Is Craigslist declining?

Our local Craigslist seems like there are less and less ads. Is everyone switching to Facebook Marketplace?

Looks that way.

You just noticed? Helllloooo!

It began to drop when they started charging for ads back in 2019.

Between this and the amount of flat-out scammers on there, its all but useless now.

Marketplace isn't great, but what else is there?

I don't know John...I really don't want to do Facebook...

After they started charging for car ads Craigslist in Phoenix had maybe a page and a half a days worth of ads. It seems to be coming back up though and now is probably at least back to half of what it was. I save interesting ads on CL, Marketplace and Offer up and it seems CL sells the most cars. If I really want to sell a car I'll pony up the $5 and put it on Craigslist along with the free sites.

Ted I probably haven’t even looked at Craigslist for over 2-3 years. I don’t even think about it anymore. Lots of guys don’t want Facebook but if I’m looking for or selling something that’s where I head. My duster (green one) just sold for my asking price (13,500.00) in less than 20 hours. Probably had 20 people message me in that time. I have five people on a list if the deal fell through. I just bought a valve and seat machine from Ohio and the guy even delivered it and put it in place.

Didn't mean to come across so harsh.

Yeah, facebook is the anti-christ but, aside from their market place, there are specific groups to sell stuff. As well as special interest groups. You DON'T have to give out personal information to be on FB. Matter of fact, I always encourage to give as little info as possible. You can control a majority of what shows up on your page.

No, I'm not a big fan of FB either, just trying to make the best of what's available.

Ok you don’t have to give personal info to sign up. But how does one stop them from gathering information from those signed up to spy on them and then sell the data to anyone and everyone? I know other sites do it too, I look at MSN often for news and it’s obvious now that they spied on me and target ads and stories to what I like or have looked up recently. It creeps me out, someone mentions they have a medical condition, I look it up online to learn about the disease, then for weeks afterward I get pop ups and header ads for drugs, doctors and sometimes malpractice attorneys related to that condition!
That comes from gathering data from an ISP address not from signing up, I’m not signed up for msn just look at the site.
So what is the answer, get a search engine like duck duck go? A personal vsp or vsn whatever it’s called, service?
I’m tired of being spied on and Facebook is the worst as far as violating privacy from what I can tell. So I don’t sign up.

CL is done. 100% scammers. If I list parts, I require people to text only if interested. The scammers are the first to reply to any ad within an hour of listing. Most scammers have Florida or south Texas area codes. Pretty easy to spot.

To me, it's just like all those people who complain about being video taped by someone. Cameras are EVERYWHERE now.

I don't have an answer, I've had my dealings with FB and them giving out my info (I've told the story regarding my phone # several times on here).

The cameras are everywhere for security, I don’t know to what extent they can be used to compile data on individuals that can later be used against them.
We see data from online activities used from time to time to destroy careers and lives. Including posts on Facebook and Twitter. Delving into this issue further would get me in trouble and this topic moved to current events, so I can’t say much beyond I would like to use Facebook marketplace but I have too many concerns with that site to use it.

The cameras are everywhere for security, I don’t know to what extent they can be used to compile data on individuals that can later be used against them.

Based on comments seen here and else where, ALL your personal info can be had by putting your license plate on the internet.................. (being sarcastic here)



Don't be stupid with your info and just live.

I despise FB! By even going on there you are supporting them by bringing up their traffic #'s. I look at Craigs list every day and recently Offer up. Both have their problem but what else is there? Somebody needs to come up with platform with all the good qualities and get rid of the bs. What really irks me is people that that list tons of the same ad, Or relisting it everyday. Offer up has ads from 5 years ago and people list No information about what they are selling. What are they thinking!

I sell stuff on craigslist all the time

Craigslist here is like dealers 75% vs private party sellers 25%. Car dealers delete and republish the same adds over and over trying to keep them at the top of the first few pages, which is really annoying.

I don't see what the big deal is paying $5 to list your car. What is $5 if your making several thousand dollars if it gets it sold?

I list things on CL and they sell sooner or later, most dont want the 150 miles each way drive to my place to buy things so I price them to make up for it or I will drive an hour each way if the item is a couple hundred or more to make the sale.

I'm building a house and I found my framer on CL. I had low expectations but the guy has worked out swimmingly. His cos Dimitri is also the front runner for the siding work.

Last year I put my BMW on FB Marketplace. Got some interest, but it wasn't as much as I had hoped. So, I put it on CL. EVERY response was a scammer. I finally put a line in the ad for anybody who read the ad, even if they weren't interested, to send me an email through CL. ONE guy responded. .

FB may be the evil empire, BUT it has also become the de facto public square, albeit an extremely imperfect one. It is also the place where I have contact with some very old and dear friends. I generally don't do politics there, either.

I still look at the Moparts classified ads. I’m not a fan of FB. As a seller on eBay for 22 plus years, I’m still there because it weeds out a lot of people. Though, sales are a bit slower & fees are high.

Ebay finially foreced me into the managed payment deal approx 3 months ago and that put an end to my selling, just dont like the way the program is structured.

