Craigslist is a company founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark. The company, through its platform Craigslist.org, is one of the biggest online classified advertisements market.
It has gone through many ups and downs during its lifetime. Nonetheless, the company and the platform have remained user-friendly and open to their customers.
The company and its management have stated several times that the platform’s primary goal isn’t to generate revenues and profits. They have also said that their focus is on user experience. It is what makes the company loved by millions of users around the globe.
Today, the company has millions of users who post hundreds of thousands of ads daily. Users get many pros and cons from posting on the platform. Given below is a list of those pros and cons.
1) Pros
The first pro of using Craigslist for users is that it is straightforward. The platform is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. People of all ages and backgrounds can use the website without any problems.
That is mainly because the website resembles the classified section of a newspaper. Therefore, users find the website familiar. The company behind the platform also focuses on user experience on the website.
The next pro of using Craigslist is that it makes selling large or high-value items easy. The highest-priced posting on the network was a Bugatti Veyron worth $1.3 million. Apart from that, the platform also has several other high-value items.
There are some vehicles in the 5-digit price range that users have sold through the platform. It proves that Craigslist is a great place for users to sell valuable items without problems.
Another pro of using Craigslist is that it is primarily free. Apart from a few select categories, users can post their ads free of charge on the platform.
That means users can post their advertisements on Craigslist and get exposure to millions of other users without paying a single dollar. In comparison, users who post their ads in a newspaper won’t get the same direction and still have to pay for it.
Similarly, the platform does not charge its users for any sales they make. Unlike its competitor, eBay or Amazon, sellers have to pay them a percentage of their earnings. Craigslist does not interfere with the sale process of the users.
The platform completely delegates the dealings to users. Therefore, buyers and sellers can deal with each other without any interference from the network.
The final pro of using Craigslist is for job-seekers and employers. Craigslist is one of the largest online platforms where employers post job listings. Since there are thousands of job postings on Craigslist, job-seekers can easily find a desirable job through the platform.
Although the platform charges employers for job listings, the costs are negligible as compared to if the employer paid advertised through other channels.
2) Cons
Despite all the pros of using Craigslist, there are some cons that users should understand. First, the platform is open to millions of users, giving advertisers great exposure. However, that does not guarantee that all buyers are professional.
Similarly, there is no way for posters to target an audience except by posting in the right section. It makes it difficult for sellers to find the right audience.
The platform is also full of spammers. Although the platform has some anti-spam checks, some bots or users can easily track them. While some spam posts and comments are easily distinguishable, others aren’t any different from real ads and responses.
That makes it difficult for users to find real ads and differentiate them from fake ones. Overall, spam can make the platform unusable.
While Craigslist makes posting ads and finding buyers significantly easier for sellers, there are some limitations to it as well. Add posts by users only remain active for 30 days.
It means that users only get 30 days to attract buyers, or else they have to repost their ad.
Similarly, although 30 days should be enough for most sellers, ads may get lost in the shuffle due to the high number of posts. That means users may need to repost their posts once in a while to get more exposure.
Finally, apart from spammers, the platform is notorious for its scammers. While scammers exist on almost all other similar platforms, they are still a con to using Craigslist. Similarly, scammers aren’t a problem caused by the platform in specific.
However, they are still a problem. Craigslist has been dealing with scammers for the longest time without any positive results. The company also asks users to stay safe and skeptical. However, that does not negate the underlying problem.
Conclusion
Craigslist is an online platform used by millions of users. It is one of the most well-known networks, especially in the USA. While the platform provides an excellent way for users to post their advertisements without charges, there are still some pros and cons.
The above list should give users an idea of these pros and cons and how they affect user experience.