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97 of Top 100 Classified Sites Are Craigslist

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the newspapers-still-dying dept.

According to a recent report, 97 of the top 100 classified sites are just localized versions of Craigslist, up from 88 just last year. Combine that with a massive rise in traffic to classified sites in general and you have a recipe for one raging behemoth. "Craigslist isn't just crushing the newspaper industry and crowding out other classified sites. It's also taking an increasing slice of total U.S Internet traffic: the site's market share in February was up 90% year over year, accounting for about 2.5% of total US Web site visits."

193 comments

  1. Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The article correctly noted that craigslist's staggering success is not the real story here. Craigslist has been growing quite nicely for sometime. Also, it is not Craigslist that has grown drastically but Craigslist Cities custom category's number of visits went up 90% between Feb '08 and Feb '09 and all other classifieds grew 22 percent. Craigslist cities is below all other classifieds in the graph on their blog which contradicts what the article is saying. So that 90% figure is a bit misleading and I think it is a particular custom division of Craigslist.

    The news is that they think the recession is causing this thrift explosion. From the article:

    So it seems the recession is more or less rescuing some classifieds sites while acting as a rocket booster for Craigslist. This meshes well with last week's info about Craigslist replacing MySpace as the top U.S. search term.

    And from Hitwise's blog:

    Market share of US Internet Visits increased 90% to the Craigslist Cities custom category year over year in February 2009 while visits to All Other Classifieds grew 22%.Visits to All Other Classifieds had been declining for most of 2008 with visits starting to increase in January and February. This suggests that the worsening US economy may be boosting visits to classifieds websites, and contributing to the recent up tick in visits to both Craigslist Cities and All Other Classifieds.

    I'm not sold on their evidence. I don't see a huge jump since February of '08 in search popularity. Why do we do this with percentages? We break them down into categories and play the telephone game to distort them for the sole purpose of shock-and-awe reporting leading to ad revenue?

    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Red+Flayer · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm not sold on their evidence. I don't see a huge jump since February of '08 in search popularity

      What? Did you even look at the graph you linked to? Sure, it's fairly steady growth, but even just a quick eyeing of the graph shows at least a 50% growth (and that's a VERY conservative estimate -- looks more like 75% to me, but I didn't want to push it).

      I don't know about you, but that's pretty damn significant to me.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    2. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Cube+Steak · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm not sold on their evidence. I don't see a huge jump [google.com] since February of '08 in search popularity.

      You don't? It went from around .75 to at least 1.25 which is at least a gain of around 67%

    3. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by cymen · · Score: 1

      By "Craigslist Cities custom category" do you mean visits to individual cities on craiglist.org (like chicago.craigslist.org)? Or is there some other feature there? I mean, that seems kind of obvious if that is what you mean because the whole point of Craiglist is localized classifieds.

      I also don't think most people are going to use Google to search the local Craigslist site. That would be kind of worthless as the Google hits are often out of date (just try searching for some "odd yet valuable but can sell for less locally due to weight or some other criteria that makes ebay unattractive" type of item).

      Then of course I remembered a couple years ago some people didn't even realize one could type in a web address (instead of going to a portal or a search engine for everything). Hasn't that changed?

    4. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Lord+Grey · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Going along with the general traffic statistics are some supposed demographics:

      Craigslist attracts wealthier households, but recent growth is visible from lower-income groups. Analysis of demographics of the Craigslist audience reveals that those earning a household income of $150,000 a year or more were 68 percent more likely to visit a Craigslist Cities Web site than All Other Classifieds Web sites in the four weeks ending Feb. 28, 2009. However, the siteâ(TM)s recent growth is being fueled by lower-income segments, suggesting that Craigslist may become less of a destination site for wealthy people and more of a necessity for lower-income groups as the economy continues to sour.

      But later in that same article:

      ... Through relationships with ISPs around the world, Hitwise's patented methodology anonymously captures the online usage, search and conversion behavior of 25 million Internet users. ...

      Exactly how do they "anonymously capture" data and determine an average household income?

      --
      // Beyond Here Lie Dragons
    5. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Man, I just read the article title, and I was confused as to why anything on Craigslist would be considered 'classified' by any government, let alone that it would have 97% of all online classified data.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    6. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Zakabog · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Did anyone else notice the largest drop on that graph occurred right after this article -

      Craigslist to crack down on prostitution ads

    7. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did anyone else notice the largest drop on that graph occurred right after this article -

      Craigslist to crack down on prostitution ads

      Should have the opposite occurred

    8. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by datapharmer · · Score: 1

      Right there with you... I had to stare at that for a good 30 seconds before going "oohhhh!"

      --
      Get a web developer
    9. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The graph is confusingly using two different scales for CL vs. other services. So although the line is below other services, it in fact much, much larger.

    10. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Haoie · · Score: 1

      How big is CL outside the US?

      Here in NZ so few have even heard of it.

      --
      If each mistake being made is a new one, then progress is being made.
    11. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I did too, but I'm high.

    12. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how did you type that up AND reserch it all within 2 minutes?

    13. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 1

      Virtually nonexistant in the UK as well.

      I don't see the attraction. There are no controls - it seems to be a mixture of sex services, stolen goods and plain ripoffs. The genuine stuff is just buried. There's no payment system, no ratings system.. if you use it you're just asking to be ripped off.

      It's not popular at all.. the local site has only 12 items in the computer section since February. ebay probably sells that much in an hour.

      Maybe they like being ripped off in the US or something. It seems to me using a system like that you might as well set fire to your money.. at least you're less likely to be arrested for handling stolen goods that way.

    14. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Meski · · Score: 1

      (in Australia) - Ok, I've heard of it, but never used it.

    15. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Planesdragon · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Maybe they like being ripped off in the US or something. It seems to me using a system like that you might as well set fire to your money

      you don't get it.

      Craigslist isn't a place to buy stuff. It's a place to FIND stuff. You don't trust the #@$#!ing craigslist ad; you make a contact with a real person, and go from there.

      ebay's kinda a joke --> used electronics, scams, and crap, all peddled by folks who only care about thin numbers that give themselves a veneer of respectability.

      Craigslist tosses that, and the fees, and just connects the buyers and the sellers. It's the internet in its purest, and most open, form.

    16. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by PachmanP · · Score: 1

      Exactly how do they "anonymously capture" data and determine an average household income?

      If your ip resolves to Detroit, you fall in the lower-income group. If your ip resolves to Georgetown or Alexandria (wealthy DC suburbs), then you fall in the high-income group.

      --
      You're thinking small. Why miniaturize the laser, when we could instead enlarge the sharks? -John Searle
    17. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I noticed they changed or removed the category "erotic services". Now there's "casual encounters", and you can search "erotic services" in the advanced search... No, I don't have a girlfriend.

    18. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Serious+Callers+Only · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Unfortunately, on London craigslist at least, you are more likely to get responses from Africa trying to scam you than real responses to your ad. From a recent ad I got three responses from Abuja, Nigeria (according to IP), and none from genuine buyers, in spite of an instruction saying 'local buyers only' and requiring pickup.

      This sort of site requires a critical mass of genuine people to be using it, and in certain places a lot of the traffic is probably caused more by scams than real items for sale. As you say, it's the internet it its purest, most open, form, and like email and web discussions, it's been taken over by scammers, spammers and blow-hards.

    19. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I've recently bought a truck and a camper shell via craigslist. Both need help; both were still bargains for what I paid. I also found a television which I still have on there. I expect to purchase a bicycle for components (I have a Y2K K2 frame coming...) from there in the near future. Oh yeah, my DLP projector was a craigslist score too. It's kind of lame (it's a Dell) but I got it pretty cheaply.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    20. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by digitalchinky · · Score: 1

      You should take a look some time. The 'best of craigslist' is pretty funny in its own right.

      Eg: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/518589816.html (Dear Internet Porn) - Text only, so probably safe for work :-)

    21. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by kklein · · Score: 1

      FWIW, I've done over a hundred eBay transactions, as seller and buyer, and I've only been ripped off once. And that time, PayPal sided with me and reimbursed me.

      I really like eBay. You just have to make sure you're buying from and established vendor.

    22. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by rolfwind · · Score: 1

      Craigslist isn't a place to buy stuff. It's a place to FIND stuff. You don't trust the #@$#!ing craigslist ad; you make a contact with a real person, and go from there.

      ebay's kinda a joke --> used electronics, scams, and crap, all peddled by folks who only care about thin numbers that give themselves a veneer of respectability.

      Craigslist tosses that, and the fees, and just connects the buyers and the sellers. It's the internet in its purest, and most open, form.

