get pushed to the next page due to competitors posts. Furthering this point, Craigslist has also long been a target for unscrupulous scammers who post fraudulent ads that look like great deals, but they intend to extract and exploit financial information from naive and unsuspecting buyers.
Although Craigslist’s simplicity remains popular among users, updated features would improve the user experience. Most obvious of these are sorting categories based on price, distance and other specifications. The website is also interface design has been unchanged since its inception and the app is simple but provides no added conveniences.
1. eBay Classifieds
The world largest classified site in the world, Kijiji, was founded in 2005 and re-branded as eBay Classifieds in 2010. Kijiji powers an intelligent search engine that is able to filter by category.
With Craigslist, buyers have some difficulty in trying to find the specific item they’re looking for. They cannot view items by price, distance or how recently the post was made by using a few clicks. Thumbnail pictures of the product are provided next to these ads to make it easier on buyers since they can scroll through ads quickly and easily without having to waste time on useless ads with stock photos or not enough pictures at all.
Craigslist offers a diverse range of features that eBay Classifieds doesn’t. However, on eBay Classifieds, the ad stays live for 30 days, and visibility of an ad in general decreases but it still shows up in more targeted queries because of the advanced search options provided by the site. The result is a streamlined inventory for sellers and buyers.
2. Explore Facebook Marketplace in depth
Home sellers in Facebook Marketplace and groups can find a buyer much more quickly thanks to the site’s sharing capabilities. Facebook provides two options, allowing users to sell their items quicker and easier than with Craigslist. Posts can be shared by friends of friends, multiplying an individual’s exposure.
There are many reasons a person may be more comfortable selling on Facebook than Craigslist. Friends, for example, is one reason. There have been cases of robberies and violence resulting from botched Craigslist transactions.
Check out these websites for anything you need
While classified sites offer great services, social media sites offer a layer of security when selling items that you don’t typically find online.
3. Poshmark
Poshmark is a one-stop shop for men, women, and your home. Designed to allow users to “pass down from generation to generation” by selling used clothing in high fashion brands like Calvin Klein, Coach, Nike, and Chanel.
Poshmark has over 80 million community members and accepts listings from across North America, Canada, and Australia. It’s easy to list items for sale via the app and Poshmark takes a commission of either $2.95 or 20% of the total. Its platform is built to make buying or selling goods easy, with an end-to-end solution that includes features like pre-address labels (with free shipping), a USPS mail drop box, no fees to buy or sell on Poshmark, and more.
4. Apartments.com
If you’re looking to find an apartment, this website has a lot of features including a tool that allows you to search specific neighborhoods and searches available by keyword. There are literally millions of listings. The website has a wealth of features, like 3D interactive tours of apartments to information on market trends, neighborhood schools, and other useful information for potential renters. The site boasts of 1.1 million apartments for rent at any given time and allows you to drill down on what you need, from a pet-friendly walk-up apartment to a luxury condominium.
Depending on the service you are looking for, Craigslist is a useful resource for rental listings in particular. Renters or those searching for a roommate can post listings in your city and do not always vet posters carefully. The options offered by alternatives like Apartments.com may not be able to compete with the tools and peace of mind that Craigslist can offer.
5. Indeed.com
At Indeed.com, you can find full-time, freelance. Any other type of opportunities as well as networking tips and motivational messages. This site is better than Craigslist’s job postings because it has countless tools to help you make the best choices. Apart from being a great resource for finding jobs without physically emailing the company. Its reviews allow you to compare companies side by side.
