Craigslist used to to be the go to place to buy and sell used items online back in the day, but more and more platforms are popping up in this niche as alternatives. Although nothing can really replace its uniqueness and charm, there are actually other sites like Craigslist out there if you are looking for more options to sell used items online locally.
These apps/websites are all similar in the fact you can buy and sell used items online in person, rather than shipping them to the sender. The buyer and seller arrange their own time and location for purchasing items – there is no shipping costs or transaction fees to deal with. Another positive of selling local is you can sell large, heavy items like furniture, bikes, cars, lawnmowers and baby items (among many others of course!)
Here are the best 4 alternatives to Craigslist that deal with local buying and selling
Facebook Marketplace + local garage sale groups
If you’re already on Facebook, it’s a great platform for buying and selling because you don’t need to sign up for any additional sites or install another app on your phone.
There are a couple different ways you can sell over FB – you can use the Marketplace, which is visible to anyone with FB and will by default show items for sale within a certain radius of the viewer. It functions much like any other buy and sell site – you take a picture, enter in the information and the price and then post. Super simple!
You can also join a local garage sale/yard sale group – these will vary by location and not all areas may have them. Obviously more populated places will have more of these types of groups. They may be called something like “Orlando virtual garage sale” or “Sacramento yard sale group” etc. You can do a simple search on Facebook including your area and a term such as garage sale, yard sale, or buy/sell.
Letgo
A free local buy and sell site that lets you sell just about anything you want. From cars to baby items to electronics, if you want to sell it you can probably do so here (although there are a few prohibited items which you can read within their guidelines).
While it’s popular as an app, you can also access the regular website version on a computer if you wish.
The app lets you pay a few dollars to boost your postings if you want more visibility. You’re also able to view the seller’s profile to see a list of all current for sale items and past items they’ve sold.
Offerup
Offerup is another free app and pretty much the same as Letgo with similar features and lets you sell, again, just about anything. They also have a very similar list of prohibited items.
One of the unique things of the Offerup platform is they allow sellers to verify their identity with their TruYou system. Once you create an account, you can verify your phone number and official ID (like a driver’s license) and receive a badge on your profile. This may help some buyers feel more comfortable meeting you to purchase an item.
5Miles
Sell it, Buy it, Love it is their slogan. It’s free to use, probably one of the most similar websites to Craigslist on this list because unlike the others it also includes job listings, services, and apartments for rent. However, I found the listings for those very sparse in my area (and I don’t even live in a small town), but the for sale items were plenty. Like the others, you can sell a wide variety of items. You can also view profiles to see the seller’s ratings, for sale and previous sold items.
The issue with their website versions…
What I’ve found with most of these platforms is they definitely emphasis their mobile app presence. While you can go and use the website version for any of them, they don’t have all the features the app versions do. Facebook and Letgo have pretty decent website versions, but 5miles had the least developed of the bunch. While most younger people use apps these days, there are still a lot of others who prefer to do their dealings on a regular desktop or laptop.
Increase your chances of making sales and finding what you want
Now that you know more websites that let you buy and sell in your area, I recommend you join as many as you can. If you’re looking to make sales quickly, cross posting your items across multiple apps will give you maximum exposure. Since you’re only dealing locally, it’s best to have the most visibility possible otherwise it might take a long time to sell your stuff.
Be safe, have fun and make money!
While there are several positive aspects of using a local sale site to sell items like no shipping costs or processing fees, you have to be careful and use common sense when dealing with the in person meeting. While most people are inherently honest, a few bad apples can ruin it for the rest. Remember to only accept cash or a payment like Paypal, never personal check. And don’t let the person take the item and “come back later” to pay. If you don’t feel comfortable meeting at your house, you can always arrange a safe public space to meet and take along a family member or friend.
Now go and take advantage of these apps! Sell some of that clutter around your house while filling up your wallet at the same time.
Thanks Wendy,
I think Websst is one of the good alternatives of Craiglist and seems to be much safer and legitimate.Besides you can also advertise business for free because they offer free and paid packages.
Thanks Wendy!
I’ve tested out OfferUp and LetGo and both have been great. I’m an old user of Craigslist, but to me Craigslist seems a bit outdated in their website design (not that that has any affect on whether things sell or not haha). But I will say I’ve never heard of 5mile, and i’m excited to try it out!