      As much as I hate ebay, it doesn't limit me geographically. Craigslist is tedious in that I have to search city by city. It's good to find used stuff that everyone has (dishwashers, cars, etc), especially stuff that can't be readily shipped due to size. It's also okay (not good) for other local stuff like relationships.

      But once you want something rare (say you collect vintage computers), good luck finding the specific things you want. Ebay or even google shopping is better for that. Part of the "internet in it's purest form" should be erasing geographic boundaries. Craigslist reinforces them.

    23. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by xouumalperxe · · Score: 1

      Craigslist cities is below all other classifieds in the graph on their blog which contradicts what the article is saying.

      I interpreted that graph as average market share per individual site in each bucket. So the average growth of Craigslist Cities sites was 90%ish, plus there are tons of them. That makes for a very big overall growth for Craigslist as a whole. I also don't see a big jump in popularity anywhere, but the figures between feb08 and feb09 do have a nice big increase in popularity, but there is a local minimum in November, only followed by a steady recoup all the way up to a year-over-year maximum. You know what that means, to me? It means that the present popularity isn't the consequence of an individual event, but rather the result of plain old honest, steady growth.

    24. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Don853 · · Score: 1

      It is a tremendous tool for finding apartments. Given that you're not likely to rent a place sight unseen, ratings and ripoffs are sort of moot. Sure, there's a lot of irrelevant postings and junk postings, but that's true with any form of classified ad.

    25. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Ross+D+Anderson · · Score: 1

      Gumtree is our equivalent. I just found a place to live on there last week.

    26. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by ArcherB · · Score: 1

      Virtually nonexistant in the UK as well.

      I don't see the attraction. There are no controls - it seems to be a mixture of sex services, stolen goods and plain ripoffs. The genuine stuff is just buried. There's no payment system, no ratings system.. if you use it you're just asking to be ripped off.

      It's not popular at all.. the local site has only 12 items in the computer section since February. ebay probably sells that much in an hour.

      Maybe they like being ripped off in the US or something. It seems to me using a system like that you might as well set fire to your money.. at least you're less likely to be arrested for handling stolen goods that way.

      I only shop locally when using Craigslist. I search for what I want, contact the seller, meet them at a public location and make the purchase. You can't do that on Ebay.

      An example would be a phone I purchased for my wife. I contacted the seller and met her at the Sprint store. We walked in together and activated the phone before I made payment. I got to meet the seller, see the phone and make sure it worked before paying for it. How is this NOT better than purchasing something from places unknown, paying for it with PayPal, meaning your money goes to God-only-knows-where, praying that it is actually shipped, shows up at your house and really works when you get it?

      --
      There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
    27. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just checked, and chicago.craigslist.org still lists erotic services under the services section, always has. Also, casual encounters is still listed under the personals section, where it always has been.

    28. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by tjonnyc999 · · Score: 1

      Part of the "internet in it's purest form" should be erasing geographic boundaries. Craigslist reinforces them.

      Which is exactly the point of Craigslist. Local, specific, local. If you want the widest range, go for Google or eBay. If you want something you can drive out to & pick up (whether it's a bookcase or a one-night stand), go CL.
      Right tool for the job, mate. It's simple, no?

    29. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by keithpreston · · Score: 1

      I personally love the out-of-town scammers on craigslist. I always tell them to mail me a check. I currently have about 10 ~$5000 "checks" from companies such as "Nasdaq", "Dell" and other corporations. Luckily these scammers know they have to work fast and usually UPS overnight me the check. I figure I'm just helping the economy by boosting the shipping business. Most of these guys really aren't that bright. I got 3 checks in a row from someone who I told the previous check had bounced. They really didn't bounce because I never bothered to cash them (didn't want a bounced check fee). They just keep spending money overnighting me checks.

    30. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Georgetown is in DC, and Alexandria isn't exactly wealthy. McLean would be a better example.

    31. Re:Classifieds Traffic Up Since Recession by datapharmer · · Score: 1

      Dude. Playing Drugwars on your Ti-82 totally doesn't count as high.

      --
      Get a web developer
  2. Can you say.... by coulbc · · Score: 1

    erotic services?

    1. Re:Can you say.... by stuffeh · · Score: 2, Funny

      You must be new to CL. That should be ers or cas, stp is starting to head in that direction depending on your locale, and easily m4m if you swing that way. Maybe something from mcy or msg would help your odds in the w4m/m4w section. Not even going to bother talking about w4w since this is slashdot, some nice eye candy there though. Or you can just troll mis and let her make the first move. Hit refresh every 30 mins and read best of in between updates, there's about 2000 posts there to keep you entertained. And if you do actually find someone, remember to look through tix for somewhere nice to go to.

  3. How many are scammers? by altoz · · Score: 1

    I wonder how much of this increase in "traffic" is just Nigerian scammers trying to get you to ship your item overseas.

    1. Re:How many are scammers? by NeoSkandranon · · Score: 1

      Don't forget about CL likely being the center of your hometown's lovely sex trade (and there is one, bet on it.)

      --
      If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
    2. Re:How many are scammers? by nelsonal · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Since there's going to be one, i'd much rather it be on a website where no one is bothered by it (except seedy motel guests) than putting all the goods on display in the Financial district/abandoned downtown.

      --
      Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
  4. 2.5% of all US traffic? by billlava · · Score: 1

    That's astonishing! Does any other site (besides search engines and forced home pages like MSN.com) have that much of a share?

    Besides Slashdot of course...

    1. Re:2.5% of all US traffic? by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      I don't know. But here in NZ, one site alone accounts for apparently 90% of all web site visits.

      Also, you said 2.5% of all US traffic. This is not what the article (or summary) said - they said Craigslist accounts for 2.5% of all US web site visits.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    2. Re:2.5% of all US traffic? by billlava · · Score: 1

      I don't know. But here in NZ, one site alone accounts for apparently 90% of all web site visits.

      Also, you said 2.5% of all US traffic. This is not what the article (or summary) said - they said Craigslist accounts for 2.5% of all US web site visits.

      My mistake. I guess Craigslist wouldn't use all that much traffic with its austere interface.

      Still, 2.5% is quite a large amount for one website to be getting by itself. Out of curiosity, what ebsite in NZ gets 90% of traffic? Is it a web portal, search engine? Please tell me it's not kiwi-porn!

    3. Re:2.5% of all US traffic? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The other 97.5% is to www.webmd.com/do-i-have-an-std.html

    4. Re:2.5% of all US traffic? by need4mospd · · Score: 5, Funny

      I don't know. But here in NZ, one site alone accounts for apparently 90% of all web site visits.

      www.sheepfantasy.co.nz?

    5. Re:2.5% of all US traffic? by Opportunist · · Score: 0, Redundant

      90%? Wow, didn't think the internet filter would be this crappy that 9 out of 10 connections land in "sorry, this page is not good for you" land...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    6. Re:2.5% of all US traffic? by ncc74656 · · Score: 1

      Out of curiosity, what ebsite in NZ gets 90% of traffic?

      www.adultsheepfinder.com, perhaps?

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    7. Re:2.5% of all US traffic? by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Trademe. It's like eBay, for New Zealanders!

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    8. Re:2.5% of all US traffic? by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      We're not Australia, idiot.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
  5. In other news: by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As Prostitutes Turn to Craigslist, Law Takes Notice. Given how much of the web is devoted to porn, why is anyone surprised that the best site for marketing prostitution is doing so well?

    Note to sarcasm impaired: This is (mostly) a joke.

    --
    $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
    1. Re:In other news: by linzeal · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yeah and this is the problem as I see it.

      Craigslist made the economics of prostitution more decentralized so cops were busting fewer hookers even though the sex industry in a lot of towns was thriving with Craigslist. So the cops started to take notice when their revenue dropped off. In some towns over 50% of the revenue comes from fines levied against the citizens for non-violent crimes and anything that disrupts that will make politicians poke their local county sheriffs and police departments to do something about it. Look at your county coffers and see how much comes in from traffic tickets and criminal fines for my county it is nearly 30% of the revenue. Making so much of county and city budgets dependent on vice and traffic crimes has made it profitable to exacerbate problems that will encourage it while not directly encouraging it. -- See drug war, cheap alcohol and 1 second yellow lights.

      We also had a massive decrease in violence against prostitutes and charges filed for pimping because craigslist made it far easier to go solo and be safe from crazies by filtering out them by email and phone before meeting. Sort of like speed dating, now these women are back out working for pimps and working the streets. This sort of action by the police community against sex workers is abhorrent and is bringing back old problems that were going away with Craigslist being used by escorts.

