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  • Geebo 8:00 am on June 17, 2024 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , geebo, , legislation, Nancy Skinner, SB 1144   

    Proposed law punishes classifieds users 

    By Greg Collier

    The State of California, like many others nationwide, faces a significant retail theft problem. Shoplifting incidents now frequently make headlines, unlike in the past. Instead of addressing the root causes of this issue, a California State Senator has proposed legislation targeting classified sites like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and Geebo.com, along with their users.

    California State Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) introduced SB 1144 to the state assembly last week. This bill aims to deter the sale of stolen items on online marketplaces by requiring these platforms to collect personal and financial information from frequent users. This includes bank account credentials, copies of valid driver’s licenses, and Social Security numbers.

    Although we at Geebo.com often critique the practices of Craigslist and Marketplace, we oppose this legislation. We believe it is both misguided and an overreach of government authority.

    Senator Skinner may think these proposals will stop the sale of stolen goods on online marketplaces, but in reality, everyday users will suffer the most. Many users have established businesses on these platforms, selling goods they bought wholesale from retailers going out of business or simply reducing inventory. These individuals will be unfairly targeted by SB 1144.

    Under this law, they would have to submit their personal and financial information just to sell a few used iPhones online. This puts users’ data at risk, especially given Facebook’s poor track record for protecting user information. We doubt Craigslist would fare any better.

    Furthermore, these proposals are unlikely to affect the sale of stolen goods from retail thefts online. Major theft rings would simply use information obtained from identity theft victims. Given the frequency of major data breaches, it wouldn’t be difficult for thieves to acquire such information.

    In conclusion, while addressing retail theft is crucial, SB 1144 imposes burdensome requirements on legitimate users of online marketplaces without effectively tackling the core issue. By shifting the focus from root causes to excessive data collection, the proposed legislation risks compromising user privacy and security. It’s essential to find balanced solutions that protect both consumers and businesses without overreaching government authority or jeopardizing personal information. We urge lawmakers to reconsider and develop more effective strategies that genuinely address retail theft without placing undue strain on everyday users and small businesses.

     

  • Geebo 7:59 am on April 2, 2019 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: geebo,   

    Bashing the competition 

    Bashing the competition

    Recently, an article from MakeUseOf was brought to our attention. The article, written by Saikat Basu, was another one of these ‘top alternatives to craigslist’ and Geebo was listed as one of the choices. Mr. Basu says some very complimentary things about Geebo including referring to Geebo as an industry veteran and that Geebo has a more personal atmosphere than the competition. On that we can agree, however, Mr. Basu also says a couple of things that we feel the need to take issue with.

    The first item is that Mr. Basu states that the Geebo blog spends a lot of time bashing our competition for their sketchy practices. That is only half-true. We admit, that we do criticize some of our competition as often they are hypocritical in defense of their platforms. We’ve also criticized companies outside of our industry if we feel that they are misleading the public or violating the public’s trust. Conversely, we’ve also applauded companies and even competitors that we felt have been deserving of our praise.

    The second item we’d like to address is the statement by Mr. Basu where he claims that Geebo is no safer than any other online classifieds site. We’d like to remind not only Mr. Basu but our readers and customers that we manually review each and every listing that is posted to Geebo. That in itself cuts down on a multitude of scams and illegal activity that most other platforms are plagued by. Geebo has never taken listings for ads that can be construed as being for prostitution and even eliminated our personals section for fear of it being used for human trafficking. We’re constantly rejecting listings for illicit drugs. We even stopped accepting listings for pets to the potential of abuse from puppy mills and other instance of animal cruelty. We stopped accepting ads for firearms even though no firearms-related crimes have ever been linked to Geebo. Most recently, we started monitoring responses to ad owners through the Geebo platform in order to weed out overseas scammers. Lastly, in the almost two decades that Geebo has been in business, there has never been a reported incident of robbery, rape, assault, fraud, or murder linked to Geebo. Unfortunately, not many of our competitors take the same care for their customers as we do ours.

    While we appreciate the kind words Mr. Basu has had for us, we’d like to invite not only Mr. Basu but the users of other platforms to get to know Geebo a little better and see how proud we are of our safety records and initiatives.

