7 Reasons to Avoid Selling on Craigslist

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It sounds as though things are different in the US. Over here in the UK, Craigslist isn’t all that for selling. There’s a whole list of reasons why you should turn to alternative places – particularly popular marketplaces like eBay and Gumtree – before you think to list your goods on Craigslist.

1. Anonymity

You’re not going to know who you’re dealing with on any classified sites, but as many use it as a marketplace, it’s expected that you’d get the chance to see a profile of some sort first. It’s not the case here, and it can be unnerving for some users. It may be appealing to some, but no customer is going to feel 100% confident that they’re buying from a reliable person.

2. Low Traffic

Craigslist may be quite popular in the US, but it’s not the same over here. The traffic can’t compare to the other solutions around. If a marketplace hasn’t got decent traffic, you’re always going to struggle to find good buyers. Why struggle when you have millions casually using the others daily.

3. Location Segregation

If you’re the type of person that’s willing to travel to get their hands on products, Craigslist doesn’t really facilitate this need. It’s based more on your location, and then individually checking through each of the other regions to find what’s out there. Others work with similar systems, but it isn’t as disjointed as it is here. Granted, it’s an old system, but it could be updated.

4. Bad Reputation

A lot of people simply do not trust Craigslist. Most of the big marketplaces have had their fair share of criticism over the years, but most of them have made the effort to shake it off with strong customer service and/or marketing. Craigslist hasn’t made the same effort, so is known for sordid things, and many expect to get scammed there. Not the best place to sell things.

5. Adult content

All websites that allow the public the chance to upload their own things are going to end up with some adult content at some point. As far as non-adult classified sites go, Craigslist over-indexes on the adult content. It’s likely to put off a significant number of casual browsers, particularly those browsing for things to buy on work computers.

6. Overreliance on Face-to-Face Transactions

Online shopping is convenient for most. This is anything but. Craigslist discourage the use of PayPal, yet give the option for people to make transactions via cryptocurrency. It means that people have to go through the awkward process of arranging a time and place to meet to exchange the cash and goods. It’s not great for many, and turns a lot of people off.

7. There are Better Free Options

If your primary reason for selling on Craigslist is because it’s free, there are some much better alternatives out there for you to explore. If you want a similar experience to Craigslist, you definitely want to turn your attention to Gumtree instead. For all of the reasons stated earlier, you’re just better off going elsewhere.