      --
      An Education is the Font of All Liberty
    2. Re:In other news: by Capt+James+McCarthy · · Score: 1

      Well, I had a real issue with Craigslist when I showed up with a 150 apples only to be turned away. What a scam. Where else are folks with fruit and flower interests supposed to meet?

      ;)

      --
      There are no loopholes. It's either legal or it's not.
    3. Re:In other news: by tjonnyc999 · · Score: 1

      Hey man, you think you had a rough time? One of my buddies brought 500 cookies & got told to shove off. We were eating the damn cookies for a week afterward...

  6. Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    While it lasted.

    Seriously, though, Craigslist now seems to be an unstoppable testament to the power of network effects and general benevolence. The site feels like it was dragged out of 1993, stripped of all the animated .gif flaming skulls and starfield backgrounds, and dumped on the present. However, it is fast, even on devices without the chops for horrible flash and javascript monsters, unobtrusive, no in-your-face ads, and if it exists, you can find it.

    I'm not at all surprised that it has terminated the traditional classifieds, since they all sucked; but I am mildly surprised that that it seems to be crushing its online competitors so absolutely. I would have expected at least a few me-too outfits with gmail-styled "Web 2.0" interfaces to be doing OK somewhere. Network effects, I suppose. Like ebay; but without the evil.

    1. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "...the site feels like it was dragged out of 1993, stripped of all the animated .gif flaming skulls and starfield backgrounds..." which is EXACTLY why it's so successful and demonstrates nicely why other sites fail. It's straightforward, to the point, and not so junked up with marketing S**T that you can't find what you want.

      --
      Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
    2. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by blhack · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The surprising thing is that all that "web 2.0" crap? Yeah, not that many people actually like it very much, especially not nerds (from what I've seen).

      Craigslist is so popular because it just works there are no stupid buttons or widgets are anything that doesn't work on anything other than IE6 running on windows XP.

      This is just my own experience, so bear with me here.
      I remember when digg first came out, I was on that site all day, every day reading stories, posting stories, commenting on stories etc. etc. etc.
      Then...well, then they changed the layout, added all kinds of gradients and 50 billion buttons that have no discernible purpose. I think I continued trying to use the site before I gave it up and migrated back to fark.
      Then...and this one made me really sad, Slashdot jumped on the web 2.0 bandwagon. What was once a clean, obvious, straight-forward website was transformed into a disgusting mess of collapse/expand buttons (wtf, guys...really?), buttons, more buttons, buttons here and buttons freaking everywhere. slashdot.org/~$username/ no longer took me to my comment history, but rather to some mess of a page with no sort of explanation and, you guessed it, more fucking buttons. Also, some sort of a speech bubble with a number in it next to my latest one? What the hell is that?

      So I've decreased my usage of slashdot but don't know where to turn to? There is my own website which i tried to make as clean as I could. There is reddit, which is an ungodly clusterfuck of conspiracy theorist whackjobs who think that the government is out to get them and post stories like "How can I hack a satelite?" which gets rocketed on to the front page.

      It seems like the only place left, really, is hackernews. Their confusing policy of not having their name be the same as their URL has kept MOST of the retards away, but I fear that they're going to discover bookmarks soon. /rant over.

      What we're experience is what I call "designers designing for designers". Its what happens when a designer (or a coder in this case) changes something because it looks really cool to people in-the-know, but fucking hideous to the people actually doing the consumption. Craigslist seems to be immune to this syndrome. I have no idea why, but I suggest that if they ever hire a graphic designer we take a flamethrower to their wacom tablet and CSS manual immediately.

      --
      NewslilySocial News. No lolcats allowed.
    3. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by eltonito · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I recently overheard a web developer raving about this new online classifieds website he was launching in a few months. From what I could tell, it was solely focused on competing with Cragislist and they were going to achieve this by having very slick, graphical interface and unlimited sub-categorization. They were spending big money on this website and it was going to show!

      Right then and there I knew their website, whatever it was called, was doomed to fail because they had missed the point. People neither need nor want a graphically slick, over-produced, banner-ad infested place to trade their toaster for a case of panty hose.

      To boil your post (and maybe mine) down to a Han Solo quote "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid."

    4. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by larry+bagina · · Score: 1

      To boil your post (and maybe mine) down to a Han Solo quote "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid."

      Yeah, you can find shaved pussy on craig's list.

      --
      Do you even lift?

      These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

    5. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by JCSoRocks · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Seriously. Very few sites are as easy to navigate as Craigslist. They don't force unnecessary pagination for increased ad views. They don't base their entire layout around cramming ads into the middle of content that you're trying to read. The search is helpful and effective. The community around flagging / cleaning up garbage posts is pretty good. It's a tough site to beat. I hope they never jump on the idiotic web 2.0 bandwagon.

      --
      You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
    6. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by GPLDAN · · Score: 1

      Like ebay; but without the evil.

      It's also fascinating to watch Ebay implode. They alienated the seller groups, and then they started alienating the rank and file once they slipped on allowing fraudsters through the net.

      It's as if Craiglist flourished because of the need for the direct deal. Not everyone wants to auction their stuff, people want looser, directly negotiated deals without the bullshit of 'Buy It now' and holdback auctions with reserves ("I know what I will let this go for, but I'm not telling")...

      I guess we are destinated for the get rich quickers to start updating their books on how to make a million on Craigslist, as all the how to make a million on Ebay books for only $39.99 start gathering dust in warehouses...

    7. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by dltaylor · · Score: 5, Informative

      Change your /. prefs. Other than the sometimes lame colors they use, I don't see any of that silliness, once I'm logged in.

    8. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by corsec67 · · Score: 1

      Exactly, a simple interface with good, useful information is pretty much the best kind of website.

      --
      If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
    9. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Ceiynt · · Score: 1

      I think another thing it has going is the ability to touch the stuff before buying.
      Wow, that fridge sure looked a lot nicer in the photo, are you sure this is the same one?
      Being able to buy items that are a pain to ship, bed rails for example, all locally.
      Unless you're a complete idiot, not buying knockoff crap sold by some guy in his underwear and shipped from some warehouse on the other side of the planet.
      And the last bit, the lost art of haggling over a price, and not being outbid by some computer program that is timed to the last nanosecond.

    10. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by dkf · · Score: 1

      Change your /. prefs. Other than the sometimes lame colors they use, I don't see any of that silliness, once I'm logged in.

      Alas, it still sometimes slips through. The firehose and metamoderation interfaces are particularly lame that way.

      --
      "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
    11. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I guess we are destinated for the..."

      Fucking STOP that! There is no such word or potential for eventuality as distinated! It's not cute or funny, fucking stop doing that! I'm not asking for perfect grammar, just don't make up stupid word mutations. Thank you for your attention, please keep our language lexicon true to rules. /end rant

    12. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by jonbryce · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Gumtree is a lot more popular than Craigslist in Britain.

      I guess it is the network effect again. Gumtree has a lot more British ads, so more Brits visit it. People put their ads their because more people see them.

    13. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by shlashdot · · Score: 1

      I must be doing something wrong - when I try to search I can only search one city at a time. I live in a sparsely populated state with a half dozen regions, and I'd like to search them all when I'm looking for something. I can't see how to do that, short of elaborate google queries, which reduces craiglist to an idle-time waster vs. a real tool to find something, for me.

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      Additional plugins are required to display all the media on this page.
    14. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CL is web 2.0.

      A web 2.0 site is one where the content is created by the users, and the entire value of the site is its user base.

      ALAX and the like are just a tool, not a paradigm.

    15. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by GPLDAN · · Score: 1

      I didn't realize I did that.

      Come on. Destinated. That's a fucking cool word. It's a physical destination along with the inevitability of destiny.


      I'm a god damn genius.

    16. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 1

      That's not to say his site will fail. The problem with so many bad web sites is that the UI is BAD. Craigslist has a very good UI, though it's incredibly simple. If someone designed a great graphical UI, then they could blow away Craigslist. The problem with so much UI development is that the assumption is that more is more without regard for the mechanics of the UI.

      I like Craiglist and I'm a regular visitor, but there's plenty of room for improvement.

      --
      I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
    17. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by demachina · · Score: 1

      The only problem, in the unintended consequences category, is Craigslist is destroying one of the first bastions of democracy, newspapers and journalists whose full time job it was to root out corruption in government and business, and expose it. That is something we sure could be using more of now instead of less, and we are getting less as nearly every newspaper is cutting to the bone, for folding all together.

