Do you think websites that are free to use are abused more then paid ones?

9 replies
I ask this because I'm working on my local classifieds site and I will be charging right from the start for ALL categories. I honestly believe that anything free is abused from spammers and game players. When people have their own money on the line they tend to take things seriously.

I bet if Craigslist charged for every ad it would be a thousand times better and a ton less spam.
#abused #free #paid #websites
  • Profile picture of the author thedanbrown
    Ya but what you're missing is the reason craigslist works is because people go there to search.

    If you're charging your clients who want to post ads you have to guarantee a certain amount of exposure in order for them to agree that it's worth it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7898649].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author edman78
      Originally Posted by thedanbrown View Post

      Ya but what you're missing is the reason craigslist works is because people go there to search.

      If you're charging your clients who want to post ads you have to guarantee a certain amount of exposure in order for them to agree that it's worth it.
      Yes I know I will fill it with fake ads at first and get my friends and family to post legit ads. I don't see any other way of getting a classifieds site off the ground. I'm not going the free posting route there are thousands of free dead classifieds all over the internet.

      Also starting out free then charging down the line will scare off a lot of people.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7898674].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author AprilCT
        I agree that it's going to be a bit though to get a paid classifieds site going, you'll have a lot of marketing work to do.

        Are you planning on a themed classified site, like all vehicles and parts for sale? (Vehicles to include things like big equipment, lawn tractors, big rigs, sports cars, etc.) I don't ever plan on doing a classified site, nor do I have experience with one. It would just seem to me that a themed site might be easier to get it up and going than a general site. Then you could expand it and test the response.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7899134].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Absolutely.

    Free always attracts a majority certain type of person.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7899164].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Marketinghamster View Post

      Firstly lets be honest here and look at whether a spammer is going to bother posting on a classified ad site with no traffic. Clearly, the answer to this is no.
      I don't think that's clear at all.

      Spammers are quite often pretty stupid people, and some of them outsource the work which is then done by someone who has little interest in the results, as well. Besides which, it's by no means easy to tell much, reliably, about another site's traffic.

      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Absolutely.

      Free always attracts a majority certain type of person.
      This. :p
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7913531].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author freeadstime
    What is your local classifieds site? have you been getting any ads at all? If it is paid right of the bat, then you probably won't see even one person to post an ad. At the beginning you should do it for free at least. Then if it picked up, you may charge people.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7912664].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author joaquin112
    What do you think?
    Signature

    Publish your digital course at Accomplisher.com. We create the video sales letter, drive affiliate traffic and split the profits with you. If you want to start making money by teaching online, submit your application here.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7912725].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dkla27
    The abuse is the price you have to pay in order to get the exposure you need for the site to take off. I believe it's not a problem to switch to paid ads down the line even if that scares some people off. You can always give old "free" customers a better deal.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7912748].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Marketinghamster
    Firstly lets be honest here and look at whether a spammer is going to bother posting on a classified ad site with no traffic. Clearly, the answer to this is no. The only way you're going to get this thing going is to firstly not charge in the beginning and then once you have got the ball rolling with traffic etc then you can make it paid posting only. Logically speaking, if I was a consumer why would I choose your site over Craigslist? Once you solve that question then you've got a money maker.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7913144].message }}

Trending Topics