In 1995, Craig Newmark began Craigslist. Many people have used it to buy, sell, or trade items online. At first, it was just a list of links to businesses that might be for sale in the San Francisco Bay Area. The platform has tried to stay this simple for as long as it has been around.
Craigslist has grown over time and is now used all over the world. It connects buyers and sellers of goods and services in your area. There are, however, newer platforms on the market that offer more. You could look at these as alternatives to Craigslist or as places where you could grow your business.
Pros of Craigslist
It’s free to sell and list your items.
You can easily sell things that are expensive or large. This is possible because people can post anonymously.
Cons
- There is no strong way for buyers to make sure they pay.
- You don’t have many customers.
- If you list too many items, spam filters can block your account.
- This guide will talk about the best sites like Craigslist and what they have to offer. These other options are:
eBay
eBay is one of the most well-known sites that people use instead of Craigslist. On eBay, you can sell almost anything. The sales and auctions are sent through the mail by the platform. You can also sell locally, which is a good idea for big, expensive, or bulky items. eBay has taken many steps to keep its buyers and sellers safe. For example, PayPal is used to keep the money safe, and a rating system is used to judge the users.
Pros
- Your products can be sold all over the world through eBay.
- It’s simple to use. You can list your products and your stock easily.
- Use PayPal integrations to keep payments safe and make payments in real time
Cons
Most of the time, eBay’s fees change. This depends on how you sell your products and what extras you include.
eBay will charge fees to list items and to sell them. Sites like Craigslist let you list and sell items for free.
Payment issues. You can easily find customers who don’t pay.
In May 2017, Facebook opened the Facebook Marketplace. More than 500 million people look at things for sale on Facebook. On Facebook Marketplace, you can list almost anything, like electronics, furniture, cars, or rentals.
Pros
- You can buy or sell for free on Facebook Marketplace.
- You don’t need to know much about technology to list, buy, or sell on the platform. It has a good filter system that lets you narrow down by location, type of product, or even price.
Cons
- On the seller profile, your Facebook information will be shown. There’s no way to stay anonymous like on Craigslist.
- There is no protection for buyers on Facebook Market.
- It doesn’t have a way to bid like eBay does.
Swappa
Swappa is an online marketplace where you can buy and sell electronics. They could be brand new or used again. You can sell cameras, cell phones, watches, tablets, and video games, among other things. Also, you can list and find smart home devices like streaming devices, thermostats, voice assistants, and more on the platform.
Pros
- If a seller doesn’t advertise a product, there are ways to get your money back.
- PayPal is built in to help make payments safe and easy.
- The platform is easy to use and list your products on.
Cons
- Only PayPal can be used to pay.
- Listings have a date when they end.
- Shipping is paid for by the buyer.
Letgo
Letgo is a great platform for online shopping because it is easy to use. Letgo is a little safer than Craigslist because you need a Facebook or Google account to verify your Letgo profile. With the help of pictures and videos, sellers can give more information about their goods. You can list just about anything, from jobs to products.
Pros
- There are no fees for using the platform.
- You can sell your things close to home.
- The price is set by the seller.
Cons
- Scammers are likely to use the platform because it doesn’t list any fees.
- If you buy used goods, you might get things that don’t work.
- Because you sell locally, you have less potential customers.
OfferUp
OfferUp is a small platform that has been downloaded more than 33 million times. It has been named an app of the year by Geekwire. The name “OfferUp” comes from the fact that you can either pay the seller’s price or make an offer.
Pros
- OfferUp doesn’t charge anything to list items.
- More than 17 million people visit it every month, which is a lot for a small town.
- With the help of the app, for example, the platform is easy and convenient to use.
Cons
For their products to stay on top lists longer, sellers may have to pay $2 for the “bump and promote” service.
As shipping fees, the platform will take 7.9% of the sale. But you don’t have to do this.
People may ask for discounts even if you put the price of your item low. This can be frustrating.
Vinted
Vinted is an online store for clothes. It has more than 25 million users and is available in the US and many European countries, such as France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania.
Pros
- Shipping and listing are both free.
- It doesn’t put a cap on how many listings you can have.
- Payouts are free, and there is a low minimum payout amount.
Cons
- You can only buy or sell used clothing and fashion items.
- Users will need a PayPal account to buy things through PayPal.
- Seller Protection doesn’t cover transactions that happen in person.
Geebo
Geebo is a website where you can post ads for jobs, cars, houses, apartments, and other things. It can be used in both big and small cities all over the United States, and there are more than 160 groups of buyers and sellers who use it.
Pros
- It lets you do transactions with the SafeTrade feature. Buyers and sellers will meet at the local police station to finish their deals.
- Your items can be listed for free.
- The platform checks out both buyers and sellers.
Cons
- Before you can post an ad, their system has to let it through.
- It takes a while for your item to show up on the list because it has to be approved first.
Oodle
Oodle is another place where you can buy and sell things in your area. But Oodle members can’t buy the things on the list. You might find something from eBay or Cars.com. It has many different kinds of products, like furniture, cell phones, items for babies, and more. Buyers can also make a list of the things they want to buy.
Pros
- Your ads will also appear in USA Today.
- It’s easy to use the platform.
- You will be able to see product listings from other sites like eBay.
Cons
- You can’t connect a backlink to your website.
- If you don’t link your account to social media, it’s easy to get flagged.
Bookoo
Bookoo is an online marketplace where people from all over the world can buy and sell things. In 2004, it was set up. On this platform, you can trade almost anything, and the item will be shown for 60 days. The buyer and seller will agree on a place to meet and go there to finish the deal.
