Craigslist now charging!

[John Ulrich]

I went to repost my monthly ad for the MN Guzzi Breakfast.  Huh, whats this.... $5.00 to run the ad.

https://www.craigslist.org/about/help/posting_fees

[grebmrof]

My son ran into that a few weeks ago when he was selling his Subaru...I looked on our CLE CL and didn't see it...but sure enough it is there now.  Crap...is nothing sacred?

[normzone]

  Crap...is nothing sacred?

You're not the first to ask that question - Gahan Wilson wanted to know

http://freethinkersanonymous.com/2017/02/nothings-sacred/

[Groover]

CL Party is over..., though, the silver lining is that maybe that will reduce the number of fake ads.

[steven c]

 You may not like Facebook but a lot of selling has moved to Facebook Market Place. You can sign up and just use market place and not get involved with Facebook

[Perazzimx14]

I pretty much quit using CL a few years back as the it not as an effective a sales platform as it once was.


With that I'd probably sell stuff on there again if they did not charge to list things but rather charge potential buyers a small fee like $0.25 or $0.50 to be able to reply to an add. This would weed out a lot of riff raff and spammers.

[StuCorpe]

I just check here and this is what I see

All craigslist postings are free, except for:

 Job postings in US and selected CA areas—$10-75 (fee varies by area)
 Apartment rentals in Boston, Chicago, and NYC areas—$5
 Commercial real estate in the US—$5
 All for sale by-dealer categories in the US—$3-5
 Cars/trucks by-dealer in the US, Vancouver BC—$5
 Furniture by-dealer in Vancouver BC—$3
 Cars/trucks, RVs, and motorcycles by-owner in the US—$5
 Gigs in US and selected CA areas—$3-10
 Services in US and CA—$5
Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted.

Paid posting accounts provide high-volume posters with additional payment options in some cases.

[dxhall]

I’ve never signed up for Facebook for fear that my personal information would be forever in the public domain.  Can you sign up for the marketplace feature without selling your soul to Zuckerberg?

[Thirtyaughtsix]

I’ve never signed up for Facebook for fear that my personal information would be forever in the public domain.  Can you sign up for the marketplace feature without selling your sole to Zuckerberg?

You can not, but you only have to put as much information on your profile as you like, and truth be told if you so much as have a credit score most of your most basic info is already out there. If all you want to use is the marketplace all you really need is your actual name and a profile pic that's of yourself and probably a general location of where you live since you'd be doing in person transactions. A profile pic isn't mandatory but it helps to know what your buyer/seller looks like, and I'm sure your buyer/seller would feel the same. Obviously negotiate any transactions like you would on craigslist, meet in public during daylight, bring a friend etc.

In a 100 mile search radius of Toledo, Ohio for "moto guzzi": Craigslist yielded 1 result, whereas Facebook gave 39, complete motorcycles, if that gives you any idea. YMMV. Keep in mind too what it is your buying/selling and the likely demographic of the person who would be buying/selling. Anything Guzzi related would probably come from upstanding citizens like all of us. If you were on there trying to buy an xbox from a teenager it will likely be a different experience.

[Lannis]

Keep in mind too what it is your buying/selling and the likely demographic of the person who would be buying/selling. Anything Guzzi related would probably come from upstanding citizens like all of us.

I got a method that assures an even better demographic.

What model of Moto Guzzi is there that has never been for sale on Wild Guzzi or in MGNOC?   Answer:  None that I can think of.

I've bought all my Guzzis through WG/MGNOC contacts.  Never a chance of a problem getting paid, etc.

Why would I go anywhere else?

Lannis

[CT Dharma]

Good info, thanks. Not a FB type of person but craigslist isn't what it used to be. Guess I'll have to give the marketplace a try.

[n3303j]

Sold 4 bikes through Craigslist.
Each sold for my posted price.
Ads in chat groups never produced more than compliments.
I sent $10 donations after each sale.
It was definitely worth it.

[Motormike]

Like some here, I have deliberately avoided Facebook like the plague. I just spent the last 15 min. or so looking over bikes on Facebook Marketplace.  Frankly, I don't see the appeal at all.  One lousy photo?  Was not impressed.

[brider]

Sold 4 bikes through Craigslist.
Each sold for my posted price.
Ads in chat groups never produced more than compliments.
I sent $10 donations after each sale.
It was definitely worth it.

This has been my experience also, although I was not so upstanding as to donate after a sale.

It's actually very easy to weed out scammers as both buyer and seller, although eliminating the possibility of fraud is impossible. I, too do not have a Facebook account, although I am tempted to have one just to view the expanded universe of objects I shouldn't buy and can't afford anyway.

[oldbike54]

 CL provides a service , it costs money to provide that service .

 Dusty

[JohninVT]

Like some here, I have deliberately avoided Facebook like the plague. I just spent the last 15 min. or so looking over bikes on Facebook Marketplace.  Frankly, I don't see the appeal at all.  One lousy photo?  Was not impressed.

