97 Of The Top 100 Online Classified Sites Are Craigslist

from the holy-domination dept

Mon, Apr 6th 2009 9:14am — Mike Masnick

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.

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Filed Under: online classifieds
Companies: craigslist

41 Comments

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Jasen Webster (profile), 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:01am

Simplicity
The simplicity of Craigslist has made it popular in the same way that Goolge tries to keep things simple. People want simplicity, not flash advertisement that takes over your screen and even produces audio over your speakers. I use Craigslist with caution remembering the "buyer beware" motto.
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Ben, 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:09am

10 lines of coke
Don't get too offended by the 10 lines of code line, it's the same as people who watch the Olympics and say "sure, I could do that too if I worked out all the time". Or the people who listen to Metallica or AC/DC and say, "bah, it's nothing but power chords. Anyone could come up with that."
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Homey The Crusader, 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:16am

That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Seriously. Who cares if 97 of the top 100 online classified sites are Craigslist if they cover a tiny fraction of the population, and they do.

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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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:29am

Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
I was able to sublet my home and buy a new car thanks to craigslist. And I don't live in a large state or a large town (its a 3 electoral vote state!).

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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Richard @ allofcraigs, 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:40am

I admire Craig
Craig is sticking to what he believes in. Websites do not need all the bells & whistles to be successful. Although I feel Craigslist could use some new features, I think it's the simplicity people are familiar with and appreciate - no ads or flashy banners, just the ability to buy or sell what you want locally. It doesn't get any easier.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:43am

Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
yea, i don't know dude, I got my recession proof job and my awesome girlfriend from Craigslist. Why do you hate Craigslist? did it bite you? Yea I got swindled on it before but it's not like a newspaper classified would protect you any better.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:47am

Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
"Unless you are looking for a "casual encounter" craigslist should work for you."

Well... I think he has a point then, doesn't he?
Consider who the people commenting on blogs are.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:49am

I love craigslist. I've bought speakers, an amp, found roommates, found housing as well as realtors, a sublet, and lots of garage sales using it. I also intend to advertise my professional club DJ business with it.
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Thom, 6 Apr 2009 @ 10:59am

Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
I have to disagree.

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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TheStuipdOne, 6 Apr 2009 @ 11:17am

Prostitution
Craigslist used to be a great place to sell your wares. They kinda pulled the plug on that but i read recently that the result of a girl fight was that one of the girls posted pictures of the other in the "adult services" section and the victim gort hundreds of emails and texts in just one night
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chris (profile), 6 Apr 2009 @ 11:23am

Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
my parents were murdered by craigslist you insensitive clod!
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Homey the Crusader, 6 Apr 2009 @ 11:24am

Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
I don't hate Craigslist, I just hate all the rediculous hype that makes it sound like the best thing since sliced bread. It's not. It's very good for a few but crappy for the vast majority. That's could change, but for now it's true. No, I've never been bitten by Craigslist or anyone on it, but I'm much more cautious and better at spotting scams than their average user I'm sure. Yes, a newspaper classified would protect most people better, because the cost weeds out a lot of the petty theives and scam artists.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 11:24am

Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
"I live in the third largest city in Kentucky."

So that means you have what 750 people in your town?
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Thom, 6 Apr 2009 @ 11:28am

Re: Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
More like 700 if you don't count my kin folk. If you do count my kin folk it's approaching 60,000. Double that if you could all the critters.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 11:41am

Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
You cannot use ip address as it is very easy to spoof. The point of a classified ad is to connect people (buyers and sellers). It is your responsibility to check if the posting is real.

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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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 11:51am

Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Did they answer a swingers' ad?
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 11:54am

usefull ness
well, if you look at the usefullness on a scale of geographic area then yes it only serves a small area. such as certain city's and only affects people in or near the city's and is not viable in po-donk town USA. but seeing as that around half of the population of the USA lives in or around a moderate city this is a very viable resource. sure, maybe not a one size fits all but what truely is?

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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Overcast, 6 Apr 2009 @ 12:00pm

Craigslist is about all I use now - unless maybe it's a rare item, then E-bay's a bit better.

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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Overcast, 6 Apr 2009 @ 12:04pm

Yea I got swindled on it before but it's not like a newspaper classified would protect you any better.

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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SeattleBuzzKill, 6 Apr 2009 @ 1:54pm

Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Um, genius...CL is one of the top 20 sites in terms of traffic and page views on the internet.

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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Thom, 6 Apr 2009 @ 3:41pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
No, I am not an exception because I live between two cities. One city is south of me and another is east. Mine is bigger than the one south.

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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Homey the Crusader, 6 Apr 2009 @ 3:46pm

Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
Umm, genius, traffic and pageviews are two completely meaningless metrics when you're comparing web traffic with non web traffic.

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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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 3:54pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
You sound like all the scam sellers who sell garbage, exaggerate its quality and value, then shout buyer beware when they're called on it. Certainly buyers should use some common sense but any business that turns a blind eye to fraud commited by its users according to this reasoning shouldn't be allowed to exist.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2009 @ 6:27pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
YOU ARE A STUPID MORON!!!

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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Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2009 @ 11:06pm

Re: 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.

Why don't you do the same?
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Jennifer, 17 Apr 2009 @ 8:04pm

Re: Re: Re: That said, craigslist is a freaking joke
I know what you are talking about. I'm having problems with craigslist, and there help service sucks. I've try to post mine ad on there, but I have not seen it yet. and it's been three days. If you looking for a good classified that does show there location are or close by were they are, go to Backpage.com. You have to put your location or by you. I hope that help you.
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Re: I admire Craig
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