      You could argue that bloggers and websites will fill the void but I'm skeptical. The main problem being bloggers mostly sit and surf the web and then write about what they read on the web. Maybe there are some that are actually sniffing around, cultivating sources, and doing detective work like old school journalists but I'm skeptical there are very many. I'm also skeptical they will survive in the face of retaliation from "the powers that be" if they ever do get to close to real corruption, like the blogger in Phoenix where the cops came in and took everything computer related out of his house. An integral part of big newspapers are the lawyers to insure the reporters are defended when they take on the power that be.

      You could argue citizens will mass together in iReport and Twitter and fill the void but again I seriously doubt many average citizens will stand up the way the NY Times did in exposing the Bush administrations warrantless wire tapping, its very dangerous for a single citizen to do that much or often.

      You could argue TV reporters will fill the void. HA.... HA. They don't seem to do any reporting, they just sit on the air regurgitating old news and running their mouths.

      All I can say is I will dearly, dearly miss the Washington Post and NY Times if they go under or turn in to a eviscerated shadow of their former selves. Their web sites are AWESOME, they just haven't figured out a way to monetize them.

      Craigslist is taking all the gravy out of the journalism business model, and not returning the priceless service journalism does for society. If you want some more and worse repetitions of the Bush administration in future years, just keep destroying Journalism, of course since they let the Bush administration happen in the first place, maybe Journalism is already dead.

      If you like dictatorships and oligarchies, just wipe out Journalism.

      --
      @de_machina
    18. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Vellmont · · Score: 1


      It's straightforward, to the point, and not so junked up with marketing S**T that you can't find what you want.

      The other reason I think the simple design wins is simply because it's cheaper. Text is SMALL bandwidth and storage wise, easy to search, and doesn't require a lot of processing. The UI is simple, and really doesn't change much so do you don't need a team of programmers to support it. Craigslist has such a small operating cost, there's really no chance they'll go out of business.

      I think the reason you don't see a lot of "me too" sites competing isn't because the UI is so great for the end user, it's really how could you possibly compete with a site as popular as craiglist? Some things tend to create natural monopolies because there's an advantage to everyone using one resource. Ebay is one of those kinds of things, craigslist is another. It's a feedback loop where both parties benefit.

      --
      AccountKiller
    19. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by wizden · · Score: 1

      All in favor of adding it to the official internet dictionary raise their hands.

    20. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or my favorite Slashdot gripe - the way it breaks up multiple pages. Seriously, wtf? Can anyone explain the logic? Most times page 2 is exactly the same stuff as page 1, etc.

    21. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by mochan_s · · Score: 1

      Recently, I've been getting search results from nearby locations in craigslist.

      Before I would do a search and modify the city name in the link and it would do the search for that city.

      But, I'm sure there's a craigslist extension for mozilla that simplifies the things even more.

    22. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Mix+Master+Nixon · · Score: 1

      I've missed the WaPo and the NYT since they turned into eviscerated shadows of their former selves - no future tense is required to describe a done deed.

      That there was a second term of the Bush administration at all is a quite damning indictment of the "serious" mainstream media outlets like the Post and the Times. If that's the level of journalism we can expect from these outfits in the 21st century, then fuck 'em.

      --
      Oppressing an entire population is never cheap.
      --Jeckler (/. Beta IS GARBAGE!)
    23. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you're right, we want better string parsers that intelligently identify B**B^^J as a bare back blowjob.

    24. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by demachina · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "If that's the level of journalism we can expect from these outfits in the 21st century, then fuck 'em."

      So you are advocating no journalism at all, or do think Huffington Post is the answer to our problem? Tyrants and despots will certainly like your point of view.

      One problem main stream media had in the first term of the Bush administration was 9/11 and the frenzy that followed which pretty much muzzled all dissenting view points until the chinks started showing in their armor with Katrina and the wheels falling off in Iraq.

      The Bush administration was given a gift on 9/11, they knew it, they milked it. It gave them a blank check for years to do whatever they wanted and anyone who opposed them could be shouted down with accusations they were unpatriotic or soft on terrorism. Some journalists did eventually regain their voice, and now they are being laid off.

      Daniel Froomkin at the Washington Post has been a constant and useful watch dog on the Bush administration and now Obama's.

      --
      @de_machina
    25. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by nelsonal · · Score: 1

      I think the problem with that is that it keeps an entire thread on a single page and since the first thread is long, if it's long enough to drag onto the second page, too, you have to skip a page to see what's beyond it. I just bumped my comments/page pref and rarely see multipage threads.

      --
      Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
    26. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Luyseyal · · Score: 1

      Then...and this one made me really sad, Slashdot jumped on the web 2.0 bandwagon. What was once a clean, obvious, straight-forward website was transformed into a disgusting mess...

      Yep. Lite mode, FTW!

      -l

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    27. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 1

      Never heard of that one before...

      Its search sucks though. I searched for 'ipod' and it recommend half a dozen cars, some hifis, a number of rooms to rent (!), and a pair of underwear (!!!).

    28. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your answer to his problem is his point. Like video to the radio star, web 2.0 options killed simple web browsing.

      Back in the good ole days, it just worked. No profile tab to go to, no settings area to enter data into, no configuration panel to tweak. No nothing extraneous. It worked.

      Then, to paraphrase the Buggles, options came and drowned his browser. Oh sure he could spend 2 hours learning how to customize everything back to the way he liked it, then another hour actually setting up those options, but the point is the cost to him is too much.

    29. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 2, Informative

      Craigslist's UI is very underrated. It isn't pretty to look at- so people don't realize what an effective UI it is. It doesn't constantly foist the trendiest UI gimmick of the week on everybody. It's ugly. But it doesn't needlessly confuse you or piss you off. And the ugliness sort of goes along with the message- if you wanted pretty style sheets you'd be getting less good deals elsewhere- that's what those drab colors are telling you. Ebay is butt ugly for the same reason. You really feel like you're suffering for every last cent.

      Restaurant owners as a general rule don't seem to understand this at all. They think their web sites need to be strikingly beautiful virtual reality showcases of the interiors of their restaurants, accompanied with annoyingly loud soundtracks of "atmospheric" music to wake people in neighboring cubicles, or we won't want to eat there. I just want to see where you're located, or if you're open, or if you deliver, or if something is on a menu, and all of a sudden I've got this huge Flash file blasting off in my browser like a Saturn V which makes me close the tab immediately. I'm more likely to show up if you just open your menu in your word processor and export to HTML.

    30. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by ksheff · · Score: 1

      What's a "good" auction site then?

      --
      the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
    31. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by ortholattice · · Score: 1
      One thing I hate is when the "visited" color on a link is disabled or set to the same as the "unvisited" color. That way you can't tell at a glance which links you've visited already. Unfortunately, it's becoming more and more common to do that, because the designers feel it upsets the color balance of the page or something; to heck with user friendliness, their "artistic sensibility" is more important.

      I see you've disabled it on your website, which you made "as clean as I could". Please read Jacob Nielson's Change the Color of Visited Links. (OK, his site is not the prettiest, but pay attention to his ideas.)

    32. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Quothz · · Score: 1

      I think the reason you don't see a lot of "me too" sites competing isn't because the UI is so great for the end user, it's really how could you possibly compete with a site as popular as craiglist? Some things tend to create natural monopolies because there's an advantage to everyone using one resource. Ebay is one of those kinds of things, craigslist is another. It's a feedback loop where both parties benefit.

      I agree somewhat, but I think craigslist got popular, in part, because of the easy interface. After some critical point, it became a household word and a standard resource for many people, which cements it into its niche pretty tightly.

      It is in no way a natural monopoly, tho'; nor is eBay. For one thing, the cost to enter the market as a competitor is not exceptionally high. For another, natural monopolies are industries, not companies. I daresay both companies are monopolies, for what it's worth.

    33. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      welllll... okay. it does have a certain coolness, but let's compromise and take out orientate.

    34. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by sootman · · Score: 1

      I like Craigslist as much as anyone, but #$%&#$ I wish they'd database-ize their listings. They could make it optional when placing an ad, but if people WANTED to use dropdowns for specific things, they could, and they'd probably sell more because people could search better and find them more. I'd LOVE to be able to search for four-door cars with manual transmissions, or G5 PowerMacs with 1 GB RAM or more, or tablet PCs with screen > 11 inches, or rooms for rent for less than $750 a month, etc.

      Also, let me search across regions. I know the point of Craigslist is to sell in person, but plenty of people are willing to ship, and there's lots of stuff I want to buy, but isn't often on eBay, and I'm not in a big enough city that a lot of people are selling, say, old SGI or Sun gear, but if you look in SF or any other real city you'll find plenty.

