97 Of The Top 100 Online Classified Sites Are Craigslist
from the holy-domination dept
Well here's a little nugget of information that show you just how dominant Craigslist has become in the online classifieds space. A new report suggests that 97 of the top 100 online classified sites are localized versions of Craigslist (i.e., dallas.craigslist.org, sfbay.craigslist.org, etc.). Not sure who the other three are, or where they fall on the chart... but (once again) it shows how the 10 lines of code fallacy comes into play. Over the years, plenty of people have brushed aside Craigslist as not being very pretty or complex -- and noting that it would be easy to copy. But, the value of Craigslist isn't in the code (though, these days, having robust and scalable code is a big deal considering the traffic) but in the users. And you can't just copy that with 10 lines of code.![Hide This Hide this](https://ii.techdirt.com/s/t/i/topclose.png)
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Filed Under: online classifieds
Companies: craigslist
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Simplicity
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10 lines of coke
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That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
That's like saying the Little-Bigtown Herald has the best local coverage of the news in the Little-Bigtown region. It may be true, but it doesn't matter for squat outside that select region and the same holds true for Craigslist. Go anywhere outside a large city and Craigslist is laughable in it's insignificance and it's futility.
Count the percentage of illegal and illicit activity and it's much less meaningful.
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Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
My town does have two local papers and they do have classified section. But craigslist beats them both. I agree there is some authenticity problems. Unless you are a complete dumbass those problems are not that serious.
Unless you are looking for a "casual encounter" craigslist should work for you.
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Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Well... I think he has a point then, doesn't he?
Consider who the people commenting on blogs are.
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Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
I live in the third largest city in Kentucky. I have tried at least a dozen times to get our city included, each time making the point about the size. It has never been included. Instead we're left to guess whether we should post our ads in a much smaller college town nearly an hour away, a much larger city an hour and a half away, or in the section for the entire western half of the state.
For most of the country I'd have to agree that craigslist is a joke and your experience does nothing to convince me otherwise. A classified ads site can't be judged by how well it serves some of its users. It has to be judged on how it can serves, and can serve, most of its users and potential users.
As far as authenticity problems... ya think? I routinely look through the sections and I'd say it's rare for 10% of the ads in any section to authentic.
It could be improved though. It doesn't need to be flashy, but it does need a better way to add cities and break down regions. It also needs to be better about clearing out old and spammy/scammy ads.
I notice that many, if not most, adult sites I visit (and I do admit to visiting them) are aware of my location. I think craigslist could go a good way toward cleaning up their ad space by tightening up posting based on user ip. I know that's not foolproof, but if the site can tell I'm from location x or nearby then I'm much more likely to be a legitimate poster in my regional section than someone halfway across the country or the world.
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Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
So that means you have what 750 people in your town?
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Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Regd location problem: 25% of people in US live in top 10 cities, and 60% in top 100 cities. And they all have dedicated craigslist pages. I have lived in 3 rural places and it was never a problem to find the appropriate craigslist page. You are an exception because you live in a place that in the midway between two cities. That is not a big problem either. You can either post in both places with some cosmetic changes and browse both of them.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Your idea to post in both is moronic, yes moronic, because the vast majority of classified ad postings aren't for items that are of interest to people any distance away. I mean, do you think someone in one city is going to look in a city 45 minutes south or an hour and a half east when searching for a local job, a local apartment, or inexpensive merchandise people are trying to clear from their closets?
So where did you live? Check Craigslist for Kentucky, go ahead, the entire state of Kentucky is covered by six craigslist sites. There are 120 counties in Kentucky, most with several cities and communities, many with their own newspapers and classifieds, and aside from cars and boats the vast majority of people don't drive more further than the county next door for merchandise.
The point, in case you don't get it yet, is that in Kentucky Craiglist is a joke when compared to newspaper classifieds. There's no comparison in the usefullness of the two. None whatsoever.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
I didn't said to look for stuff that is 50 miles from you. Do you know about something called search technology?
I live in maine btw. The whole state has only one craigslist and most of the postings are from portland. Even though I don't live in portland I can still search for people selling or buying in MY TOWN.
I guess you are the only moron in Owensboro (3rd largest city in KY). See all the auto/car postings from your city: http://westky.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=owensboro
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Re: Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
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Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
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Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
It is consistanty one of the most visited destinations in the US.
The fact you think it some kind of local anomoly means you dont know the industry or the internet very well, so you probably shouldnt make comments on industry sites like this.
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Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Compare sales, rentals, etc, made through Craigslist with those made through traditional classified ads then get back to me about how great Craigslist is.
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Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Why don't you do the same?
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I admire Craig
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Re: I admire Craig
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Prostitution
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usefull ness
and as for the shady adds and person's section. check your local newspapers or magazines in the same city's craigslist serves. they got all the same shady stuff.
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But for 95% of stuff - local ads are far superior to national ones. I love being able to just go pick up stuff and not hassle with shipping and the some of the rip-off shipping charges some of those people on E-bay try to get away with.
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Would be almost impossible to swindle me on Craigslist - not because I'm better than anyone else, but to me - craigslist is just a means to put a buyer and seller in contact...
After that - I want to see the item; and then I'll pay cash for it - simple as that. No working as advertised item and no deal....
Cash or Money Order for the purchase price, go look at the item personally - always bring a friend that will wait in the car for you and you're pretty much golden on craigslist.
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Re: Cell phone tracking
It works on a range of devices including Microsoft Windows, Android, Symbian, Blackberry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Microsoft Windows Mobile, iPhone and many more.
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97 Of The Top 100 Online Classified Sites Are Craigslist
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