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Prostitution and Spam Killed Craigslist
- hbarka 4y agoI wonder how many lines of code it takes to run Craigslist. They probably haven’t refactored much since the 90’s. The profit margin is so high who cares about putting in new code to data science spam and scam.
- dimitrios1 4y agoNothing killed Craigslist. It's still there. Use it.
- Khelavaster 4y agoFailed courts killed Craigslist. You didn't have to wait 9+ months for a civil case to start in Seattle if a contractor ripped you off ten years ago.
- BowBun 4y agoI don't have this experience, and regularly use Craigslist to buy and sell as I always have. Admittedly I never used it for social purposes since there were always other options, so maybe that piece took a hit over the years.
- PaulHoule 4y agoCraiglist is still going strong in rural areas for country things. My wife bought a goat on Craigslist lately.
- Consultant32452 4y agoThis anecdote brought me some joy, thank you for sharing it.
- Gordonjcp 4y agoI read this in Cameron Tucker's voice.
- Robotbeat 4y agoI’ve noticed the volume of actual useful stuff for sale is lower than in the past, I think due to Facebook Marketplace. Facebook doesn’t offer anything better, just constant advertisement since it’s right there on the same website people are on to serve their social media addiction.
- mywittyname 4y agoFB market place fucking suuucks. The few times I've posted stuff, I was inundated with phishing attacks. I was talking to a friend about it, and he actually fell for one of the attacks and had to spend a shit load of time getting his phone number back after they stole it. I actually found guidance from, I think, the FCC on what to do if you're the victim of this. Suggesting that this is a serious problem that FB isn't effectively dealing with. CL all day, especially for the kind of stuff I buy and sell.
- rightbyte 4y agoIt is so nice with having a small native language. The amount of foreign scams were non-existant until machine translations became viable for them -- but are still easy to spot. As English speakers you are so much easier targets.
- ssharp 4y agoSince FB profiles are used in Marketplace, I've actually found it relatively easy to spot scammers or at least have a set of heuristics to judge whether or not a profile is legit.
- mywittyname 4y agoYeah, I quickly figured it out too, as the demographic of scam profiles doesn't match the demo I would expect to be purchasing the items I'm listing. That being said, I don't like the idea of making posts in a place that I know paint me as a target for scammers. There's always the possibility of them using a unpatched exploit against me.
- 4y ago
- UncleOxidant 4y agoYeah, I was thinking "Craigslist is dead? since when?"
- lifeplusplus 4y agospam by doordash, uber, and such has been insane on craigslist
- radlad 4y agoI think Facebook's introduction of Marketplace is what killed Craigslist.
- paxys 4y agoIt's the other way around. The only reason Facebook Marketplace is thriving is because of how shitty the alternative had become. Facebook's other recent product launches (like dating) haven't had close to the same reception because people saw no reason to switch.
- danpalmer 4y agoFor the avoidance of doubt, Marketplace won because it's _in Facebook_, and FB push it heavily, not because it's better. It's just as full of spam, scams, and people being crap to each other.
- johncessna 4y agoI created a burner Facebook account just to use Marketplace. On day 0 I'm told that I can't use Marketplace 'yet.' Every day for a few weeks I login and check and get the same message. Sometime at the 3-4 week mark I'm told I need to add a phone number or my account will be disabled. Back to craigslist/nextdoor/etc Edit: My fault for using a loaded term like 'burner'. I don't have a facebook account. I created a 'real' account that I intended to use for marketplace. Apparently the lack of posting and/or lack of phone number is the issue facebook has, which is the issue I have with it.
- colordrops 4y agoIt's amazing that it's possible to create "burner" accounts but my 15 year old account was banned twice for trying to authenticate oculus software so I could root an Oculus Go using John Carmack's technique. I gave up on getting unbanned after the second banning and haven't looked back.
- Consultant32452 4y agoMy friend has a German last name that sounds a bit Nazi-esque, she had to make a fake ID and use a fake name on FaceBook because they would not believe her real name.
- sbf501 4y agoI've heard similar things from some female friends of mine who use Craigslist for anon hookups. They've had to move to other websites, of which there are plenty. I don't think 'killed' is the right word, it just wasn't the right platform. > Back in the day, I would pursue Craigslist when I was bored and needed something. Back in the day when I lived in NorCal, I would receive Craiglist via email every week to find out what shows were playing in San Fran, because that's all it was. It's like what happened to SXSW: it used to be for music, now it became some weird tech behemoth.
- CalChris 4y ago> now it became some weird tech behemoth And coincidentally Craig Newmark is a billionaire.
- yucky 4y ago>I've heard similar things from some female friends of mine who use Craigslist for anon hookups. Wouldn't that fall under the "prostitution" part of the title? From what I understand there isn't/wasn't an actual dating section it was all prostitution ads for years.
- sbf501 4y agoIt wasn't dating, it was just for hooking up. No money exchanged.
- mistrial9 4y agothe people I contacted on SF Bay Area craigslist, were like seeing a Fellini movie in real life; almost exclusively active people that had little-to-no chance of networking other ways.. I really tried, it was terrible for me .. 2007'ish
- throwaway23234 4y agoThe thing that killed craigslist was a bunch of startups that took it's ideas and charged 5% for the transaction and lip service about how it is safer than "other platforms" (other platforms being craigslist). Not saying that's good or bad, but that's what killed craigslist.
- mistrial9 4y agoI doubt this -- starting means developing the user experience (phone friendly probably) and also getting people to hear about it (marketing). Both are hard, what you say is the easy part.