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    35. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by ieatcookies · · Score: 1

      In all fairness, it totally depends on the purpose of the website. While the "designers designing for designers" is not completely untrue, I think it's unfair to lump it all together. If you have a blog or news website, you should do everything you can to accommodate that function. But if you have something like online office services (such as google documents), I think some web2.0 becomes quite handy at bridging that desktop feeling. As usual it's about common sense. Craigslist (at least to me) looks like what I envision classified ads looking at when you land on the website. It's familiar. Familiar almost always wins.

    36. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by anethema · · Score: 1

      http://crazedlist.org/

      Have fun.

      --


      It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.
    37. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by mgblst · · Score: 1

      Change to slashdot lite in your preferences. A much cleaner site. Just wish they didn't have these big black bars separating posts.

    38. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
      —Antoine de St. Exupery

    39. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mod up, here in the UK using google to search I've never encountered a craiglist advert but have come across gumtree ones.

    40. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      No, it's so castrated that you can't find what you want. If I'm willing to drive to other states to buy something, craigslist still makes it a huge fucking pita to find stuff in that range. Craigslist is primitive up front and in back and it shows. I often find old listings for stuff I was looking for... with google, after the listings are already expired.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    41. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kijiji has all the Canadian ads. I was looking for a house to rent in Kitchener/Waterloo recently; Kijiji had 5-10 new ones in the right price range every day, craigslist one every three days. Plus on craigslist you can't filter in any sensible way; not by price range, not by distance to a certain zip code, not by anything.

      Network effect FTW!

    42. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by tjonnyc999 · · Score: 1

      The search is helpful and effective.

      You're 100% right about everything else, but I have to disagree with you on the search.
      Craigslist's search sucks. Can't look up by posting ID / complete anonymized E-mail (and this used to work!). Can't search using any short terms ("two"). Can't use wildcards. Can't use too many Booleans. Limited search query length. Can't search within results. Deleted/flagged postings show up even after several hours past deletion. And so on, and so on.

    43. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by jbeaupre · · Score: 1

      Plus keeping bandwidth to a bare minimum is pretty important aspect for a free site. If the core of your revenue can be earned from something other than ads and you can do it almost entirely with text ... that somehow makes a lot of sense to stick with.

      --
      The world is made by those who show up for the job.
    44. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Even worse. Designers decide that they don't like the look of underlining links, or even changing the color of links at all, and make links look exactly like normal text, unless you hover your mouse over the word. I don't care how much better it makes your site LOOK, I want to know where your links are without having to wave my mouse over the whole page.

    45. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by tjonnyc999 · · Score: 1

      and also remove asterisks/dashes/etc, from phone numbers.

    46. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by shlashdot · · Score: 1

      neat, thanks!

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      Additional plugins are required to display all the media on this page.
    47. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by Scroatzilla · · Score: 1

      I get what you and others are saying, but I think that the "because there's no Web 2.0" arguments are completely wrong, and missing the point. It is popular because of its content.

      Perhaps because more time was spent organizing the site than "skinning" it, it is easy to navigate though the content.

      But, Content is King.

    48. Re:Good Game, "old media", it was mediocre... by jesser · · Score: 1

      Sometimes, Craigslist's functionality is a little too basic.

      * When I got rid of my old sofa, I would have liked to have some kind of auction-like interface. I put it in the "free" section because I had no idea what I could get for it, but someone called and offered me $50 after another person was already on their way to pick it up for free. Next time, I think I'll just post with the sentence "I'll give this away for free or to the highest bidder".

      * When I was searching for apartments, I would have loved to have a map. There are a few sites (such as housingmaps.com) that try to integrate apartment listings with a map, but many listings are missing from the maps and many of the listings on the maps are already gone. So I had to click dozens of listings and paste each address into Google Maps to figure out whether it was close enough to my office. I found one but it took a lot more clicking than it should have.

      I'm not asking for "flashiness", just well-organized information.

      --
      The shareholder is always right.
  7. Craigslist... by skathe · · Score: 0

    is window shopping for the lazy. And you can shop for hookers without actually having to drive to that seedy part of town.

    1. Re:Craigslist... by eln · · Score: 4, Funny

      You say that like it's a bad thing...

  8. The truth revealed! by Experiment+626 · · Score: 2, Funny

    97 of Top 100 Classified Sites are Craigslist

    So THAT's the top secret info Uncle Sam puts on SIPRnet hmm? People going through the trouble get get a government security clearance must be really disappointed.

    1. Re:The truth revealed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was my first reaction, too!

      I had no idea that Craigslist sites were called "classified" sites. I've heard of "classified ads", but not "classified sites" having the same meaning!

      Stop trying to confuse us, people!

    2. Re:The truth revealed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah, SIPRNet is only rated for Secret level information. All the really good stuff is on other networks.

  9. Classified? by Baranovich · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Did anyone else see 'Classified' and think something else entirely?

    --
    Philosophy is questions that may never be answered, religion is answers that may never be questioned.
    1. Re:Classified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In spy movies they do things like "accept our demands by running the following ad in the classifieds:" Perhaps DTBBBJTC(CIM) isn't the only coded message being sent through Craiglist.

    2. Re:Classified? by Samschnooks · · Score: 1

      I can't tell you unless you get the proper security clearance.

    3. Re:Classified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, but I can see how you did. My eyes caught on Craigslist before they did Classified. Must be my bargain shopper expressing its self :)

  10. Count again by microbee · · Score: 1

    when the adult section is removed.

    It's nothing new folks, everyone knows the most popular search word on the Internet.

    1. Re:Count again by Zapotek · · Score: 1

      zenzizenzizenzic?
      (It actually exists...)

    2. Re:Count again by Wildclaw · · Score: 1

      "It's nothing new folks, everyone knows the most popular search word on the Internet."

      What everyone "knows" is usually wrong.

  11. Finally indexed by imajinarie · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I may be off here, but part of the reason of the reason Craigslist may be gaining popularity is because its listings are finally well indexed by search engines, where as of a year or so ago, they weren't - now when I search for an item or service, Craigslist actually shows up in the relevant hits! The more users who see Craigslist in google results, the more likely they maybe are to list with it.

    1. Re:Finally indexed by imajinarie · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I may be off here, but part of the reason of the reason Craigslist may be gaining popularity is because its listings are finally well indexed by search engines, where as of a year or so ago, they weren't - now when I search for an item or service, Craigslist actually shows up in the relevant hits! The more users who see Craigslist in google results, the more likely they maybe are to list with it.

      Sorry - SearchEngineJournal.com link here

    2. Re:Finally indexed by corsec67 · · Score: 1

      As of a year ago they were indexed pretty well. Google at least seems to crawl craigslist very well.

      I was selling a stove, with some triple-wall duct. After I posted the ad, I wanted to find out more about triple-wall duct, and my ad was the first hit for something I just mentioned in the ad once.

      --
      If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
  12. What are the Remaining Three? by hardburn · · Score: 1

    Post links to a blog which links to a PDF "report" that's basically a press release. None of which do anything other than fawn over Craigslist.

    So what are the remaining three sites?

    --
    Not a typewriter
  13. Newspapers would like the ads back, please by boguslinks · · Score: 1

    Don't worry, the newspapers aren't phased by this news - in fact, publishers are meeting in San Diego this week to ponder their fate and one of the items on their agenda is "How to recover some of the classified advertising business that has been usurped by Craig's List and others."

    Good luck guys!

    1. Re:Newspapers would like the ads back, please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      newspapers aren't phased by this

      Fazed.

      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fazed

    2. Re:Newspapers would like the ads back, please by oneTheory · · Score: 1

      No no, phased is correct. Like in that Star Trek: TNG episode with Geordi and Ensign Ro.

      Duh. The newspapers are still perfectly visible and touchable.

    3. Re:Newspapers would like the ads back, please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the newspapers aren't phased by this news

      In what sense are they not "phased"? Phase of growth? Wave phase? Phase of the moon? Or did you perhaps mean "faze"? Do they truly no longer teach homonyms in school these days?

  14. Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertisment by madsheep · · Score: 1

    One thing that has always baffled me is that they don't put up any web advertisements for the purposes of bringing in income. They are pretty low budget in terms of operating and only really charge for certain [commercial] listings. Why not put up some ads though? Even if you want to be modest and don't need the money, you could at least donate it to charity or build a big stack of 100 dollar bills, put two eyes on them, and tell people this is the money you could be saving with Geico. Come on!

  15. Re:Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is nothing so good that it can't be ruined by the addition of advertising.

  16. Check the date by jdunlevy · · Score: 1

    ... on that news story and the Hitwise report it links to.

