It can be hard to consider selling that old bike in your garage or buying a new kitchen table without considering sites like Craigslist. Instead of paying full price, you can “inherit” someone else’s table set they’re looking to offload before a significant move.

The online world of buying, selling, and trading has become a significant highway for hidden treasures. 

When it’s time for you to step up to the plate and do a little “decluttering,” know that there are many websites like Craigslist that can help you offload items collecting dust and upload a few dollar bills to your checking account. Here are a dozen avenues for you to pursue. 

Facebook Marketplace

With over a billion people scrolling Facebook every day, it’s easy to gain a lot of traction whenever posting to Facebook’s Marketplace. If you have a Facebook account, then there are three ways you can access their marketplace. 

First, you can type in the name of your city and “online yard sale” to find your local group. Or, you can click on “Buy and Sell Groups” through the Explore Menu. Alternatively, you’ll also see a “Marketplace” tab on your Facebook page’s left-hand side. 

Buying and selling are free here. You’ll just have to check each group’s guidelines, as they vary. If you’re looking to buy, you can search for specific keywords within a local group, or just scroll to your heart’s content. If you’re looking to sell, the process is quite simple, as well. 

Within the Marketplace icon, click on the “Sell” or “Sell Something” icon. Then, enter a title for the item, description, price, and upload your photos. Confirm your location and select a category for the item. To gain more traction, you can also post your ad to any local buying and selling groups you’re a member of.

Letgo

While Facebook continues its world domination, Letgo continues to rise as a popular buying and selling alternative. We love their tag line: “Less stuff, more living.”   To register, you need to confirm your identity using Google or Facebook. When you have a potential buyer or seller on your hands, you can message them directly through the app before you’re ready to close the deal. This leaves your phone number and personal e-mail address out of it. 

Although Letgo is a Craigslist alternative, there are a few similarities. Primarily, the two offer a very clean interface, making it easy to navigate. The difference here is that Letgo also allows you to upload a video of your product.   As we know from Amazon, sometimes watching a short video on a product can be enough to seal the deal. This can be an addition to your marketing skills when posting a unique item to your Letgo account. 

Recycler

Recylcer is a cool platform with a unique backstory. Initially, it began as a local classified newspaper for residents in southern California. But, nearly ten years ago, it became a national marketplace and now serves over 18 million monthly users. 

It may not be in the billion-people range like Facebook, but that’s undoubtedly substantial. You’re free and clear to post all your “regular” items, like furniture, electronics, and more. But, Recycler can be categorized as one of the alternatives to Craigslist because it’s also a great way to find houses to rent and even sell used cars. 

Being a hip and trendy platform, the folks at Recycler also allow you to post your listing to Facebook and Twitter.  Like social media, you can also spend a little on their paid ads to target a specific market or set of buyers. 

Mercari

Mercari has a unique twist in that it only allows for shippable items. This removes all in-person meetups and any potential for creepy encounters. When your item sells, Mercari helps you print out a prepaid shipping label.   While this is helpful, you’ll have to account for shipping costs when you price your item for sale. Along these lines, it’s worth noting that there’s no listing fee

 However, you will pay a flat 10% fee when your item sells. 

Paying a stranger for something online (and just hoping they’ll ship it) can put some people on edge. Thankfully, though, the folks at Mercari instituted a rating system. So, when someone buys your item, you have to rate them. Similarly, when the buyer receives your item, they have to rate you, as well. 

So, like hopping into an Uber or Lyft, or staying the night in an Airbnb, you can feel an ounce of protection by scanning through the buyer or sellers ratings. Knowing your money or beloved possessions are going into trusted hands makes the whole process a lot more enjoyable. 

Geebo

In keeping with the theme of creepy encounters, we noticed Geebo when we took note of their “SafeTrade” option. If you or someone you know has had an odd encounter through Craigslist, you don’t have to let that stop you from buying and selling your wares. 

You can give Geebo a try and, when you’re ready to complete your transaction, the “SafeTrade” option allows the buyer and seller to meet at a local police department.  Aside from this safety feature, it’s also worth noting that Geebo was founded in 1999. Geebo tends to serve large cities quite well, but that shouldn’t deter you from giving it a go, even if you live in a smaller metropolis. 

Locanto

Locanto can be placed on the list of Craigslist competitors. They took after Craigslist in a major way. From the outset, it looks quite similar, with a boosted interface. You’ll notice that the search items resemble Craigslist, but with amplified menus, search bars, and buttons.

