7 Craigslist Alternatives to Try Out

While Craigslist offers a unique way to find goods and services online, there are several setbacks to the online classifieds platform: Scams run rampant, spam ads are frequent and the minimalist design lacks user-friendly appeal.

Many still flock to Craigslist to post job listings or apartment rentals because of its large community, but the downfalls often outweigh the possible visibility of the ad. It just may be time to look elsewhere for online classified ads.

Here are seven sites that offer similar services, but eliminate a lot of Craigslist's hassle:

eBay Classifieds

This site gives you the same benefits of Craigslist with the credibility of the eBay brand. eBay Classifieds provides most of the same category listings, from jobs to selling and renting, and more than 150,000 ads are posted each month. The only category missing from the site is personal ads (which could be a pro or con depending on your needs). And a recent redesign revealed a much more user-friendly interface, including the ability to see and sort items with their photos.

Pawngo

Pawngo isn't completely like Craigslist in it's ability to find services, job listings or apartment rentals, but, much like the name suggets, the site puts a digital spin on the concept of pawn shops. It's perfect for someone trying to make a little extra cash from jewelry, tech, or odds and ends. Pawngo's team makes offers on items based on estimated resale value. If the user accepts the offer, they ships the item to the headquarters in Denver, Co. and the company wires the money to the user's account.

Recycler

This site helps users find and sell used items in a simple manner. You can exchange anything from pets to home listings appear, though it works best for actual products. Recycler also features a very easy to use search tool, making the sorting process less strenuous.

Oodle

Oodle is probably the biggest rival of Craigslist because it aggregates posts from various other sites into its hub. The site displays internal listings but also ones from eBay and Facebook Marketplace (if you opt to sign in with your Facebook account). Unlike other bartering or swap sites, Oodle also offers a section for services instead of just goods, and even houses a place for personal ads. You can also create a listing for items you're seeking. And here's the best part — Oodle has its' own mobile app.

U-Exchange

This site, like Recycler, isn't great for career or apartment listings, but it does allow for the bartering of goods and services. It's pretty much a swap site where you can offer up some of your time or a product and trade for something else you might need. It's more streamlined than Craigslist and could work for one-off instances when you need to get something specific done.

Adoos

Adoos acts as a much more typical classified listing hub with categories devoted to real estate, vehicles, community and jobs, among others. Unlike Craigslist, Adoos lets you log into the site through your Facebook account to provide more credibility and search optimization. The general layout is much more eye-catching than Craigslist's bland design. The downfall — Adoos has a significant amount of ads for external sites that you have to wade through to find what you really need.

Hoobly

Hoobly is the most similar to Craigslist in it's look and feel, though it does have a feature that asks users to register with an email address to help minimize spam on the site.

What other sites do you use instead of Craigslist? Share them in the comments below.

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Image via iStockphoto, alexsl