  17. Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Samschnooks · · Score: 5, Informative
    Top scams I've had to deal with on Craigslist:
    1. Bogus job postings to get personal info for identity theft (This is also happening on Monster, CareerBulder, etc...)
    2. The overpaying for items and asking for balance to be sent back via Western Union
    3. Bogus checks
    4. Folks overseas saying they have homes for rent.

    The old Western Union trick:

    You're selling an item for $1,000. Someone wanting to buy it sends you $2,000. They say "Oops!" could you send me the balance back to me via Western Union and I'll pick up the item later. You do so. Their original $2,000 check bounces and they have your $1,000. You're out $3,000 and YOU OWE IT, baby!

    The scam works many ways but it usually involves you sending a Western Union money gram or some other method where, once you send the money, it's gone. The renting overseas homes works similar to this.

    Jobs. Do not give personal information, DOB or SSN, until you've met them and you have verified they are actually an employer.

    Some employers, such as governments, insist on a SSN so they run you through Choicepoint, the credit bureaus and other Big Brother corporate entities before they will consider you for employment. I only get those forms when I'm on the interview. I wouldn't give the information to them unless you get an interview.

    You need to be very careful on Craigslist.

    1. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

      You need to be very careful when answering any ad from just about anywhere.

      FTFY.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    2. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You need to be very careful on Craigslist.

      You need to be very careful online.

      The problem is that Joe User doesn't understand infosec, and trusts too much. Period.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    3. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by oneTheory · · Score: 1

      Dunno about most of you, but unless the money is in my bank account (a.k.a. the check has cleared), I haven't received it.

      The SSN one probably gets a lot of people especially those desperate to get a job. Again though, people need to simply be untrusting as a rule while on the interweb.

    4. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Their original $2,000 check bounces and they have your $1,000. You're out $3,000 and YOU OWE IT, baby!

      It would seem to me that you are out $2000: $1000 for the item (assuming the receiving party gets it), and $1000 balance that you sent back via Western Union.

    5. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Ceiynt · · Score: 1

      As long as their is someone who wants to sell something to someone else, the old adage will always ring true, Buyer Beware.

    6. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by sexconker · · Score: 4, Informative

      NEVER use Western Union.
      NEVER accept cashier's checks as payment.
      ALWAYS wait a week after the payment has "cleared" before processing any refunds or "oops I paid too much!".

      The trick you describe is more commonly done with cashier's checks. The bank you take it to will say it's valid and give you the money. But all they're really doing is checking to see if it points to a real bank. Once that bank receives it for processing, they look at it and say "what the fuck is this shit you're trying to pull" and demand the money back from your bank.

      Your bank then thinks you're a counterfeiter. You face not only the debt of the original check, the loss of the sent back "over paid" money, the loss of the item (if you've sent it), but you also face criminal charges if you can't cough up the original amount in a couple weeks.

      Yes the bank knows about the scam.
      No, they don't believe you - they think you're in on it.

    7. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by pz · · Score: 1

      The most common scam on Craigslist I've seen is that someone responds to a for-sale listing with a request to ship the item because they are indisposed in another country / on business / on assignment, and want to buy the item for their sister / nephew / cousin, and they will send you a substantial extra amount of money for your trouble to ship the item, if you give them your PayPal information.

      I get these scam offers at least once for every item posted.

      --

      Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
    8. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dunno about most of you, but unless the money is in my bank account (a.k.a. the check has cleared), I haven't received it.

      Then you are an ideal candidate for some of these scams.
      Despite the terminology, checks do not clear. They just fail to bounce.

      By law, US banks are required to make funds available within 5 business days from deposit of a check. When people say "the check cleared" they really mean that the 5 days passed and the check did not bounce. But under various circumstances, the check may bounce after 6 days or 10 days or in some cases involving forged cashiers checks, a month later.

      So a sufficiently tricky scam artist will set up the right circumstances such that their bogus check won't bounce in the first 5 business days and it will appear to have "cleared" to their unknowing mark. The mark will feel confident that the check was valid and will proceed to get scammed. Then a few days later the check does finally bounce and the bank takes their money back and the mark is screwed.

      the oddly relevant captcha for this post was "outlast"

    9. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Locke2005 · · Score: 2, Informative

      You're selling an item for $1,000. Someone wanting to buy it sends you $2,000. They say "Oops!" could you send me the balance back to me via Western Union and I'll pick up the item later. You do so. Their original $2,000 check bounces and they have your $1,000. You're out $3,000 and YOU OWE IT, baby! I hate to question your math, but it seems to me like you're out $1000 if you haven't shipped the item yet, or $2000 if you have shipped it.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    10. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Eil · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem that I have with craigslist is that they're refusing to scale their staff and procedures in accordance with their popularity. In some categories, the spam/scam level is as high as 90% so clearly whatever they've been doing for the last few years isn't working. If you're a legitimate user whose IP has been marked on their system as suspicious and try to post an ad, they tell you to jump through a bunch of hoops (including creating an account, verifying the account, etc) that lead absolutely nowhere. They have no technical support and do not respond to emails.

      I like the idea of craigslist, but I fear that the site is going to collapse under the weight of its own success unless they start engineering some practical, scalable solutions to the problems of spammers, scammers, as well as legitimate users.

    11. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by RincewindTVD · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I thought cashier's cheques were guaranteed by the originating bank?
      Last time I made one they took the money out of my account, then handed me the cheque. I no longer had the money, I had a note guaranteed by the bank. I could hand this to someone else and they would get the money from the bank, not from me.

      Does anyone know if NZ banks have this issue?

    12. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by maxume · · Score: 3, Informative

      They are. That doesn't help you much if I give you a forgery.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    13. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Lehk228 · · Score: 1

      and if the originating bank was a color laser printer that don't mean shit.

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    14. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ooh... Dang! You're right! I'm so stupid with money! Why don't you send me the difference with gift card visa's and we'll call it even.

    15. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by drew · · Score: 1

      Interesting. I've never looked for a job on Craigslist, so I wouldn't know about that aspect of it, but every single item I've bought or sold on Craigslist was paid for in cash. I thought that was the whole draw of Craigslist - by dealing with people face to face and exchanging cash, you don't have to worry about any of the crap.

      --
      If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
    16. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by phoebe · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I thought cashier's cheques were guaranteed by the originating bank? Last time I made one they took the money out of my account, then handed me the cheque. I no longer had the money, I had a note guaranteed by the bank. I could hand this to someone else and they would get the money from the bank, not from me. Does anyone know if NZ banks have this issue?

      It's a fallacy with US banking, both cashiers cheques and bankers drafts are as useless as regular cheques for guaranteeing payment. Both can be bounced by the originating bank for a variety of reasons. Cashiers cheque are generally more dangerous as your account can be credited earlier, as required by federal law, than when the clearance occurs so you account can appear in credit but later in debit.

    17. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by mgblst · · Score: 1

      I find it hard to believe that you actually experienced all of these yourself, unless you are very unlucky/stupid.

    18. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by itschy · · Score: 1

      You need to be very careful on Craigslist.

      You need to be very careful online.

      You need to be very careful.

    19. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by mrlibertarian · · Score: 1

      The old Western Union trick

      I have a friend who fell for this scam. How did he fall for it? Well, even though he was suspicious of the check that he received from the scammer, his bank told him the check had cleared, and he saw that the money had been added to his account. So, he assumed everything was on the up and up. But a few days later, the bank said the check had bounced, and they froze my friend's account.

      Now, why do banks add money to their customers' accounts before everything has been fully validated? Turns out the government is at it again:

      "Banks are required to make funds available to customers within a few days of when the check is deposited -- even if the check has yet to clear. This law was enacted in the 1980s after consumers complained that banks were holding onto deposits for inordinate amounts of time. The law has, indeed, allowed consumers to access their money more quickly. But it's also provided another avenue for fraud." -- Con artists take advantage of check rules

    20. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by jallen02 · · Score: 1

      You need to be.

    21. Re:Craigslist has a HUGE amount of scams. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You just need. That's all.

  18. Re:Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertism by pileated · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Well maybe,just maybe, that's the very reason that they're so popular! They give users what they want, not what someone in marketing/advertising thinks users ought to want, or what will give them a few more ad dollars but drive users off. They're old cliches but it seems silly to argue with success or fix what's not broken.

    I'm going to make a very broad statement here: the most successful parts of the internet give users content, not advertising. Advertising revenue is a byproduct and it's a mistake to make it the priority as many sites have done, all the while arguing of course that they haven't.

