Craigslist.com was one of the first websites to transition a real-world industry to the Internet, namely classified advertisements in newspapers. It’s still going strong despite being created back in the 90s, thanks to its simple design and intuitive system of organizing advertisements by region (so you can shop closer to home). Shopping with classified ads also takes some of the hassles out of using more self-contained online marketplaces, such as paying service fees or worrying about someone else having to hold onto your personal or financial information. However, this means that you have to do more of the legwork when it comes to buying or selling, and Craigslist likely won’t come to your rescue if a deal goes sour.
Whatever you’re looking for in a classified advertisement portal to help you buy or sell stuff, hopefully you’ll find it in one of these 9 other websites like Craigslist.
1. Kijiji
Now known in the United States as Close5 (formerly eBay Classifieds), Kijiji is Craigslist’s biggest rival in Canada. Like Craigslist, it focuses on localized advertisement portals and easy-to-use galleries for browsing and search. However, all advertisements on it are free, and it includes stronger content filters to weed out scammers. Another notable thing about this website is that it has a large section dedicated to the adoption of pets (which Craigslist lacks).
Kijiji also operates in Italy under the same name. In Latin America, it is known as alaMaula (in South America). In the British Isles, Poland, South Africa, and Australasia, it is known as Gumtree.
2. eBay
eBay is more of a self-contained e-commerce platform than a classified advertising website like Craigslist. It even has its own separate classifieds branch in eBay Classifieds, which we mentioned above. However, eBay still gets mentioned frequently as an alternative to Craigslist because of its emphasis on person-to-person buying and selling of objects. eBay is most famous for letting users bid on things that they want in auctions, but many items on it can now be bought for fixed prices. For some items, you can even negotiate a price that both you and the seller think is fair.
If you’d like to know more about eBay, we have a course on how to use it!
3. LetGo
LetGo is a fairly new website and mobile application pair that is similar to Craigslist. Based in New York City, it has become very popular very quickly because it’s both free and simple. Once you download LetGo on your smart phone and create an account, you can simply use your smart phone’s camera to take a clear picture of what you want to sell (or select a clear pre-existing picture), set a price for the item or items (or leave the price as “negotiable”), and then wait for local buyers to privately message you about getting a deal done. In the same vein, you can also use LetGo to browse products for sale in your local area and get in touch with their sellers. LetGo even has image recognition features, so you may not even need to add a title to your advertisement — LetGo might know what you want to sell as soon as you take a picture of it!
4. Oodle
Oodle is another popular substitute for Craigslist. It’s one of the largest classified advertisement collections on the Internet today, pulling from sources such as eBay, MySpace, ForRent, and local listings from newspapers in major cities and metropolitan areas. It’s one that you’ll want to check out if you’re into social media, as its interface is very similar to that of Facebook. In fact, you need a Facebook account to post advertisements on Oodle. Therefore, if you’re not a big fan of Facebook, then consider skipping this one.
5. Recycler
Recycler is an online classifieds comparable to Craigslist that was re-launched in 2010 to serve the entire United States. Like Oodle, Recycler has begun integrating with social media (though not as heavily as Oodle has), allowing you to post your advertisements on your Facebook wall or in local print publications as well as on the website! As with Craigslist, most advertisements are free, but some require you to pay money in order to post them or get premium features.
6. OfferUp
A new Craigslist alternative from Seattle, OfferUp has some unique features. For example, if you download and install the app for it on your mobile device, you can list an item for sale simply by taking a picture of it with your tablet computer or smart phone, and then entering a few details. And, like eBay, you can haggle with a seller over what price you think is fair for whatever they’re selling. Whether that’s the listed price or one that’s a bit lower, when both of you agree, you can seal the deal! OfferUp also has some cool safety features, too, so you can buy or sell with confidence!
7. Hoobly
Hoobly is a classifieds website very similar to Craigslist, with a very minimalist design. One major difference, however, is that you choose what you’re looking for, and then pick where to look for it. Like eBay Classifieds, Hoobly is apparently a popular choice for people looking to sell or adopt pets.
8. ClassifiedAds.com
Like OfferUp, ClassifiedAds.com is a relatively new Craigslist-like site from the Seattle area. Launched in 2006, it’s 100% free to use, meaning that no advertisements will cost you money to post. It also allows you to create an account through Facebook, though, like Craigslist, it doesn’t require you to have an account in order to post an advertisement.
9. U.S. Free Ads
U.S. Free Ads has been around almost as long as Craigslist has, and it appears to share the same aesthetic of effectiveness through simplicity. You need an account to post advertisements on U.S. Free Ads; a free account allows you to post advertisements for no cost, but upgraded accounts come with additional tools and ways to get exposure for your advertisements. U.S. Free Ads is a rather popular classified advertisement portal for adopting or selling pets, notably dogs and horses.
Have you tried one of these sites like Craigslist? Did you find them useful for hawking your wares, or did they just not put your stuff in front of the right people? Are there any other websites that you use to post online advertisements, and think our users should know about them? We’d be glad if you let us know what you though in the comments.
Also, if you end up liking one of these websites and want to use it in place of Craigslist, we can also show you how to delete your Craigslist account.