I agree with your advice to spread across different platforms to get more visible. Thanks for the great info and recommendations!
Yeah I think that’s part of the charm? Haha. Craiglist has had plenty of time to update their website but it remains as barebones as possible. It still works though!
I recently came across a Gary Vee video on YouTube where he talks about the “2017 Flip Challenge” (super-relevant to your article here).
I’ve been looking around at sites like Ebay, Craigslist, etc. where I could do the “Flip Challenge” myself. I’d never heard of the Facebook Marketplace or Offerup. (I like how they have the identity verification feature for the same reasons you gave.)
I’m going to try out some of the websites that you listed here, thanks for the guidance and introduction to some new online vendor sites. 🙂
I hadn’t heard of that but I briefly looked it up. My husband and his dad used to make a decent amount of money selling stuff on Ebay they found at estate sales. It can be lucrative but it takes a lot of work and you definitely have to know what is worth getting and what can sell. I think for local buy and sell type sites it’s going to be difficult to sell things that aren’t in high demand or are super niche, because you are just limited to such a smaller audience.
Hi Wendy, Thanks for your article. I like Facebook marketplace because you are dealing with people who have established a Facebook account, You can search them out and see they have a history, You are right about Craigslist, you need to be careful when meeting the buyer/seller. Most are honest, but there are scammers. I have not heard about 5 miles, Offer Up, or Let Go. I will check them out.
Does your city have any local classified or shopper papers? In most of the places I lived, there has been some type a newspaper filled with classified ads. Sometimes they are even free. You can find lots of bargains on used items in these. Some, like recycler,com are even online and can be searched for the item you want,
Thanks for the info.
Yeah this is why I prefer buying/selling from the marketplace because you can go back and do little background checks on people! It isn’t foolproof, but it makes me more comfortable at least.
Yes, I do think we have paper classifieds in my city but I don’t get the actual paper or pick up the papers from the boxes at stores and such… I pretty much do all that stuff online! I will definitely look into it though!
Thank you for your article! I have used craigslist and the marketplace before, but these others were news to my ears.
Question… do you know of any sites that you can sell things in a bidding manner? I haven’t found one yet, but think that this is an awesome idea and would enjoy selling items and getting the most for my item!
FB Marketplace and CL are definitely the big ones! Hmm the only bidding site I know of is Ebay.
Yes this app are a must for local business and persons to deal online in their town.
I only use FaceBook marketplace since it has the more traffic=sales but I will sure download 5mile and LetGo so I can sell My services I’m a plumber and I need to get more clients.
Yeah, definitely the more exposure the better!
Thanks for these great options. I’m familiar with Facebook Marketplace, but I’ve never heard of Letgo, Offerup or 5Miles and I’ll definitely take a look at these. It’s nice to have an alternative to Facebook marketplace and I really just haven’t taken the time to research and find them on my own. So thanks for providing the info for us. Very useful 🙂
No problem, Mary. Yeah definitely check them out!
I had never heard about Craiglist before, mostly due to the fact that I don’t live in the U.S. I only knew about the Facebook marketplace. Selling used items locally is great and you can also arrange the meeting with the buyer yourself without paying any fees. I guess we live in the era of mobile-friendly websites and apps, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t focus on the actual website.
They have Craigslist around the world actually!
I agree there should still be focus on a website because there is still a large group of people that use an actual computer, laptop or tablet to do things rather than a phone app. However you shouldn’t disregard the mobile audience because it’s HUGE these days!
Hey Wendy,
Great article, although I see the sales adds for a ton of stuff, I had never thought of Facebook as a place that I could sell of stuff myself.
that seems like a great way to clear out some clutter and maybe put a few buck back into my pocket!
i would like to know more about this opportunity. Such as , is this more of a local market so people can come and pick up the item. Or am I looking at this to small?
Brendon
Yes, these are like Craigslist in the fact they are more for local pick up type items rather than trying to sell them and ship them somewhere. It can be a little awkward trying to have random people show up at your house, but you can also arrange to meet them somewhere in town if that would work better for you. It isn’t for everyone, but it definitely is a good way to clear out clutter and make extra cash if you need it.