  19. Re:Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertism by madsheep · · Score: 1

    Maybe but I don't think advertising ruins everything. Look at all of the sites that are more popular than Craigslist. Show me which ones don't have ads. Hell look at the top of the screen as you read this.. what's that? An ad! Just make it small/low key and do more with it. Not might site, so who cares but it would be nice with their amount of traffic.

  20. Premiere place for by Phizzle · · Score: 1

    Hookers and blow!

    --
    I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
    1. Re:Premiere place for by Krneki · · Score: 1

      Cool, just a click away!

      --
      Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
  21. It's Ebay from... by Ceiynt · · Score: 2, Insightful

    the year 2000. Everybody had to be on it. It will explode into this huge mass, consuming everything, for the next 5-6 years. It will be bought for over $2 billion(USD). It will turn to crap shortly there after, and by 2016, a new online overlord will rise from the IPv6 pit of doom to consume the next generation of online users.

  22. Re:Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertism by JCSoRocks · · Score: 1

    Because ads are annoying as all get out and they'll reduce traffic. I've enjoyed using craigslist almost since the day it was started for my city. Half of the reason for that is the simplicity of its interface and the lack of garbage. Will you greedy people please stay quiet and let craigslist continue to be awesome? We don't need another flash menu / ad / web 2.0 / rss / twitter filled pile of junk.

    --
    You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
  23. It just doesn't add up... by burris · · Score: 1

    Something is very fishy about all these Craigslist success stories. Everyone knows you can't have a successful web site without lots of blinking flash ads staring you right in the face. I mean, look at Craigslist, it hasn't even had a bit of Search Engine Optimization added. Just think about how much more money they could be making if they replaced every <a> tag with a Javascript function.

  24. quote by Spazmania · · Score: 1

    A CEO's quote upon firing one of the salesmen:

    "It takes no particular talent to sell a dollar for fifty cents."

    When craigslist starts charging for all of its ads, not just a handful, then its high rankings will impress me.

    --
    Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
    1. Re:quote by Lehk228 · · Score: 1

      that's the point. CL makes plenty of money on their charged ads and gathers a large enough crowd with the rest.

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
    2. Re:quote by n3r0.m4dski11z · · Score: 0

      "When craigslist starts charging for all of its ads, not just a handful, then its high rankings will impress me."

      You are impressed by selling out? At the expense of your customers?

      --
      -
  25. Re:Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertism by Ceiynt · · Score: 1

    Ya, because looking on Craigslist for, say, a up right freezer on the cheap, then having ads shoved in your face from Maytag trying to sell the latest, greatest, four figure dollar amount fridge is gonna get people to click on it.

  26. Re:Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertism by dAzED1 · · Score: 1

    people don't come to /. to do a quick search for a toaster. Instead, they come to chastise those who can't see the difference between a discussion forum, and a classified ad site ;) /. also doesn't (as far as they admit, at least) charge for making postings in any areas.

    Want a comparison? www.google.com. Go on, look at it. pretty simple and to the point, isn't it. Compare it to www.yahoo.com. All that busy-junk, wall-of-text crap on yahoo's site? Yup, that's why they aren't doing as well as google. Amazing stuff.

  27. Missed Connections by qpawn · · Score: 3, Funny

    Where else can I tell that short, brunette woman in the purple shirt who barely made eye contact with me in the bookstore that I would like to see her again?

  28. Hooray by benjfowler · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm happy for Craigslist to destroy the newspaper industry (at least in the English speaking world), so long as it takes Rupert Murdoch and his empire with it.

    1. Re:Hooray by lemur3 · · Score: 1

      uhh.. craigs list is responsible for me losing my job you insensitive clod!!! the real irony? I am using craigslist to get a new one :-(

    2. Re:Hooray by The+Good+Reverend · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Small and medium sized newspapers are rarely owned by what you perceive as "big media", and are one of the last remaining sources for local news. Don't go wishing for their death too quickly (unless you're just trying to sound cool by hatin' on the media).

    3. Re:Hooray by FishAdmin · · Score: 1

      uhh.. craigs list is responsible for me losing my job you insensitive clod!!!

      Citation needed.

      --
      Last night I played a blank tape at full volume. The mime next door went nuts.
    4. Re:Hooray by benjfowler · · Score: 1

      Ouch, sorry to hear that man :(

    5. Re:Hooray by benjfowler · · Score: 1

      My personal issue with the Murdoch press really boils down to what his newspapers do to political discourse in the markets he publishes in.

      Of course, low-brow right-wing rags *sell*, so his publications are certainly optimal from a free-market point of view.

      HOWEVER, cynical rabble-rousing, soft porn, beatups, ethically-dubious cross-selling between Murdoch businesses, and craven bum-licking of tyrannical political regimes, is certainly NOT optimal from society's point of view.

      IMHO, what we lose from Murdoch papers closing shop, I think, will be more than offset by the removal of a poisonous and malign influence on society.

  29. Newspapers still do not get it by Dan667 · · Score: 1

    Newspapers want lots and lots of money. Who doesn't? But, newspapers want you to re-arrange your life in order to try and post online (register for an account, go through 10 screens to try and post something, talk to a representative, etc) and charge you for the privilege. They will charge you even more if you want it in newsprint. Craigslist on the other hand is easy, does not fight the user, and is not greedy. Craigslist makes lots and lots of money. News at 11.

    1. Re:Newspapers still do not get it by guruevi · · Score: 1

      That's true for all industries. Some will charge you a lot because they only got a few customers and want to get their return on investment by the time the next quarter turns around. They usually grow very quickly, gain investment capital, get some customers and then disappear. Why: because there are few customers that can afford their services and they can't afford to lose a customer. If they do (either because they make a mistake and the customers leave or other alternatives are cheaper), it's usually the beginning of a death sentence.

      Then there are the small companies that charge pennies for the same service (or even free). They gain money using alternative income (support contracts, ads, enterprise versions or 'featured' items) and use that to support their free services. They have bunches of (loyal) customers and can afford to lose a few.

      This was true in the beginning of Microsoft where they sold DOS for $2-5 compared to IBM's solutions which were over $50 for their PC-DOS if I remember correctly. Over time Microsoft started increasing their prices and now they are ~$600 retail for their full OS while their competitors (Linux, Apple) come between free-$150. All Apple and the Linux vendors have to do (although it's more difficult for Linux vendors to increase prices because of the competition) is maintain their prices and don't make the same mistakes.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    2. Re:Newspapers still do not get it by Zerth · · Score: 1

      Newspaper classifieds are a feature to attract readers, not a profit center.

      My regional newspaper makes maybe 1.5-2 million/year on classifieds. After the cost of the newsprint, facilities, office space, and the dozen or so employees, they'd barely break even if the paper considered them as anything other than a means to increase readership.

      They've decided to focus on local features and metro area online forums. They'd probably be happy if craiglist took their lunch, it'd give them the excuse to can the union workers hiding out in that dept.

    3. Re:Newspapers still do not get it by nelsonal · · Score: 1

      That's because your paper is a regional. Classified is the highest margin business for local papers. They essentially had a local monopoly on small scale local trade advertising. Craigslist showed them that the marginal cost of such ads in the internet age was near 0.

      --
      Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
    4. Re:Newspapers still do not get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right, a full MS install is 600 dollars whereas a Apple OS is 150 dollars. Go suck a cock applefag.

    5. Re:Newspapers still do not get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PC-DOS was made for IBM by Microsoft until 1993. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC-DOS

  30. Re:Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertism by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

    There is an ad at the top of the screen?

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
  31. Not exactly true by Percy_Blakeney · · Score: 2, Informative

    I think this report is misleading. It should be titled "97 of top 100 pure-play classifieds sites are craigslist".

    Hitwise assigns every web site to a single category, like "classifieds" or "news". If your site spans multiple categories, then you have to choose the one that defines you best. Since many traditional classifieds providers are also large news sites, you'll find that there are a lot of major sites that are missing from this list of "classifieds" sites.

    I'm not saying that craigslist isn't the powerhouse of online classifieds, but to simply ignore a wide range of classifieds providers because they also provide news is kind of silly.

  32. Useless for apt rentals by ShawnDoc · · Score: 1

    I tried using the local Craigslist to look for apartment rentals. However the results were probably 1 real post for every 5 or 6 fake posts. Most were pointing you to another website that requires a membership fee, pointing you towards a housing broker, or flat out scam to get personal information.

  33. and not once by hurfy · · Score: 1

    in 75 comments and 2 linked articles do we learn the other 3 sites :(

    in fact it seems only 1 person asked

  34. Newspapers only have themselves to blame by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Rather than making themselves community sites to attract the eyeballs that would generate revenue, so many online sites treat the internet like a cash register. On-line advertisements should have been as dirt cheap (or free) as Craigslist since printing costs don't warrant what most charge for on-line ads.

