Craigslist began in 1995 as a way for founder Craig Newmark to help people post free ads on his classified ads site. By ’96, Craigslist was a hub of devoted sections for jobs, personal ads, wanted items, gigs, resumes, and forums.
Today, it is used in over 700 cities in 70 countries and receives millions of listings each month. Nevertheless, Craigslist has been criticised for its hoary-old interface over the years.
Simultaneously, the quality and authenticity of listings seem to be steadily dwindling on the website.
Many instances of human trafficking in the personal ads section were recorded. Craigslist dropped the section following its removal after the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act was passed.
If you’ve been using Craigslist, you might be looking for alternatives as well to reposition listings in a more factual and secure website. This article lists the top seven alternatives to Craigslist
Oodle
Oodle follows a local buy-and-sell model in the approach of their services. It is a classified aggregator that stacks requests from other websites.
Physical listings limit a customer’s lists to the said website. Some products can be listed directly on Oodle, allowing users to list products from eBay as well.
Being a classified aggregator, people can browse through hundreds of listings from around the internet before concluding on a product.
Oodle has classified sections for pets, personals, cars, and more. The direct listing feature also lets customers advertise their products on Facebook Marketplace.
Aggregating listings from other sites attract malicious content too. People occasionally end up clicking on a malware embedded link, which isn’t desirable at all.
You can visit Bookoo here
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Facebook Marketplace
Facebook has over 1.6 billion active users and that makes it a dream user pool for any seller. Naturally, Facebook started a dedicated tab titled “Buy and Sell” where you could find hundreds of groups to advertise and sell your products.
These market groups require confirmation of seller credentials like seller identity, business information, and the validity of it all. To find a local selling group simply click on the “Buy and Sell Groups” option in your Explore menu.
Searching using specific keywords in the Marketplace tab is also a way to connect with other sellers. Like Craigslist, selling on Facebook is free but there are restrictions placed to guarantee customer safety, and seller integrity.
You can visit Facebook Marketplace here
Gumtree
Gumtree might be unheard of but it happens to be one of the leading classified sites like Craigslist. Hailing from the UK, Gumtree has expanded its operations to every continent in the last 17 years.
The website receives well over a million visits every month and has over 2.5 million listings. With this wide range of products, users don’t need to scour listings for long.
People can go look for products like old books, automobiles and automobile components, phones and furniture. Additional classifieds about rentals or job offers can be found too.
You can visit Gumtree here
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Bookoo
Bookoo is a less commercial alternative to Craigslist. It is suited for more personal, small-scale work you wish to advertise or source.
Users can post lists in the traditional fashion, or advertise an entire yard sale if they want. Bookoo is designed to be family-friendly and caters to similar needs.
Bookoo is useful for frequent movers. Customers can create a profile with a short bio and picture. It also lists the types of items listed by you.
You can visit Bookoo here
Locanto
Locanto was initially founded in Germany and now spans 60 countries. It couples an appealing interface with a personal ads section, a rarity in the classified market.
People can post for and find anything ranging from automobiles to real estate. Any posted list is retained for 60 days with an available extension. The service also has Android and iOS applications.
Locanto’s famous ‘boards’ service is a platform to make local connections in your city. Its premium services let you remove any third-party ads from your listing.
You can visit Locanto here
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Trovit
Trovit is a classified search engine. Meaning users can search for multiple classified databases for one entity.
Trovit will help you view listings of homes, jobs, or cars, all near you. For they offer services worldwide, users can look for products wherever they deem feasible.
Similarly, a search can be narrowed to the listings nearest to your place and convenience. At the same time, it should be kept in mind that not all locations have a Trovit listing as of now.
You can visit Trovit here
Geebo
Geebo hosts over 160 communities where you can buy or sell vehicles, real estate, heavy equipment, or merchandise. Geebo is termed as a safer alternative to Craigslist.
Geebo imparts something called SafeTrade in their transactions, which happens when the buyer and seller agree to meet at a police station.
The website is essentially used in major cities like L.A. and Chicago. Geebo has many local communities where buyers and sellers show interest in other products and hold discussions on forums.
You can visit Geebo here
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