Craigslist has Competition
Craigslist is a booming classified advertisements website that gets over 50 billion page views and over 60 million users each month. On Craigslist you can find anything from job postings and housing to a variety of items for sale. With Craigslist supporting 13 languages it is no surprise that it is doing so well. But with success comes competition. More companies are coming up with new and more innovative ways to launch a type of site similar to Craigslist and find success of their own. Two of those competing newcomers are OfferUp and Close5.
See also: Shopping Apps to Help You Beat the Crowds
Close5 is a new free app created by eBay. It was launched in mid November 2014. With Close5 you can take a few photos and broadcast them to friends and neighbors quickly without having to put a price or a description.
How it works:
- Take your photos
- Broadcast the photos on the app
- Negotiate a price
Goals:
This app’s goal is to make buying a safer experience. It allows for secure messaging and gives the consumer a chance to look at the seller’s public profile. As stated by Close5 they believe “that everything you need should be available within 5 miles of wherever you are, not only for the good of your community and the environment, but also your wallet.” Keeping the idea of locality, Close5 stresses how quick the buying and selling process can be. Close5 is headquartered in San Jose but offers their services in San Jose, Las Vegas, San Diego, and San Francisco. Close5 is still a new app but its popularity is growing.
Learn more about Close5 here.
See also: Save Money. Save Water With Rachio, The New Intelligent Sprinkler
OfferUp is similar to Close5 but was thought up by Nick Huzar. When Nick found out he was soon to be a father he needed to clear room in his home and make money but did not know where he could sell his personal items quickly and safely. OfferUp targets families because of its dead-simple use.
How it works:
- Open up the app
- Take a photo of the item you want to sell
- Include a price
- Give a brief description and how willing you are to negotiate
- Post to a variety of platforms that include (Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and you can email)
- The transaction will take place on OfferUp
See also: End-of-the-Year Car Buying Tips
Safety with TruYou:
The consumers can see a general location of where you are but nothing further than that to protect your privacy. OfferUp takes it a step further and has something called TruYou. On TruYou both the seller and buyer can give information to validate identity such as scanning of drivers licenses. From there OfferUp will then cross-references the information against public records. When this is done others will see you as a TruYou member, and it will give them security over whomever it is they are doing business with. Similar to Close5, OfferUp allows for secure messaging.
Ratings:
OfferUp has rave reviews with the App store and 90% positive ratings. Craigslist better watch out for these newcomers because they are small and new but have great potential.
Learn more about OfferUp here.
OfferUp and Close5 stress a goal of security; they want you to feel comfortable with the person you are doing business with. These apps are quite simple to use, all you do is take your photo and you have offers in minutes. Both apps offer ease of use, usefulness, and are fun and engaging. Both OfferUp and Close5 apps are free and can be found in the App Store for iPhone or in Google Play for Android. Try these apps for a quick, safe, and stress free way to either buy or sell personal items.