    Also, so many on-line newspapers haven't figured out how to create a good front page. Check out my home paper's site. You're bombarded by so much data and links that you simply can't take in everything you're seeing (thus you ignore most of it).

    Newspapers just failed to figure out the internet which is why so many are disappearing.

    --
    I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
  35. Ebay? by Idiomatick · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Sure Craigslist might be big when it comes to ... 'traditionally styled classified ads on the internet'. But classified ads are just a means to sell your crap. I'm sure the amount of crap sold on Ebay is taking a huge slice of that pie, a slice bigger than Craigslist. Amazing that this slipped by...

  36. Functionality is Job One by Bob9113 · · Score: 1

    the site's market share in February was up 90% year over year, accounting for about 2.5% of total US Web site visits.

    It's amazing what you can do when you put functionality ahead of everything -- design, cashflow, tracking -- everything on Craig's List is second to plain functionality.

    --
    Stop-Prism.org: Opt Out of Surveillance
  37. In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In other news, it was found that 99% of all Craigslist traffic consisted of phony personal ads generated by Eastern European spam czars.

  38. formula for success by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1. create rinky dink web 1.0 circa 1995 era designed website

    2. don't bother if site is almost totally unusable due to being swarmed by hundreds of phony ads posted by spammers.

    3. ???

    4. Profit!!!

  39. Used harddrives by pavon · · Score: 1

    like new except a few stickers
    $15 OBO

  40. I never had a bad experience by poached · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I never had a bad experience buying from Craigslist. At first, I wasn't very sure about sending sellers emails using my personal email, but to this day, I have not had any massive spam increases (gmail filters them out anyway), nor any crazy stalkers bothering me. I've furnished my entire studio with craigslist, for about maybe $400 and that's because I decided to spend a little money. For that I got:

    a. a super heavy and sturdy office desk with 3 drawers. It supports 2 21" CRT monitors and computer and receiver. Looks like it could take a lot more too. The seller offered to help me assemble it for free, which I took on his offer but decided to give him $10 extra for it. Total cost: $60.
    b. a recliner. I was looking for a recliner to put my feet up. All recliners I saw for new were like lazyboy ugly craps, or some designer stuff that costs about $900 at least. I found an old school leather recliner for $30.
    c. a dinner room table with 2 chairs. Fits my space perfectly. Cost $50.
    d. a bed side table with 3 drawers. Nice looking dark wood and not some assemble it crap. Cost: $90?
    e. two designer lamps. I springed for these and paid I think $200. These were brand new.

    I also purchased:
    a. 21" sweet CRT monitor for $10.
    b. a nice road bike that fits me well for $600. The seller was really cool and gave me a whole bunch of stuff for free and even gave me some technical support after.
    c. old clicky keyboard. New would've cost $85 but I got this one for $25. Turned out I couldn't use it and so I returned it. The seller gladly refunded my money.
    d. nikon lenses.

    I sold some computer memory through it and some other stuff. But generally I buy more than sell.

    Some things I wouldn't use craigslist for:
    1. personals. They are interesting/voyeuristic to browse, but you never know who is on the other side.
    2. cars. too expensive to bring cash. I watched on this tv show this murder happened because the seller knew the buyer was going to bring lots of cash so they arranged to meet at a secluded place and murdered the buyer.

    Some tips:
    1. You know what they say: if it's too good, it probably is.
    2. Don't meet at a deserted place late at night. Meet at a place that you are comfortable with and with lots of people around.
    3. Don't give out personal information, ever.

    Craigslist is also more useful in larger metropolitan areas. I used to live in a small town and hardly used it. But now I live in a larger city I use it a lot.
    Craigslist + RSS is also a major win.

    1. Re:I never had a bad experience by Hatta · · Score: 1

      My best Craigslist find was a complete Apple IIgs, in original boxes, with imagewriter printer for $25. I spent more than that just on blank media for the thing heh.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  41. Typical Slashdot Headline by Livius · · Score: 1

    Oh, top 100 classified *advertising* sites. I thought Craigslist and national security were an odd mix.

  42. Suprise suprise! by yoshi_mon · · Score: 1

    People like fast, informative, easily accessible tools. Who would have thought.

    Craigslist works because one of the huge strengths of being an American is how flexible we are. We'll go down the road to Bestbuy if they have a good deal on item X. We'll go further down the road to Joe's Appliance Shack if he's got a better deal. But we'll even barter, trade, and pay cash money for goods if we can meet someone in person that has the best deal.

    When dealing online we get detached from who we are dealing with often. And trust me I'm one who will order parts from Newegg without a 2nd thought. But that is because they have established a trust with me. (And part of that trust is that they have done the same with millions of others.) But it's still not the same thing as going to someones house and buying something. The whole idea of, "I know where you live," is very much the same way that we get trust by going to a brick and mortar store.

    Craigslist is not only great because of it's interface. But because of the mentality behind it. And it draws up an old saw when I think of why it succeeds, "Form follows function."

    --

    Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
  43. Re:Mostly unrelated.. but No Banners/Web Advertism by bit01 · · Score: 1

    Just make it small/low key and do more with it.

    An unobtrusive ad is a non-functioning ad. It is a non-sustainable business model.

    ---

    "Advertising supported" just means you're paying twice over, once in time to watch/avoid the ad and twice in the increased price of the product to pay for the ad.

  44. An American thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here in Denmark, I think you'd have a hard time finding 10 people on the street that have ever even heard about craigslist.

    Over here, Ebay (owning DBA.dk) and guloggratis.dk (yellow and free, translated) totally dominate the classifieds ads market. Newspapers do not really carry any classifieds anymore, everything is online in ad-supported sites.

    Cragslist Denmark seems to be used by foreign exchange students that don't know any better.

  45. Repeat Ads and Trolling by N3Bruce · · Score: 1

    An annoying problem that I often see on Craigslist are users who repeatedly post for sale advertisements, who are asking way more than an item is worth. The inverse also happens with Help Wanted advertisements as well, where companies post job listings where they ask for $20/hr skills, but are only willing to pay $10/hr. If I look back a couple of weeks at the listings in a category, quite a few of them are repeat advertisements, sometimes they are repeated many times. The main effect on users seems to be degrading the signal to noise ratio of the listings, and providing unrealistic expectations on pricing for the novice, and decrease the value of the list to legitimate buyers and sellers.

    Don't get me wrong, this is how commerce works, nobody is forcing me to buy that 1999 Civic DX that has 200,000 miles on it that someone has listed for 17 grand, but in the days of in print classifieds, the temptation for a seller or an employer to troll for suckers was somewhat tempered by the fact that the advertiser had to pony up real money to continue his trolling expedition. In some categories, such as New York City real estate, the problem got so bad that Craigslist was forced to charge for the listings to reign in this problem, though it gave them an opportunity to make some money as well.

    The problem is not limited of course to New York real estate, nor is it limited to Craigslist, just see how many auctions for cars and motorcycles on Ebay actually result in a successful sale where there is actual bidding and the reserve price is met. Before Craigslist, I used to peruse the .forsale listings on Usenet, but long ago became overrun with trolls, spammers, and people pointing towards their Ebay listings. There is also plenty of this type of behavior going on in print media as well, but as I said before, the cost of the ad was a deterrent to the long-term trolling you see in the online forums.

    I figure all you can do is ignore the trolls, or hope they become desperate enough to take a realistic offer for their wares. If I'm selling something and I suspect a scammer has responded, I call him on it. Craigslist is still a useful forum to sell and buy stuff, but without some policing of the listings, I fear it will go the way of the old USENET forums and much of EBay, where the legitimate buyers and sellers have had enough of the spammers and scammers, and abandon it for something else.

  46. How do you define "Classified" by jokewallpaper · · Score: 1

    When I first skimmed this item I saw "classified" and thought "top secret". The government is using Craiglist? A "classified" version of Craigslist? Then the duh moment...um classified ads.

  47. heya! by allgoodnamesaretaken · · Score: 0

    NICE TO MEET YOU, I would really love to continue reading TFA, but why don't you sign up at this website. I would feel safer RTFA'ing with you there. My username is hot_forIT69underscore

  48. Re:Craigslist in California by conureman · · Score: 1

    I got three free 19" ViewSonic monitors a couple of years back, saved the guy from having to ship them to China or whatever. I guess we have it a little better here in some ways. Sorry.

    --
    The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
  49. Re:Orientation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've heard that so often that I thought orientate was a regional (California Delta) usage.