When selling online, local online classifieds may be one alternative to Craigslist if the item to be listed is: bulky, large or difficult to ship. With local classified sites, potential buyers come to you to look before they buy, and pick the item up, or arrange to meet in an agreed upon location. There are city and county groups dedicated to selling items locally, once you sign up as a member. These also allow you to post ads looking for things you may want or need. Some free auction sites also allow you to list for local pickup and/or delivery. Advantages to listings other than craigslist are: * Targeted to your area instead of the broader city listings on craigslist * Not as crowded with other ads * Local pick up can be arranged The problem that arises when using any online classified listing is how long your ad is visible before being buried under the new ads. There are so many users now that many people are searching for an alternative to Craigslist to sell their unwanted items. There is also the fact that photos are not visible on the listing until a reader clicks on your ad from the hundreds available, which is no way to get your ad to stand out. For anyone starting or running a small business, it can be hard to do business on some of the free listing sites, since the ad is either buried or not allowed on some services. With city and county based sites you really don't get as much exposure as you would need to really get a business off to a good start. Your Best Bet A service that offered auctions, fixed pricing, classified and business listings would be the ideal alternative to Craigslist for the small business owner. You would be able to get more exposure, since the listing would not be based on your location, and you would have a wider range of people seeing your ads. When most people search on Craigslist, they stick to the cities in their surrounding area, since a state by state and city by city search would take days to accomplish, which they wouldn't do in the first place. A small business owner would need more than what is currently offered locally and on Craigslist. They would need: * Customer service to be available * Photo listings to showcase their products * The ability to run auctions and fixed price listings * Not have to pay huge seller fees that eat up their profits * To be able to reach people outside their immediate geographic area Running a business is hard enough without tying your hands when it comes to making sales. An easier, and more effective alternative to Craigslist needs to be used in order to maximize exposure to your products and services, without it costing an arm and a leg in the process. It's simply a matter of bigger not being better in this instance, since the more people there are selling on a site, the less likely your product will be able to catch your potential customer's attention.
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