     

  • Geebo 11:03 am on February 12, 2019 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , geebo, , ,   

    Geebo introduces new feature to better protect consumers 

    Geebo introduces new feature to better protect consumers

    Since the beginning, Geebo has always had user safety in mind. Not just personal safety but financial and emotional safety as well. Many of the safety choices made by Geebo have gone against what many would consider industry standards. However, we’ve always stood by those choices and have challenged other online marketplaces to do the same. For example, other classifieds sites rely on users to flag potentially fraudulent ads. This has led to abuses of the flagging system on other sites. Instead, Geebo employs a trained staff to moderate each ad for potentially fraudulent or illegal activity and the innovation doesn’t stop there.

    In 2010, Geebo took a stand against sites like Craigslist and Backpage by engaging in an anti-human trafficking campaign designed to bring awareness to the plight of victims trafficked through Geebo’s competitors. In that same year, Geebo closed its personal ads section due to the amount of trafficking that took place in the personals section of other sites. Even though there were no reported incidents about Geebo’s personals Geebo felt the removal of the section was necessary to further ensure user safety.

    In 2011, Geebo CEO Greg Collier wrote an open letter to other online classifieds asking them to take user safety more seriously by implementing such measures as moderating ads and removing adult-oriented ads. Many of those challenges were largely unheeded by other classifieds sites until media and government pressure forced them to remove their adult sections and their other ads are still largely unmoderated.

    In January 2013, Geebo made the decision to stop accepting ads for pets. In a company blog post, CEO Greg Collier noted puppy mills that sell abused or sick animals commonly use online classifieds.

    In May 2015, Geebo partnered with the AIM Group’s SafeTrade Station initiative in order to provide a list of safe trading spots at police stations across the country. Each Geebo ad contains a link to the SafeTrade Stations website so users can find a safe location to make their transactions.

    In 2016, in response to the Orlando nightclub shooting and other mass shootings, Geebo stopped accepting ads for firearms even though no firearms-related crimes were ever linked to Geebo.

    That brings us to Geebo’s latest innovation for user safety. Since late 2018, Geebo staff have been monitoring the responses to ads made through the Geebo platform. By doing this we can determine if the responses are coming from overseas which largely indicates that the ad’s respondent is more than likely a scammer. It also allows us to detect potential fraud from inside the country since our staff is trained in the detection of the most commonly used scams. We believe this proactive stance against scammers will go a long way in protecting the safety of our customers. While other sites and apps in our industry may see this as going above and beyond the call of duty we believe it’s the most logical and needed step in consumer protection.

     

  • Geebo 8:20 am on November 16, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , geebo,   

    Facebook tries to silence a critic in Geebo 

    Facebook tries to silence a critic in Geebo

    After the daily blog post is published here at Geebo, a link to the day’s blog post is also posted on all of Geebo’s social media accounts. This obviously includes the Geebo Facebook page where we not only post links to the blog but also share some of our users’ ads we think our customers might enjoy.

    Yesterday, the blog post was about how the New York Times accused Facebook of a myriad of transgressions, however, the post mainly focused on how Facebook allegedly used some underhanded tactics to try to silence its critics. More often than not, one of our employees also posts links to that day’s blog on their personal Facebook. That employee is also a content creator in their off time who has been critical of Facebook in the past, but they never had a problem with any of the content they’ve posted. That was until yesterday when they received a notification from Facebook stating that the post goes against Facebook’s ‘Community Standards’ and it has been removed from the news feed section. Isn’t it ironic that Facebook removed a post that was critical of them for trying to silence their critics?

    It was then decided to see if the post was still live on the Geebo Facebook page and it was gone like it never existed. However, in the case of the Geebo page, there was no notification of the post violating the ever-nebulous community standards such as the one posted above from our employee’s personal page. As far as could be told, the post had been wiped off the face of the earth like it had been black bagged by Facebook’s content police and shipped off to a virtual Gitmo. Our employee has reached out to Facebook but has only received a canned response stating that the matter is under review.

    As a whole, we try not to be hyperbolic and we would never claim that Facebook is violating Geebo’s First Amendment right to free speech. Facebook is a private company and has every right to remove whatever content they see fit. However, we are also well within our right to point out what we believe to be evidence supporting some of the allegations that the New York Times has made. It’s one thing to disagree with your critics but it’s another matter completely when you try to rob them of their voice.

