I miss the local paper classifieds called Little Nickel or Big Nickle that was delivered outside stores. Yes it cost a bit to advertise in them but there was almost no scams.
I am not interested in stuff like Facebook. It is sad to see Craig's List fail since they were the closest thing to a local area classified paper. It just seems they have never put much effort into adapting to the changing environment nor did they continue to add more localities to make them better serve more areas. In my location they only have a distant city that makes driving distance for interested people too much to do for lower cost items. Closer cities they have no selection for.
Sadly if you want to maintain a "classified" type experience going forward...C-list and Marketplace is just about it.
Why would anyone PAY to advertise in a tree-killing business (paper print) when there are so many free options that reach MANY MANY more people. Technology changes and we evolve. Internet killed printed media. Cell phones killed land lines. I bet less than 5% of people under the age of 40 actually have a landline telephone.
I think people have moved past the "is it still available" option because of all the scammers. Like I said, I got about 6 of those replies and answered each with a "yes". Not a single one got back to me but the 5 that didn't use the standard response all responded.
Like I said, alot of it may just be an accident. Browsing and accidently hitting the "send" button on your listing and that is the automated response. No they arent interested. Hence no reply, as it was a mistake they even sent it. I have done it several times....however I do still reply that it was a mistake I accidently hit the send button.
Just like scrolling your FB feed. If you are on your phone and are a left-handed scroller like me....how many times have you accidently "liked" something you didnt mean to? Except you can immediately reverse that action, unlike sending the "is it still available" message
Free advertising, which CL and FB have created, has completely altered the buy and sell environment. Both forums are mostly SPAM now. It would be neat, and advantageous to have VETTED sellers, even if this costed a little bit to be approved.
Craigslist has actually started charging for several things. Listing in the RV, cars/trucks, or motorcycle categories costs $5/post.
For a dealer, its costs in EVERY category. And businesses offering services, costs in every category as well.
But craigslist doesnt police it. Its up to the people browsing to report it. So if you see dealers listing crap under "by owner"....flag the post then CL will take it down.
But at the end of the day.....there is no way to get rid of spam with being allowed to advertise for free. And there is no way to get the sheer volume/traffic by charging. Truly is a case of not being able to have your cake and eat it too.
www.searchtempest.com