Pros
- It’s free to list a product.
- There are no transaction fees or charges on the platform.
- There are enough benefits for free membership to start with.
Cons
- Sunday is usually when the platform is closed.
- They charge money for ads.
- There isn’t much accountability, which makes it easy for scammers to take advantage of.
Hoobly
Hoobly is a platform that lets people in the US, Europe, and Canada list their products. On this platform, people can trade just about anything. You might find it best to trade in pets, since their lists are the biggest. Like Craigslist, this platform is free to use to list items or look for items.
Pros
- It’s easy to use and get around on.
- Putting up ads is free.
- There are many places where your ads can go.
Cons
- It doesn’t take care of customers.
- There are often fake dealers on the platform.
- The interface doesn’t have a lot of interactivity.
More than 500 million people use Instagram every day, and more than 25 million businesses also use it. More than 130 million people click on a shopping post every month. These numbers show you how big Instagram’s customer and supplier base could be. Selling on Instagram might not be easy, but the results are worth it.
Pros
- Small and new brands and businesses can compete for customers with big and well-known ones.
- It’s quick and easy to check out. Users can look at products without leaving the app.
- A seller can improve their sales by adding logistics plugins such as BigSommerce, Shopify, CommerceHub, and more.
Cons
- When compared to their website, sellers can find out less about their customers on Instagram.
- Unless they go to the seller’s website, buyers don’t have much chance to look at other products.
- Due to the selling fee, small businesses may make less money.
Mercari
Mercari is a place where you can buy and sell things that can be shipped. This means that buyers and sellers can’t meet up in person or drop off items. Through buyer and seller ratings, the platform also tries to figure out how well transactions work. Users can look at these ratings to decide if they want to do business with someone.
Pros
- After a sale, buyers and sellers rate each other.
- Lists that don’t need much work
- A lot of products to choose from
- Low fees for sellers
Cons
- On sales, sellers pay a 10% fee.
- Less is being sold.
- Its dashboard is not always easy to use.
Trovit
Trovit is a search engine that runs on a platform. Any country in the world can get to it. You can start by choosing your country and then the type of research you want to do. Jobs, cars, homes, and other things are all examples of categories. This will help you narrow down your search.
Pros
- Use specific categories to look for products.
- Everyone in the world can use the platform.
- When you search, results will come up from the platform and other places on the internet.
Cons
- This platform gets most of its information updates from other sites.
- Some listings don’t have enough information about homes and jobs.
- Not every place has listings.
ClassifiedAds.com
As the name suggests, ClassifiesAds.com lets people look at listings for classified ads. Putting up ads is free and very easy to do. First, you post your ad, and then you fill in your information. The categories on this site are clear, and it gets a lot of traffic.
Pros
- Setting up an account and posting an ad is simple and quick.
- The platform now lets ad posts have HTML links. This means that you can put a link to your website in your ad.
- Putting up an ad on this platform is free.
Cons
- The search engine isn’t very good. For example, it will show results from cities other than the one you search for on top of the one you search for. Sometimes, you might not find the city you’re looking for.
- People can use the platform in big cities.
Locanto
Locanto has online ads from more than 60 different countries. It has listings for both local and national events. This platform has a board in the biggest cities in the US and other countries where it is available. Putting up an ad on the board in your city is free. But, for an extra fee, your ads can be shown in other cities.
For an extra fee, your ad can also appear at the top of a buyer’s search results. You can also pay extra to have third-party ads taken off of your listings. It has different sections for things like beauty, real estate, services, cars, and more.
Pros
- There are mini-analytics on the platform.
- They have a good search engine that can find things based on things like keywords or a mile radius.
- There are share buttons for social media on the platform, which can help you get more leads and traffic.
Con
In some places, people know about or use the platform more than in others.
VarageSale
VarageSale is a platform that lets people hold garage sales both in person and online. Just like at a garage sale, you can sell anything. Some examples are clothes, items for babies, used items, cars, hand-made items, and more. It can be used in many countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Australia.
Pros
- To sign up for VarageSale, you have to prove who you are.
- It puts you in touch with buyers and sellers in your area.
- It is possible for buyers and sellers to share feedback with each other.
- Sell to the people in your area.
Cons
- Some places don’t have much going on.
- They might take longer to say yes to your request.
- You can’t join a VarageSale in a certain area if you don’t live there.
PoshMark
PoshMark is an online marketplace where people can buy and sell used clothes. But there are rules about what you can buy or sell on this platform. They can be used, but there shouldn’t be any tears, stains, or signs of wear. On this platform, the brand of cloth is also very important. Express, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor are some of the best-known brands on this platform.
Pros
- There are no fees to list on the platform.
- You can sell things to a big and busy market.
- It has easy shipping with a flat rate. Both pros and cons can be found here. If you buy something cheap, like a pair of pants for $10 to $15, the rate may be high.
Cons
- The 20% fee for the seller is a lot.
- It means you can only buy or sell designer goods.
Summary
Craigslist is a website where people can sell or buy goods and services. These sites are great substitutes for Craigslist. Some of them focus on more than one type of product, while others, like PoshMark, focus on a specific niche. Before you choose one of the above options, you should think about a number of things. Among them are:
- How much it costs to buy or sell on the platform
- The location made it hard. This will change how shipping is handled.
- Simple to use
- You can sell or buy goods or services on the platform.
- Integrations of payments, such as PayPal Customer service,
- Security Scalability. Do you think you could sell more on the platform?
Each of these platforms stands out in its own way. But the list below gives an overview of some of the best platforms and what makes them great.
