~ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS

 

If online retail sites are like department stores and eBay is like an auction house, then Craigslist and other online classified sites are like gigantic yard sales.

 

Craigslist and Related Sites

 

To a large extent, Craigslist and similar sites have replaced newspaper classifieds as a way for people to advertise and sell their used household goods, cars, etc., or rent homes and apartments.

 

Craigslist began in 1995 as an e-mail list among friends in San Francisco, to keep them up-to-date on local events. In 1996, Craigslist moved online and started to include postings about buying and selling, not just event notices. Today, the site covers over 700 cities, metropolitan areas, and regions in 70 countries. There are over 20 billion page views per month on the site, with 49.4 million unique U.S. visitors monthly. Over 80 million new ads are placed on the site every month. It is available in 12 languages, including Danish, Dutch, English, Filipino, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.

 

While Craigslist is the largest and most frequently used online classified site, there are other sites that perform similar functions, including Oodle (formerly Facebook Marketplace and powering Walmart’s Marketplace), Yahoo Classifieds, and eBay Classifieds (formerly Kijiji).

 

Before you decide to use one of these online classifieds sites, there are a few things to keep in mind:

 

o         You are responsible for your postings and interactions with members of the online classifieds community—these sites bear no responsibility.

o       These sites provide a way for you to get in touch with sellers and buyers, but are not involved in any transactions. If you are scammed or cheated out of your money, your only recourse is through the Federal Trade Commission.

o         These sites are relatively anonymous and you might not always know who you are dealing with.

 

You should also follow some additional safety measures when engaging in this type of buying and selling:

 

o               Always meet with buyers and sellers in public places. Do not invite the people you connect with on these sites into your home.

o               Before you go meet a buyer or seller, let friends and family know where you are going.

o               Take a cell phone with you when you go to meet a seller or a buyer.

o               If you ever feel like something is weird or just not right, trust your instincts.

 

Searching for Ads

 

To begin, go to www.craigslist.org. In most cases, it will automatically detect your location and show you listings that are relevant to your area:

 

 

As you can see, there are many different categories of listings for you to browse through, everything from personals to job listings, furniture sales to apartment rentals. When you click on a category, listings will be displayed from the most recent to the oldest.

Search results will include a brief title description and location of the seller, as well as the price and information on whether or not there is a picture included.

 

You can also search for specific items or listings by using the search tool on the left-hand side of the home page.

 

From here, you do have to choose the general category that your search would be housed in: For Sale, Personals, Housing, etc.

 

At the top of any page of results, you can also narrow your search by price, whether or not a picture is included, and if you want to search only the title of the listings or the entire post for your keyword (entire post will give you more results, but not all will be relevant).

 

Click on the blue listing title in order to see the full description of the item.

 

If you feel that a listing is inappropriate in some way, you may flag the listing and report it to the Craigslist moderators. You can do this if the listing is in the wrong category, if the advertisement is spam, or if it is advertising content that is prohibited (e.g., pornographic content).

 

 

Buying on Craigslist

 

When you find an item that you are interested in purchasing, you will then need to contact the seller. Unlike on the previous types of shopping sites we have discussed, you do not have to create an account in order to enter into a purchase. Typically, Craigslist will provide an anonymous e-mail address for the seller to use. This prevents the seller’s private information from being available to the general public. The seller will give the contact information they wish people to use, either a phone number or an e-mail address. You must arrange with the seller any viewing of the product, the price, and the method of payment.

 

 

As always, be careful about sharing your personal information with a seller, and review the safety tips earlier in this packet.

 

Be safe, have fun, and happy shopping!