Over on my company’s blog, I have just posted “Craigslist category list quietly expands,” after I noticed the company created a half-dozen new “by dealer” categories.
Craigslist is an unusual company in that it seldom announces new features or functionality using press releases, blogs, or other means. To most people, it looks like the site has barely changed since the late 1990s. But change does come, usually in the form of small unannounced feature changes or tweaks to its terms of use.
I only noticed the new categories because I had recorded the old categories last November, and realized that the list had changed sometime in the intervening three months. The new categories were formed by splitting appliances, auto parts, computers, electronics, cell phones and rvs into “by owner” and “by dealer”. Judging by a regular stream of angry comments in the Craigslist forum, many ordinary buyers and browsers were frustrated by dealers taking over the standalone categories, and often using tactics like overposting to drown out the listings from ordinary sellers. The new split categories makes search a lot easier, although as I noted in my blog post, dealers can still abuse the system.
Well, what is annoying me now, is all these dealers, flooding the by owner section. What the hell! Craigslist needs to do something about this. This is defeating the very purpose of the By owner separation from dealer category. The post so often and so much that it does feel like they are trying to drown out the owners. Not good!
I AGREE with KPrasad! These dealers are being sneaky. Taking the car to a private location, taking pictures, and posing as a private seller. That is SO dishonest. I just had that happen and I outright stopped talking to the guy. Be honest and post as a dealer. That’s all I’m saying.