Just like the paper print Auto Trader went to crap with ONLY listings from dealerships and consignment places so has Craigslist. Search up anything on CL and a lot of unrelated stuff comes up as well as "I buy vintage cars, motorcycles..." FB Marketplace and FB groups are the hot ticket right now but give them time and I sure they'll go the way of Auto Trader and CL.

Scammers have invaded every selling place, from personal experience, but I've had very few on CL.
Then again, very few responses to my CL ads even on smokin' deals.
Local guys seem to think I should deliver the parts or give 'em away.
A lot of the FB ads seem to invite the armchair experts who haven't bought anything since the 1970s.
So I've resisted doing much there because I hate wasting my time.
I prefer to buy/sell here; I've had a couple guys flake out, but 95% of the time things go well.

I have watched my local CL for 12 years very frequently, I sort the cars for sale by owner and have watched the total number available for as long, it usually hovered around 1000 cars at any given time and was slowly increasing, then they started charging $5 for an add and it dropped down overnight to around 300 cars and has fluctuated around that number ever since. I have seen it go just under 200 back in late winter and early spring this year, the lowest I have ever seen it and now it currently sits back up at 321. I buy and sell cars on there frequently and check it most every single day.

I hate facebook market place, I always try to sell stuff and get a million messages "is this item still available" I reply "yes, any questions I can answer for you or do you want to come take a look?" and NEVER get a response. I can't sort adds by price, or how old the add is, I find stuff 1000 miles away, I frequently get one of my friends asking me if I saw XYZ car and I can never find them on there even if I actually happened to see it before and none of the cars I saw before are ever findable again... I guess I am too old to get it. CL is soooooooo much easier to find what I want.

it happened years ago.

I didn't even realize they were charging for ads now. I went there for the first time in a couple years looking for some Ford SB Windsor parts and couldn't find anything. This explains it.

shouldn't this be in proper forum .. mods have special treatment

Only cars for sale adds are payed. It certainly weeded out tons of complete garbage and re-posts of the same exact add every day. It is really much easier to find stuff now and I have much better luck selling my stuff because it ain't 10 pages deep by the end of the day, I am happy they charge for cars for sale, the $5 is very much worth it and yes I was very upset about it at first because I hate being charged for something I am used to getting free but a lot of times you get much better results from something you pay for instead of what your getting for free.

I have had good luck selling Mopar parts on Craig's list..
Make the ad simple, good pictures, competitive price.
Yes, like e-bagger U get the tire kickers but filter out the calls..

Just my $0.02...

Craigslist is a snakepit of thieves, scammers and killers. I wouldnt buy OR sell anything on there. I tried selling on there and nothing but weird phone calls. Weird scammer requests/questions. I tell them to meet me at my city police station to do a deal and don't hear from them again.

I am not selling anything nor am I buying anything. Therefore isn't this the proper forum to ask this question? It isn't a what's it worth and there are no links. It was a simple question. Sheeesh.

In a way but ive learned not to......

I have a couple of items on CL .......

Lately .... all I’ve gotten are severe lowballers and time wasters

And will say I use FB and C/L. haven't checked out letgo or others but may eventually

I still use CL but I get more scammers than ever. Still sells though. Not on FB but I hear good things when it comes to buying and selling.
I used let go a couple times. I can’t remember why I stopped.
KID

I agree. Hated it at first. Though, it’s okay. Needs improvements and more transparency.

I believe this sums it up.
Forums Threads Posts Last Post
Ebay / Craigslist / Racingjunk / WIW (9 viewing)
For things you SEE on Ebay , Craigslist , Racingjunk "no posting your own ads" and What is it Worth Questions

i seem to get 0 response from real people on craigslist.
i had hit or miss response on facebook.
ebay hasn't been that bad if you can ship. if you can't ship it usually won't sell.

my example
for the last 8 months i have had a drivers door from a 2020 chevy silverado, it fits 18-19-20 and probably 21 trucks,. there is a small easily repairable dent above the door handle. this door new list is close to $1K, i think dealer cost is around $600..
i have had is listed on craigslist , face book and ebay for 8 months for $250. i have had 0 replies on craigslist. 0 replies on face book with only 10 views. and lots of offers to buy if i could ship it at that price.
one of the problems with facebook is i think they restrict who sees your ads unless you pay $$$ to boost your listings. i constantly get messages like for $10 453 people will see your ad.

the door is made out of aluminum. i have been thinking of just recycling it, but i still have the storage space. the greedy person inside of me says you are crazy to flush $$$ down the crapper. i am thinking if it doesn't sell at Iola swap next year i will just recycle it.

Craigslist is almost pointless now. Very little traffic on there.

Unfortunately, everyone is on Facebook. I hate it, but you have to go where the people are looking to sell stuff.

Ebay is great for buying, but horrible for selling. With all the fees, it makes me sick to see what it "cost" me to sell something on there.

Not to mention shipping is CRAZY high. It cost $21 to send a distributor cap to VA from SC.

