5 Services Better than Craigslist for all Your Craigslist Needs
Sick of big box stores? Ballin’ on a budget? Queen of the deals? Second hand Santa? Then you’re probably aware of the vast universe of obtainment that is Craigslist. If you’ve done business on Craigslist you know there’s the few regular possibilities that can occur from posting, shopping and/or transacting; low-ballers, scammers, great deals and sex. Craigslist has been the reigning King of Classifieds for over 20 years and is now in 570 cities in 70 countries but the breadth of the world’s most famous Craig and his list is one of the only things that’s grown for the web based San Francisco company. If you’re looking for an updated and more interactive way to buy, sell, trade, find services and/or hook-up check out these alternatives.
Letgo
The godfather of new age buy, sell, and trade and acquirer of Wallapop, Letgo is the biggest app based service on this list. Yes, you can shop and make offers via their website but in this day and age, mobile is the way to go. In almost every case, it’s much more user-friendly doing business via the app and you can direct message users instantly as opposed to just the intrusive email or phone options provided by Craigslist. One of the best, if not the best, ways to market your product is that Letgo will make a video trailer where they tie-in what you’re selling. One of the options was an action flick starring the real Dolph Lundgren where it’s his mission to battle mercenaries in order to find the ‘Cuddly Teddy’ you’re selling. The free stuff and finite filtering options also make Letgo an app you won’t want to… let go.
OfferUp
The tickets category is the real reason you should consider OfferUp as a backup to Letgo. Plus the overall user experience is one of the best via the app and even on the site, especially for a service of this type. Its user interface can actually detect what you’re selling just by the photo (if the pic is good enough). There are a few limitations to what you can buy and sell, sorry vape bros, you’ll have to get your mods and tanks elsewhere. OfferUp’s best part overall is that you can view, and ultimately add your own, reviews of sellers. It helps weed out the scammers, unlike the multitudes you’ll find on Craigslist.
5miles
Four things you won’t find on Letgo or OfferUp that 5miles has categories for; services, jobs, housing and dating. Yes, Craigslist does have all these options but with 5miles every post MUST have photos, full description, and price with a verified a profile attached (verified profiles are a great part of every option on this list). It’s the most social of the app-based options which give you a better ability to track items and sellers while feeling a lot more safe about what you’re selling and buying and to or from whom.
Facebook Marketplace
A new option to this Facebook this year is one of the safest options safe and garners incredibly fast results. Since everyone using it must have it linked directly to their Facebook, this allows easy messaging and if you belong to ‘virtual garage sales’ and B/S/T groups (reference below) you can simultaneously post in multiple areas on Facebook to cover a greater yet still specific area and/or cater to more distinct demographics. For example, there’s ‘Funko Pop! B/S/T’ that has 40,000 members across mostly across the U.S. and that’s a much better place to sell your first print Steve Caballero than almost any other avenue.
Buy Sell Trade Forums
As aforementioned with Facebook’s Marketplace and also known as B/S/T you find most of these forums on Tumblr and Reddit too. Notably, Craigslist did pioneer the option for those who don’t necessarily have the cash to obtain what they want and realistically the trade/barter section has really kept Craigslist at the top of the list for so long. Now the same option can be found in a safer more community oriented setting. Not every community has one of these but for those who do it’s just your city or the very specific category for which you are looking to B/S/T. The coolest thing about this option is that you get meet new neighbors, feel comfortable, acquire quick fixes if needed, porch pick up is a great accoutrement and services offered are all local. This and the correlating Facebook Marketplace are the best way to not get flimflammed on some knick-knacks or swindled on jobs.
Is Craigslist still a good option? Absolutely, but if you’re trying to not get murdered (hey it’s happened) or bamboozled and guns, drugs or ‘massages’ aren’t the things you’re offering then these five mentioned routes are higher on everyone’s list, except for Craig’s. Most cities have a designated meeting spot for transactions, either at police stations or city building, and safety is very important when buying a Super Nintendo from a guy with an eye patch for $30 and a PBR bar sign. Happy buying, selling and trading!
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