     

  • Geebo 9:27 am on June 19, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , geebo   

    Geebo is better for job hunting than craigslist 

    Geebo is better for job hunting than craigslist

    When it comes to looking for a new job, a lot of job seekers will turn to craigslist ads for new opportunities. The problem with that is that anybody can pay for a craigslist ad and claim to be an employer. This often results in deceptive ads that either misrepresent what the job really is, or they’re outright scams. Here are some tips on how to tell if a job is not legitimate.

    News station WKBW out of Buffalo, New York, recently did an expose on craigslist job ads. In one instance they found a meal delivery service that promised $19/hr. but after they clicked on the ad they noticed that the pay started lowering as the ad progressed. The reporter reached out to craigslist to see how they verify their job ads but craigslist, not surprisingly, did not respond.

    Here at Geebo, not only do we review our ads for legitimacy, but all our employment ads list the name of the company placing the ad. This allows you the opportunity to research the company to see if it’s the right fit for you.

     

  • Geebo 9:01 am on May 17, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , geebo   

    Geebo is the best craigslist alternative 

    Geebo is the best craigslist alternative

    We’d like to thank Nate Sterling of Magnum Star News for selecting Geebo as one of the top craigslist alternatives. In his article entitled ‘5 Best Alternative Sites to Craigslist’, Mr. Sterling states that in his opinion Geebo is one of the best classified websites. With all due respect to our esteemed competition mentioned in Mr. Sterling’s list, we like to think that we are the best.

    In the close to two decades that Geebo has been in business, we’ve been an industry pioneer in many aspects. For example, we are very proud of the fact that we manually review our ads in order to greatly lessen the possibility of scams and illegal content. Geebo has always prided itself on not only being the safer community classifieds but also being a family friendly classifieds. While some classifieds sites have made their money through illicit means, Geebo has refused to follow that path.

    And while the other classifieds sites mentioned in Mr. Sterling’s list have their own good qualities, a number of them still have personal ad sections. As craigslist and Backpage have shown, unmoderated personal ads can be abused by online predators and human traffickers. As an industry leader, Geebo removed its personal ads section in order to avoid putting our users in danger years before it became an issue with other websites.

    While some see us as a craigslist alternative, we see ourselves more as the standard bearers for the online classifieds industry.

     

  • Geebo 9:49 am on April 11, 2018 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , geebo, , ,   

    Geebo: Stemming the tide of human trafficking at home 

    Geebo: Stemming the tide of human trafficking at home

    An example of many of the trafficking ads we’ve been receiving lately.

    As I’m sure you’ve read, Backpage.com was seized this past Friday by the Federal government. Two of its founders were not only indicted, but are currently sitting in jail. From the beginning, Backpage’s business model was based on the sexual slave trade, collecting as much as 99% of their revenue from the ads placed by pimps and traffickers. While making hundreds of millions of dollars in such an illicit way, the seizure of Backpage was the only logical way this could have ended.

    Since Backpage’s closure, Geebo has been receiving a torrent of ‘adult’ ad submissions for review. The keyword in that sentence is ‘review’ as Geebo has always reviewed ads for objectionable content. Thanks to the great software used under the hood at Geebo and the human curation done by our moderation staff, we have never allowed and never will allow Geebo to become a haven for those who would sell women and children into sexual servitude. Since day one and with little fanfare, Geebo has committed itself to keep its ads free from the likes posted on Backpage while maintaining a profitable business. Toward that end, Geebo was an industry trend setter when CEO Greg Collier made the decision to remove personal ads from the site in 2010 in order to prevent the ads from being abused by traffickers, where on other sites many victims are tricked into being trafficked through their personal ads.

    Another great thing about Geebo is that these decisions weren’t made due to public pressure or pending legislation. These decisions were made out of something that appears to be rare in the industry these days, and that is common human decency. Craigslist shut down there adult services section only after massive public pressure from the media, and closed their personals after the passage of FOSTA/SESTA, which is almost an admission that trafficking was still taking place on their personals. When the credit card companies cut off Backpage, they became so desperate to stay in business they started accepting payment for prostitution ads in cash, Bitcoin and gift cards. If they hadn’t been raided by Federal authorities there’s no doubt that Backpage would still be collecting money for these ads. Geebo shows that a classifieds site can be run ethically without having to resort to questionable ads designed to make money off of the suffering of others.

