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Peninsular Classifieds

Posted by garym on May 31, 2007 - 1:00am

Yes: Classifieds. Right here. Absolutely free. Sure, there are lots of classifieds out there, from global eBay to the local broadsheets, but none of them really fit what I needed ...

So I rolled my own, and here it is.

And it isn't just any ordinary free-for-all free-classifieds full of shady deals from shady characters posted from a-far. To start with, this one has one really big difference: it's just among 'friends'

SBP Classifieds is a free members-only service. The Peninsular makes no guarantees about sellers or buyers, but they had to be members on this site to place their advertisement or respond to you, so they aren't complete strangers ... like you might get from other Classifieds. As always and with all things online, use your head.
[ SBP Classifieds ]

There's another reallybig difference that you won't find anywhere but right here: other members can comment on your advertisement! Think about that .. you can ask a question and have the answer there for others to see, you can leave a glowing review and endorsement. I hope you won't do anything nasty ;) -- if someone missed or flubbed an essential detail, fill it in. Highly experimental, but I figure worth a shot: Interactive Collaborative Classifieds ... man, cool or what ... you can even subscribe to the conversations just like in the forums and blogs -- whodathunkit?

So forget paypal and eBay, your stuff will just get lost out there and you'll end up paying $40 shipping for a $35 item (true story, he said it was 'shipped from Saudi') and still get dinged for GST. Like a craigslist this one is completely free, but unlike those monster billions served global-scoped services, this one is just us, here among friends, neighbour to neighbour and there's no need for FedEx or import duties, you can just drop the thing off on your way to the beach. I don't want your fees or commissions, I just want to see neighbours trading with neighbours because that is the best and fastest way to a healthy economy.

The Rules

Well ... there aren't any. Or I'll make them up as I go. You can't get a membership here unless you talk me into it, and I turn away dozens of would-be spammers every week because I just don't believe Dan from Romania really has a cottage here but has a professional URL and a favourite hobby involving lo-ball meds. Spammers are unwelcome here, so use your head, be reasonable, be community minded and not opportunistic. Basically, if it is legal to trade it and you can do so fairly and neighbourly, then go right ahead, and for the buyers, like it says, "Use your head"

How it Works

Very simple: Choose Post My Classified Ad from your options in the left sidebar. That takes you to the Classifieds form

  1. pick your geographic region
  2. pick a good section for your ad
  3. give us a subject line (which will go into the sidebar on the right and into the RSS feed)
  4. you have 500 keystrokes to tell us why we should drop everything and give you a buzz right now.

Then scroll way down to the bottom and choose the Preview just to test to make sure you didn't forget anything, and at the same bottom spot on the Preview you can hit Submit and you're done.

Your ad will generally erase itself in 14 days; I've set the housing ads to run a little longer because housing is such a crisis in our local economy.

And while you can list your contact info, there's no need to expose your email or phone number, because members can just send you a private message here on the board and you can do your dealings that way. Fast, easy and you'll get email alerts.

Right now there are only a few categories in the Classifieds, but I think it will be enough to get us started; if any of them start getting overly full, I'll see what is needed, handle the splits as they come up.

And yes, I realize it is a small market being limited to the membership here, but the SBP does have several hundred active (tho largely silent) members and I've been to plenty of lawnsales and curb-side markets that saw considerably less traffic.

Dare To Compare!

Ok, I couldn't resist and I'm procrastinating real-work ...

Compare! Them US!
cost: per-word, commission absolutely free you pay nothing, and you get no guarantees and no mediation, but hey, it's free!
ad runs: one week 14 days ... renewable -- its free, so just keep posting, change a few words, try a different pitch ...
formatting: their choice, usually boring and droll your choice -- dress your ad in html and textile, link photos or sound files, anything you can do in your blog, and can fit into this little space
ad length: 15 words or so 500 keystrokes -- that can be text, HTML or spaces. Keep to the facts, be concise.
restrictions: no commercial ads, limited price none (yet) -- I've been trying to think of a reason why I wouldn't want local businesses to advertise here, and I can't think of any. So long as its decent and respectable ... I guess we'll play this by ear. Remember, this is my personal website. Behave.
comments: you kidding?? you out of your tree?? of course! it's a blog, isn't it? You can even subscribe to the comments on an ad to receive email (or RSS) summaries of new additions.
audience: who knows, who cares, we got your money anyhow your neighbours -- the internet public (and Google) can see your ad, but unless you give away your personal contact info (not recommended) only other SBP members can reach you. All contact is through the Peninsular private message system, so you get email notice whenever someone sends you an offer.
and the seller is ... some shyster on a PO box in Chicago? your neighbour -- only SBP members can post, and all members must pass Gary's skill-testing question that blocks spammers and scammers; if a seller rips you off, you can just march over to their house and have it out with them!