Heather Jones

Almost all of us have something that we would love to get rid of. Selling the item usually makes the most sense due to being able to recoup some of the costs that originally went into purchasing or making the item. This lesson is intended for all of the people who have items that they are interested in selling. This lesson is important because it will help people get rid of unwanted items and bring in additional revenue at the same time.

History

I would think that one of the biggest issues when developing Craigslist would have been the unanswered questions. Would people be interested in buying and selling items in their own community? Do they charge for the service? How do they market to their intended audience? I was shocked to find out that many of these questions were not issues when launching the site, since originally the website was not created to sell and purchase items.

Craigslist was started by founder Craig Newmark in 1995. The website was originally used as an email distribution list to keep others up to date and aware of social events occurring in the San Francisco Bay area. The website grew quickly primarily through word of mouth. By late 1995 Craigslist was also being used to advertise for job openings in and around San Francisco. Mr. Newmark worked full-time as a software engineer during the early years of Craigslist, however in 1998 he was able to quit his job as an engineer and devote his time and energy to his website (Burgundy, 2007). By mid April in 2000 Craig had a staff of nine employees working out of his San Francisco apartment. With the addition of employees nine cities were also added to the site. A major change for the company came in 2004 when they started to charge $25.00 per post for listing jobs in both Los Angeles and New York. Today this fee is still their sole source of revenue. The $25.00 fee is only applicable in larger cities. Every month Craigslist receives an astonishing 30 billion hits, and has 50 million users in the United States alone. Currently there are more than 700 local Craigslist sites. These sites include cities throughout the United States as well as over 70 countries around the world (Craigslist, 2012).

It’s interesting to look at Craigslist and see it as the sole source for people to off load their unwanted goods. While garage sales still occur I believe that  is assisting in their demise. Craigslist really shows us how far technology has evolved today. Being able to utilize a platform that receives so many hits is a powerful tool for all of us. In the past if we had an item that we no longer used we would have a garage sale once a year, give it to friends, donate it to your local Goodwill, or throw it in the garbage. With Craigslist people are now able to buy and sell items, advertise services, post and apply for jobs, find housing, and so much more. This website is truly changing the way in which we do business.

Objectives

• The learner will learn how to set up a Craigslist account
• The learner will learn how to properly post an item for sale on Craigslist.org
• The learner will learn how to sell unwanted or unused items
• The learner will learn how to make additional revenue off of selling unwanted or unused items

Tools needed

• A computer (required)
• Internet access (required)
• Digital camera (helpful but not required)
• A valid email address (required)
• A valid phone number (helpful but not required)
• An item that you would like to sell (required)

Further Readings

1. Read an interview with Craig Newmark. Get to know Craig on a different level by reading this interview.

2. Read the Story of Craigslist in order to learn more about the history and background of Craigslist.

3. Read a bio on Craig to learn more about his personal life and what he’s doing now.