     

  • Geebo 8:57 am on May 4, 2017 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Forbes, geebo, ,   

    Geebo is not for naught, despite what Forbes may say 

    Geebo is not for naught, despite what Forbes may say

    Recently, Forbes.com published a blog post about startup classifieds apps LetGo and OfferUp and how one of them may be the latest craigslist killer. By that we mean a proverbial David taking on the Goliath of craigslist, and not one of the 100+ murderers that have used craigslist to find their victims. We’ll get to those startups in a moment, but first a comment in the article made about Geebo needs to be addressed.

    Halfway down the page Geebo is dismissed by the Forbes blogger in the following manner…

    Every few years, someone in Silicon Valley looks at Craigslist and thinks he or she can do better. In the late 1990s, the startled newspaper companies tried collaborating with each other on various projects, and in 2000, Geebo launched as the “safe” Craigslist. In 2004, there was Oodle, a well-financed website that later tried to incorporate Facebook identities. All these efforts basically came to naught.

    The Forbes blogger seems to have not done his research as very little what he wrote about Geebo is correct. Geebo was founded in 1999, however, it was not launched as the “safe” alternative to craigslist as he put it. Geebo CEO Greg Collier founded Geebo to provide a better user experience than what was being put out by hard-copy newspapers. Not only that, but at the time of Geebo’s founding Mr. Collier had not even heard of craigslist as it had not yet become the brand that we know today. Mr. Collier even said that he didn’t want Geebo to be anything like craigslist. He also wanted Geebo to have its own users rather than trying to take users away from craigslist. Since that time Geebo has in fact marketed itself as a safer community classifieds. That’s a claim that Geebo takes very seriously considering the number of murders and other crimes that have been committed through the so-called industry leaders craigslist and Backpage. Even relative newcomer LetGo has had a couple of murders committed through its app.

    The rest of the Forbes blog post seems to be nothing more than a love letter to OfferUp. While OfferUp may not be headquartered in Silicon Valley, it still follows the same old Silicon Valley routine. They went to venture capitalists looking for seed money in order to get their startup off the ground. And let’s face it, apps like LetGo and OfferUp are usually founded for one primary reason and that’s to be bought out by a larger company. Geebo has always been a self funded company and has maintained profitability in an industry where many startups don’t even have a monetization plan. In fact Geebo generates more net profit than craigslist per 1 million users.

    Speaking of users, the Forbes post states that LetGo has a userbase of 7.3 million while OfferUp users come in around 6.3 million. Legitimate user numbers can be tricky in determining since a number of companies use click farms overseas to inflate their numbers. These click farms can also be used to scrape content from other sites.

    This isn’t even taking into consideration that Forbes.com isn’t the financial journal of record that it once was. A few years ago they opened up their website to just about anyone who cared to write for them. They have basically become a content farm for the financial sector.

    In conclusion, Geebo has been a successful business in an industry that has seen many proverbial bodies left in its wake. We were here before the startups and we’ll be here after they’re gone. All while maintaining a reputation of being an ethical and safer classifieds.

     

  • Geebo 9:01 am on April 12, 2017 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: g rated, geebo, KSL Classifieds   

    G-Rated Classifieds do work 

    G-Rated Classifieds do work

    You may think you have heard this story before. In the days when the internet was mostly only accessed through computers, a tight-knit community in the Western US embraces a free local classifieds website that over the years has turned into a multi-million dollar business. That classifieds site not only has millions of users but it did so by not only keeping its ads family friendly, but not allowing adult and personal ads or ads for illegal content. While you may have thought this story was initially about craigslist, the story is actually about KSL Classifieds in the Beehive State of Utah.

    While it may have the backing of the Mormon Church, you couldn’t tell by looking at the website. The KSL Classifieds is used both by Mormon and non-Mormon alike. It’s so ubiquitous throughout the state of Utah that craigslist is a mere afterthought in Utah. That’s because KSL Classifieds takes care in making sure that its site is squeaky clean and relatively safe. The site is so relied upon in Utah that people who move out of the area lament the fact that their new city doesn’t have a local alternative to KSL Classifieds that’s clean, safe and free. KSL Classifieds has even spread its sphere of influence into neighboring states.

