Where do Americans buy and sell online? To answer this question, you do not need to conduct large-scale research. With 50 billion monthly views, Craigslist is considered the # 1 private classifieds marketplace on the North American continent, craigslist ny, Craigslist Phoenix, Craigslist Portland, and the rest of the world.
Craigslist is one of the best places to buy or sell items on the internet. Most people use it to sell their personal belongings they no longer want, exchange belongings for other goods or services, find work, buy a car, and countless other transactions. The site appeared in 1995, its business model was developed as a non-profit, but in 1999 the founders of the resource changed the original approach.
Queries like “How does Craigslist make money?” and “What are the plans for Craigslist?” is still trending in American Google. This site was organized as an email directory in 1995 and has become popular mainly through word of mouth. The design, by the way, has not been changed since 95. But before we get to the question of “how does Craigslist make money?” Let’s try to understand this business model
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What is Craigslist?
Craigslist is a region-specific online resource. The site has the following sections: work, personal, services, community, resume, forums, and more. Most of the ads are free, although some are still charged for certain regions.
How does Craigslist work?
Publications are posted free of charge in separate headings so that any user can find a suitable one for himself. If ads are free, how do they make money? A company with a peace symbol as a logo has a great monetization model that has become a business strategy by accident. The company began charging fees for highly competitive classifieds ($ 25 for posting a job posting in San Francisco) in 1998 to avoid spam and cover site costs.
this approach proved its viability – in the future, more paid categories will appear. “In the end, we realized that we were making a lot of money, more than it was necessary to recoup the costs,” explains the ex-Craigslist employee.
Here’s a list of the paid ad categories that gives you an idea of what Craigslist is generating revenue for:
- Job advertisements in selected regions are $ 7-75 (free in some)
- Realtor listings for rent in New York – $ 10 (Craigslist NY)
- Apartment posting in Phoenix – $5 (Craigslist Phoenix)
- Services in Portland – $5 (Craigslist Portland)
- Various categories for resellers in the USA – $ 3-5
- Auto Dealership Ads in USA and Vancouver (Canada) – $ 3
- USA & Vancouver Furniture Seller Listings – $ 3
- Medical services in the USA – $ 10 (ad report $ 5)
Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted for payment.
How much does Craigslist cost?
Craigslist is a privately held company that has never raised outside investment. Thus, one can only speculate about its real value. However, with revenue of $ 700 million in 2016 and profit margins of 80%, Craigslist is worth roughly $ 3 billion. Craigslist is the world’s most profitable private classifieds site.
One of the explanations for its success is the strategy: “network first, profit later”, which can be translated as “people first, and then money”. Many companies like Whatsapp, Facebook, and Quora are adopting this approach as well.
JOBS ON CRAIGSLIST
A lot of people use Craigslist when looking for a new job or a career change. The jobs in the Craigslist category are vast. The jobs have been divided into several different categories to make it easy for visitors to find a job that is right for them. The job category also has a search function that allows visitors to search using specific words or phrases within the jobs category.
There is also the option of looking for telecommuting, contract, internship, part-time or non-profit positions. Resumes can also be submitted by job seekers for possible review on Craigslist. The resume category is less organized than other sections. However, you can still get your resume noticed if you use the attention-grabbing and descriptive title of it. You can also add suitable keywords to the body of your resume, this makes it easy for potential employers to find you.
Future of Craigslist
However, this company is very unpredictable. While other businesses cut their bottom line to attract customers, 80% of Craigslist’s revenue comes from pure profit. Craigslist is not promoting itself, is not going to change the economic environment, and remains the leader in the private classifieds niche.
Thanks to a simple and relatively free interface, as well as a huge audience of users, gathered over two decades. Craigslist does not need a beautiful interface and design innovations to be successful; its design has not changed significantly since 1995.
Conclusion
When people think of selling online, most people think of selling items on eBay or Amazon.com, but few think of starting a reselling business using Craigslist. While Craigslist is a very powerful tool for selling personal items you no longer need, it can also be a great way to start an internet home-based business. Advertising on Craigslist is free (unlike eBay and Amazon), and there are no fees to pay once an item sells.
