Craigslist vs. eBay Essay

Submitted By llamkin
Words: 958
Pages: 4

eBay vs. Craigslist EBay and Craigslist are used for very similar purposes, but when comparing the two, eBay was the more effective site to find exactly what you are looking for. While Craigslist has items that are larger, eBay provides a more reliable way to purchase items. They both have their advantages, but in the end, eBay come out on top. The first difference between the two web sites is the effectiveness of their display. The Ebay web site has much more color and appeals to the eye while the craigslist website is plain. When the website for eBay pops up, the first thing that I think of is how inviting it looks. Craigslist has a very plain design and does not appeal to the eye. When you see something with color and images, it makes you want to use that one over the plain web site. Both website have their faults, but in the overall design of each website, eBay takes the prize.
Craigslist has more categories to choose from, but it takes longer to find what category to choose than to just search for something on eBay. This is where Ebay sidesteps choosing a category. When you type in what you are looking for it will tell you what category it is in. When using either website, you can use the search bar. EBay shows results that fit a specific category whereas Craigslist shows a wide variety. This can be helpful, but show more specific results could get rid of the things that are not needed.
When you compare the two websites in which is easiest to navigate, they both have good things that help the user navigate the website. When using eBay, it is very clear that you search for something you are interested in buying. After you search for something, you can narrow your search by checking specific things you want. On the other hand, when you use craigslist it shows you the categories so you know to choose one that fits what exactly you are looking for. After you choose a category, you search for what you are looking for. In my mind it makes more sense to search for the item first, but that is just my opinion. Both of these websites are very self-explanatory and are easy to navigate.
The two websites have very different reputations. EBay is very trusted and will be the least likely to use false advertising. Craigslist has been known to have a large amount of false advertisement and also has been used for the wrong reasons. There hasn’t been as many issues with this in the last few years, but that is always going to be an issue. EBay could have this problem, but it is important to know exactly what you are buying before you do. Be sure to read all the information the seller provides before even bidding on an item. This is one advantage of using eBay because the website requires the seller to provide an adequate amount of information about the item they are selling. The quality of the items sold by the two websites is very different. On eBay, you can buy an item in as good of quality as you want. The website makes the seller provide the buyer with the item’s current condition. On Craigslist, the seller can post pictures if they want to, but if they don’t they can lie about the item’s condition just to make some money. This has become a major problem with Craigslist and could be a leading cause to lack of reliability. When you look at the sellers of the two websites, they tend to have two different