Craigslist
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
Craigslist is viewed as a legacy platform that remains useful for specific niches despite a perceived decline in traffic and search quality. While many users feel the site has been eclipsed by Facebook Marketplace, it is still highly valued for 'For Sale By Owner' (FSBO) vehicle transactions and local rentals. The $5 listing fee for cars is frequently cited as a positive friction point that reduces the volume of scammers compared to free alternatives, though users must still navigate an influx of dealer listings and spam bots.
Pros
- Lower scammer volume for vehicle sales due to the $5 listing fee
- Preferred platform for finding genuine 'For Sale By Owner' (FSBO) cars and motorcycles
- Simple, intuitive, and stable web design that avoids unnecessary updates
- Effective for finding local rentals and free or cheap furniture
- Slower pace of interaction compared to the high-pressure environment of social media marketplaces
Cons
- Search functionality is widely considered poor or broken
- Significant influx of dealers and businesses mislabeling themselves as private owners
- Perceived as having much lower traffic and user activity than in previous years
- Persistent issues with spam, bots, and lowballers
Caveats
- Users must manually filter for private owners, as dealers often bypass filters to clog the FSBO sections
- The platform offers very little information about sellers compared to platforms linked to social media profiles
- High-value niche items may be difficult to sell due to the platform's general-purpose nature
Best for
- Private party used car transactions
- Finding local housing rentals
- Sourcing cheap or free furniture
- Users who prefer a simple UI without social media integration
Avoid if
- You require a modern, high-performance search engine
- You want to verify a seller's identity through a social profile
- You are looking for the highest possible traffic for a quick sale
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 6-month half-life. The evidence is older (median age ~415 days), and for a fast-changing service category, this may not fully reflect the most recent shifts in platform traffic or competitor dominance.
Sentiment
29 positive (56%) · 10 mixed (19%) · 13 negative (25%)
Trust + time weighted score: +36% · raw score 31%
What redditors said (10 of 52)
The search just doesn't work the way a search is supposed to and never has.
listed it as such on facebook marketplace and craigslist.
Currently have a Craigslist ad, but it’s a pretty nice piano (5000$ish) and I don’t know if that’s the right place for it.
I personally don't like FBM and use Offerup/Craigslist for both selling and buying but they aren't perfect either so it's just whatever you are most comfortable with
Marketplace and Craigslist both are eaten up with dealers pretending to be regular people selling their cars. They’ve destroyed a really good thing.
If you want to run the sale yourself, post pics like this (and an inventory of the better stuff) on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Nextdoor, other local things and advertise a tool garage sale.
Don’t forget Craigslist. It’s hey day is gone but still gems to be found there. Found 3/4 of my last cars there.
Check Craigslist for used weights at both your current location and where you're moving to... People fire-sale "good enough" equipment all the time, and if you can score a half rack, barbell, and some plates, you can train basically anything in the comfort of your new home
Go craigslist
The questions that get asked there and the detail in which ppl are wanting/expecting would NEVER be answered/done on the FBM, Offerup, Criagslist/whatever other selling platform
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