On Facebook you can see the seller and they can see you.  It eliminates 99% of the BS scam replies and stupid questions you typically get on CL. 

[kballowe]

CL provides a service , it costs money to provide that service .

 Dusty

^^^   THIS   ^^^

[Ryan]

Dealers have been paying on CL for years. CL has the right to make money. Charging keeps dealers from cheating and posting as individuals. It cuts down on those guys who are "feeling out the market" or "testing the waters" (either your shits for sale or it's not). I don't mind paying $5 to sell a rig. Cheaper than eBay. It may keep me from duplicate postings in nearby cities, though.

[bacongrease]

  I use my cats Facebook acct.
 Friends and family know who does any posting there, as the Kat sleeps all day.
 

[chuck peterson]

I'd suggest Craigslist is facing declining revenue....because

They make money by the advertisements within CL. We just provide content for free.

They might be feeling the pinch from competition at Faceplant, so they are upping their income. The decline might also be from people learning just how much scamming is really going on.

[Two Checks]

Charging the dealers isn't keeping them from posting as individuals. In fact I think they do it even more.
They aren't very savvy about doing it. They use the same spot to take pics of their vehicles or take the pics at their dealership or, they have their dealership "tags" on the vehicle or, have dealer tags on them.
In fact, some even include the dealership name in the ad.
I flag em.

[Luap McKeever]

Can't really say I blame them. Seems like 60% of ads are from scammers anyways, and they will NOT buy CL ads. So this will help with legitimacy of ads. I like it.

$5 to sell a vehicle - quite a bargain really.
End user not dealing with scammers - priceless.

[Lannis]

It's a good thing that Facebook doesn't need to make any money. They must be the most generous charity on earth, all those services and it's all FREE!

Lannis

[bigbikerrick]

If selling a vehicle on the "New CL" does  the $5. fee list it in just one city, or can you post it in multiple locations for $5?
My son, who seems to always be looking at bikes for sale, tells me alot of people are going back to using cycle trader again to list their bikes.
Rick.

[Luap McKeever]

It's a good thing that Facebook doesn't need to make any money. They must be the most generous charity on earth, all those services and it's all FREE!

Lannis

It's not free to those who advertise with them.  They're doing quite well 

[bobrebos]

I for one am a supporter of Facebook.  Love the marketplace on it, and the social interaction between myself and my friends.  To each his own I guess. 

[Lannis]

It's not free to those who advertise with them.  They're doing quite well 

Just sayin'.    When one outfit charges customers, we say "Well, it all costs money, they're justified in charging what they want" but when the next guy offers the service to customers for "free", it's because of ad revenues or selling customer data.

"Netzero" started out free, but that didn't last long.   "PhotoBucket" went from free to $399.00 per year  ... "nice pictures you've got on our server, be a shame if something happened to them" sort of thing, then down to $20 a year or whatever.

I guess that if you start out for "free", it "feels" to people like a "bait and switch" once people are used to it and into it some.   

Me, I never had any luck at all with Craigslist.   Tried selling some antique furniture cheap, nothing.   Tried selling some farm equipment cheap, nothing.   Tried selling a commercial lawnmower cheap (a 62" Toro 22 HP gear drive with 700 hours for $1800),   got only broke-dick wannabe lawn care guys who wanted to pay $100 or $300 down and pay the rest "on time" as they cut yards.   Maybe I'm in the wrong place for it ....

Lannis

[Bulldog9]

That's why there are no red suspenders being snapped on my local Craigslist. A quick search on FB Marketplace shows about 20 in my area. Some real nice bikes too.....

[Ryan]

Charging the dealers isn't keeping them from posting as individuals. In fact I think they do it even more.
They aren't very savvy about doing it. They use the same spot to take pics of their vehicles or take the pics at their dealership or, they have their dealership "tags" on the vehicle or, have dealer tags on them.
In fact, some even include the dealership name in the ad.
I flag em.

I meant charging regular people the same price would remove one of the incentives for a dealer to game the system.

[80CX100]

I think all of the "traditional" sales platforms are struggling to compete with the power of Face Book. In my area Ontario, Canada, I'm seeing all sorts of changes being made as companies try to adapt and keep revenue streams going.

Kijiji has been the powerhouse locally for years, and it's only recently that I discovered Marketplace on FB and started to browse for stuff. Last week I listed a wood stove & chimney on Kijiji at a low price because I wanted it gone, just for kicks I listed it on Marketplace on FB as well. The response from FB was overwhelmingly 10-1 compared to Kijiji; I'd read of the marketing power on FB, it was confirmed first hand for me.

It is somewhat reassuring that you have the option/ability to check out potential buyers/sellers to a certain extent on FB.

Re the paid ads getting rid of scammers, that only eliminates them on the selling side,,, we've got lots of them on the buyers side up here as well. A big thing are the spambots mining for phone #'s & email addresses to sell/trade with other scammers, fwiw.

Kelly