    Craigslist, on the other hand, sold its soul to the devil, so to speak, early on in its history. Its users didn’t take long before posting ads for prostitution, and its casual encounters section has led craigslist to a reputation of being a seedy and dangerous website. Due to their low level of entry, their constant refusal to moderate ads, and the number of murders committed through use of their site, craigslist has turned into a virtual hive of scum and villainy. However, some people think that there are no alternatives to the dangerous grounds of craigslist, but there are.

    Geebo.com is not only a national classifieds site, but it takes great pains to keep our site from falling into the pitfalls that sites like craigslist have. From the beginning, there have never been any adult ads allowed on the site. Where other sites decided they wanted to make money on the sexual trafficking of others, Geebo has refused to sink to that level. Geebo CEO Greg Collier even decided to remove the personal ads from the site since the personal sections of too many other sites have become the personal stalking grounds of sexual predators and another avenue for online sex trafficking. Greg even took a stand on ads for pets due to the fact that too many places like puppy mills use classifieds sites to sell sick animals to unsuspecting customers. That’s not even mentioning that the ads on Geebo are reviewed by actual people to avoid such things as scams and illegal content.

    Both of these sites, KSL and Geebo, prove that not only can G-Rated classifieds sites can be successful, but that there is a definite need for such family friendly marketplaces.

     

  • Greg Collier 2:06 pm on January 22, 2014 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: : Patch, AOL, geebo, Hyperlocal,   

    Sometimes, Moving Slow Can Help a Business Grow 

    Sometimes, the fastest way to grow a business is to take it slow, especially when that business is trying something new or otherwise exploring uncharted territory.

    Case in point: AOL’s Patch. The “hyperlocal” news site had aspirations of blanketing the nation with a network of online small-town “newspapers.”. But, after bleeding some $300 million and already shedding half of its 1,000-person workforce this past summer, parent company AOL this month gave up control of the news network to an investment firm for an undisclosed amount.

    The problem? It grew too fast. It started as a small network of community sites in a handful of New Jersey communities but, after AOL acquired it and started dumping money into it, it wasn’t long until it was a network of 900 sites across the country.

    The problem was that Patch’s business (and news) model hadn’t yet proven itself. As the news business has been shaken up, reinvented and shaken up again in the digital age, business models for news are not only varied (advertising-based vs. subscription-centric, for example) but also unstable. To build the model, they have to offer news that will attract readers, which, in turn, attracts advertisers. These sites need real reporters talking to real people in these communities, sitting in their meetings and attending their functions. Delivering that sort of community news and building relationships in the community takes resources (read: staff), money and, most importantly, patience.

    When I started Geebo, there were no online marketplaces – and certainly no national networks of marketplaces – so the best approach was still anyone’s guess. Instead of trying to build a site that focused on categories – such as cars or real estate for sale – I chose to target a specific community. At the time, I was living in the Sacramento area – so that was Geebo’s first site.

    After launch of that site, I could have started eyeing the next geographic market  but instead, I focused on building relationships with potential buyers and sellers in Sacramento. By the time it came time for me to break into new markets, I had an established marketplace in my community, as well as some visitor metrics that I could point to.

    Today, 13+ years later, Geebo’s listings are available in 1000’s of communities, the result of a slow-go approach. Just a few years after acquiring Patch for $7 million, AOL had shed a chunk of Patch’s workforce and has now handed over the reins to a group of investors who will do who-knows-what with what remains of the company.

    For sake of disclosure: Patch approached me about my classifieds listings a few years ago but ultimately decided to go it on their own. That was certainly their choice – but here’s why it was an example of a bad business decision that eventually led to its demise. They were trying to reinvent the wheel in some parts of their business. If you’re trying to build something and someone you know has built a part that you need, why would you try to build that part from scratch?

    No one is arguing that AOL should have moved at the same pace as a site like Geebo. I’m a small company with limited resources. They are a huge mega company with deep pockets. Still, at some point on the road to 900 sites, wasn’t there an opportunity to pause, take a step back and assess the business model to see if it’s working?

    If they had, they might still be churning great ideas into strong business for the handful of sites that could eventually pave the way for others. Instead, potential readers will go another day without knowing how their planning commissions voted or whether the basketball team at the local high school won or lost.

     

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