There are several issues I see affecting that knid of add. Most people with a 2018-21 truck have a very nice condition very low miles truck and will not want a used door installed especially if it needs work, maybe if it didn't need work and was already the color they had it would sell faster but even that is a needle in a hay stack. That leads to the next point, shipping, got to be willing to ship it to reach a larger audience and even then the rate you get will probably be significantly higher than someone who ships tons of new body parts so the price gets closer. Body shops are also going to try to sell a new door most of the time because they make more money prepping and installing it and they know that owners of such a new truck either have the money or the insurance so...? I have never had luck selling used body parts that are not PERFECT and ready to bolt on in a common color on a common car, you at least have the common car covered but not the rest of it.

Also as far as scammers on craigslist, I started putting my phone number like this 260 8596 and have not got a scammers attention since then, the bots don't know my area code, they can't decode my spelled out numbers or anything and if someone is local they already know my area code, it is the only one around and the whole point of CL is to sell stuff locally, I don't look on CL for baseball cards in kansas. I suppose if you lived somewhere they had multiple area codes you could do something like "### is my/the area code then dial 260 8596" the bots would never finger it out. Remember to put more spaces than needed between the numbers, this requires smarter bots to finger that out also. If an actual person is too dumb to figure this out you probably don't want to try and sell them stuff anyhow.

Also don't use the phone number feature on CL, just put it in the add like I described and don't bother with the e-mail thingy, I never get a reply when I send someone an e-mail, it is like CL replies are automatically blocked or something.

Less scammers on Fakebook but CL still sells stuff. I list parts on CL on a regular basis. There are real people who actually show up and buy stuff from CL postings but there are also a lot of weird scammers or phishers who respond to almost every ad. I've never quite figured out the scam since they usually just reply with a quick "is it still available" or "I'll buy it today for $50 cash" message. I delete all of those responses and just wait for a real person to reply with a real question. Real people are easy to spot on CL since they'll provide a name, tell you a time that they will come buy the part, confirm that cash is okay for payment, etc. The scammers never provide a name, never say when they'll come get the part, etc.

I agree that there are a lot of weird scum sucking scammers on CL, but I sold my Duster on there this summer for full price within 24 hours. Just popped a quick ad up there and bingo, the line started ringing. I sold a bunch of tools and some Mopar stuff on CL this year. Didn't have too much trouble with the sales. Some scammers replied but it was pretty easy to delete their trash and move on to the real replies.

SPILL THE BEANS guyz .... examples of those scams

I do CL, FB ,and Offerup.

And of course ebay and forum ads.

Better than the olden days of Little Nickel classified ads or local newspaper.

I spent much of the past two years looking for a car. Craigslist consistently delivered cars I seriously considered. eBay is home to over priced dealers, including ones that obviously shill bid. Facebook is a cumbersome site to fool with, hard to find what you are looking for. Plus I hate fb with the passion of a white hot super nova, so I was pleasantly surprised at how awful they did in making marketplace. Only a handful of cars on there were of interest and priced anywhere close to reality.

The five dollar thing was the best thing cl ever did. Still wish there was a way to search nationwide, but I made it work for me as is. In the end I scored a major car off there. The other finalists all came from there as well.

I also trolled a bunch of other sites, from bring a trailer to all sorts of autotrader type sites of various names. Craigslist was hands down the easiest to use. I suppose bring a trailer is good, but they have limited selection at any given time so if you want to look at cars today, and see a lot, you need to search elsewhere.

to search craigslist nationwide use searchtempest

I've been using Craigslist for about 15 years. There has ALWAYS been a way to search nationwide. First there was "crazedlist" and when that went away "searchtempest" took over.

CL .....

Craigslist went downhill in my area years ago, when it became more dealer ads than individuals selling stuff. Everyone seemed to migrate to FB Marketplace. Then Marketplace did the same thing, and worse this "ships to you" started showing up, I guess to compete with Ebay. Worse thing about marketplace to me is the search function seems almost pointless. I'll type in mopar or Dodge and it seems to pull up ads for whatever it feels like showing me, fords, chevys, pants, chainsaws, firewood, etc. About the only place I keep an eye out for mopar stuff is here and mopar specific groups on FB. Wish someone would make a local oriented sale-ad site.

The entire point of CL to me is that I don't have people in california or new york bothering me about my stuff for sale and if I'll ship it. I can sell or buy stuff locally with cash quick and easy, buyer and seller can look over the item in person and no complaining about some scratch that they couldn't see in the picture or someone not showing huge dents through creative photography... you see my stuff, you like it hand me some cash and I never need to think about it again.

When I travel I always search the local craigslist areas I will be traveling through but I ain't bothering someone in florida about something they are selling if I can't be there myself to look at it.

It is declining. I can't pick up a cheap hooker there anymore.

You are using the wrong search words. Try head-ers

Ohhhh. I'll try that.

^^^^^^^^^ this guy will be UNsane with a bester CL search

Even worserEST than sadDad !

That's all fine and dandy if you're looking for or selling a used lawn chair. But if you're looking for rare car parts. you'll want to search a larger area than the town you live in !!

when selling on craigslist i don't have a problem shipping something i am selling.
the problem is people think you are amazon and shipping should be free on your significantly reduced price item.

hooooboy................. maybe try lot-lizards...........

I just sold a part thru C.L. !!!
First sale in 2 years