You can search by city, state, or hashtag. You can also set alerts if you have your sights set on a particular item. If you’re looking to sell, simply click on the “Post Free Ad” link and create an account (or login with Google).   Also, like Craigslist, you can search for jobs, rentals, houses, and personals. So, the two deliver very similar offerings, but Locanto beautified all its options for modern-day users. 

Oodle

Oodle had in mind that it wanted to help people make oodles of money right from their home. This is a site for local trade, so it also simplifies the process to a certain extent.   However, what Oodle has done, which allows people to gain a bit more traction when buying or selling, is integrated with other websites like Craigslist. This helps them to expand their listings and draw in more products for their users. 

Instead of cars that were only posted to Oodle, you’ll also see listings from other alternatives like Cars.com. Items available on eBay for local pickup can also be found here, as well as local listings from Facebook’s Marketplace. 

Close5

Close5 is another site for local buying and selling. It’s a smart app that enables neighbors to exchange a wide variety of commodities, from electronics to furniture to cars and vehicles. There’s also a “Jobs” and “Services and Resumes” option, helping locals find work close to home.   Close5 was formerly eBay Classified, but it just takes on a local angle now. As such, it’s also a viable option when searching for local housing and even pets. 

eBay

At this point, it’s time to discuss eBay. Plenty of folks out there make a living buying and selling off eBay, so it’s about as “tried and true” as it gets. However, there are quite a few fees associated with eBay, so we’ve held off on this one.  First, the majority of eBay sales do not take place locally. As such, there will be shipping costs, unless you work out one of their local pickup options for items that are too large to ship for any sort of reasonable price. 

Along with shipping costs, you’re also looking at listing and selling fees. This may be why some items on eBay appear to be a tad inflated, compared to other for sale sites like Craigslist.  It’s even possible to sell an entire wardrobe online if that’s the direction you need to go. 

People tend to trust eBay because it’s been such a heavy hitter for so many years. Those one-off items that people might be skeptical about on lesser-known platforms may quickly sell with eBay backing your products. 

USA Today Classifieds

Even in an age when print media is starting to fizzle out, this classic newspaper remains strong and steady. This is probably because their digital platform is highly trafficked and a treasure trove of useful information. 

Just know that, if you plan to post to USA Today, it’s going to cost ya. However, that doesn’t rule them out as a viable solution. If you have a big-ticket item that’s going to make a big-ticket deposit into your bank account, then this could be a fabulous way to go.  Your item will be widely circulated across the country. On a completely unrelated side note, we tend to get lost in the USA Today Classifieds blog. It offers a wealth of information on lifestyle-related topics, educational topics, and career-oriented articles. 

Penny Saver USA

You may have memories of walking out of the grocery store with Mom or Dad and picking up a PennySaver on your way out. That means these guys have been around for a minute.   In our minds, this gives them a bit of a USA Today feel, in terms of trustworthiness. Of course, they can’t patrol every buyer and seller, so nothing is iron-clad, we just like the Penny Saver’s nod to the past. 

Like all the other websites like Craigslist, posting an item is as simple as clicking on “Post Ad” in the top right-hand corner. Then, also like Craigslist, you’ll be able to turn to the Penny Saver for everything under the sun, including real estate, jobs, cars, pets, local services, and more. Their tag line is “Best Local Values,” and it’s easy to get behind that. 

BackPage

There are other sites out there that handle international dealings, like Trovit, but we like BackPage because it gets a lot of traffic. It covers the US, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Oceania, and Africa. 

You’ll find all the usual categories, including buying, selling, trading, cars, rentals, real estate, jobs, and more. With an international zeal like this, you can move from the United States to Australia and even line up a couple of new items of furniture for your studio by the sea. 

Sites Like Craigslist for the Win

And there you have it! If you’re looking to buy, sell, trade, rent, or job-hunt, any of these sites like Craigslist can take you all the way. 

Whenever you’re buying, selling, or checking out the job posts, be sure to do your due diligence. Never give away your personal information and only agree to meet if things feel safe to you. Unfortunately, where there’s an online platform that’s meant to serve the good of the people, there will be a conglomerate of bad people.   That said, we wish you nothing but financial success as you sell items you no longer need and purchase items with an affordable price tag.