- Minor49er 4y agoThe title of this article should have also included trafficking. While it has an overlap with prostitution, it is a heinous, misunderstood, and overlooked issue. It was also the primary reason for why Craigslist removed the Personals section. The Department of Homeland Security has a great section on their website about human trafficking, what it is, how to identify it, how to report it, and so on: https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking Also, Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS) has been doing a great job at not just helping to raise awareness of the issue, but also has directly helped trafficking victims get out of dangerous situations and back onto healthy paths in life: https://www.gems-girls.org/ https://www.gems-girls.org/
- Minor49er 4y agoIf anyone would like to explain why this is being downvoted, I would appreciate it
- cjbgkagh 4y agoI used to offload my used stuff on Craigslist. I was swamped with people intentionally trying to waste my time only to be lowballed at the last minute. Out of principal I would always tell them to F* off. I used to take adds down after the first person who agreed to buy it, these days the ads stays up until the money is in my hand, and I insta block anyone who tries to negotiate. Often it’s still too much of a hassle so I just donate it to charity.
- ozim 4y agoI usually sell stuff that has any value for 50-70% of value to friends or family not to deal with idiots. Anything that is meh but someone from friends or family would like I give away. Then I throw away. Even giving stuff away for free can be too much hassle if you put stuff online.
- 1123581321 4y agoMight want to look at how you're wording your ads. At least in my city, it's normal to ask "will you take $x" if the wording isn't clear that it's a firm price, and those offers usually result in a completed sale.
- cjbgkagh 4y agoI repeat that it’s final price and no-negotiation etc. This is stated in all communication. I have a good hourly rate so inconveniences quickly stop being worth my time. Lowballers don’t read. They’re professionally annoying for a living and there’s very little you can do about it if the marketplace allows it. Also Lowballers ask ridiculous prices, like 90% off an already 50% discount, they know what they’re doing and it must work for them often enough for them to do this seemingly full time.
- dboreham 4y agoIt's pretty much the only place to buy used heavy equipment fwiw.
- thepasswordis 4y agoIs that true? What about Facebook marketplace?
- mikece 4y agoIf any one thing killed Craigslist it was Facebook Marketplace. I used Craigslist to buy and sell things for years; I didn't even know about FB Marketplace until a friend recommended it. I swallowed my hatred of FB to give it a try and it was easily a far better experience than CL at the time. Of late I've noticed that it's become a haven for scammers which is a pretty reliable indicator of success (the scammers go where the buyers are).
- lazide 4y agoeBay also still alive, also inundated with scammers (from what I’ve seen, mostly targeting sellers).
- wyager 4y agoI listed a laptop on FBM, and out of probably 30 contacts, 29 were pretty obvious scammers. Really bad experience. I've had much better luck on CL.
- mikece 4y agoI mainly have been buying and selling photography gear and outdoor power equipment of late but when I did list my 2019 15" MacBook Pro a couple years ago I got nothing but ridiculous low-ball offers and scam replies. The scams were the typical "I will pay over your asking price plus shipping via PayPal" to which I always responded with "I don't use PayPal but I will accept your offer if you can pay with Bitcoin, here's the payment address..." which always ended the conversation.
- datpuz 4y agoI've been trying to sell a gaming laptop on FB Marketplace for local pickup (to avoid seller fees and shipping), and I've gotten about 20 scam attempts. Of the two legit interested buyers, one was a lowballer, and the other wanted me to trade it for a pair of headphones, an iPhone 8, and some shoes (wtf?).
- smileysteve 4y agoThis, I thought that Facebook gating would reduce spam but have gotten more simjack attempts than on Craigslist
- SeanAnderson 4y agoIf the author is reading, there's a typo on the third sentence. > They don't move around things for change the design for the sake of change. should omit "move around things for" or "change the design for"
- boring_twenties 4y agoI think they meant for the first "for" to be an "or."
- ab_testing 4y agoI don’t think Craigslist is dead . It removed the personals section to fix that problem and Craigslist is still alive and well. Sure it has a ton of competition now from FB marketplace and others but I think it is still chugging along .
- monkin 4y agoKilled? I think it's alive and well. The Internet is full of gossip and reports that Craiglist's revenue is around $1.3+ billion with a 50+ members team. It's almost the same that OLX Groups generate with a few thousand employees.
- philsquared_ 4y agoCraigslist is likely in the best position it has been in years... They rolled out charging for service/job listing posts a few years ago and I am sure they make a ton of money. Lots of people use craigslist regardless of Facebook marketplace or whatever else..
- mandeepj 4y agoKilled? Their 2021 revenue was $660 million, before pandemic - it was $1 Billion. Of course, it's not anywhere close to FAANG level, but better than many of the other struggling companies. I'd have that 'killed business' any day. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/craigslist-revenue-rebounds-traffic-slide-continues-301477660.html https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/craigslist-revenue-...
- plasma_beam 4y agoAuthor's preferred method of using Craigslist was to browse. I've always used Craigslist for single purposes - there's something specific I want to sell or buy, and that's why I'm on the site. For that - it's effective, though I do get spam messages whenever I post for sale now. Fascinating that for some, the site is/was more.
- tgtweak 4y agoCraigslist killed craigslist. lack of innovation and development really let the competition get ahead. Facebook marketplace - as basic as it is, does a much better job of "finding" what you're looking for. In Canada, kijiji (bought by ebay at some point) took it's lunch before marketplace ate them both.
- rchaud 4y agoCraigslist is still around though. And they have intentionally stayed small, so I don't see how they're "getting killed". If CL's values as a company were different, then maybe they would have decided to become a rent-seeker like Facebook, with a six-figure employee headcount and a multi-billion dollar ad business.
- Bubble_Pop_22 4y agoCraigslist is one of those silent tech companies which are making bank (1+ bn in revenues) by flying under the radar and having very few employees. Does anybody know of other websites like this, perhaps in other countries? VK.com essentially gets by just by copying American social media companies functionality and offering them to people living in the former USSR.