I Can Explain... Free Online Classifieds

First appeared in the March 24, 2011 issue of Retirement News Weekly

Need an apartment? How about a used car? Or two posters of Canadian stamps, which are described as “valuable”? You may pick up your local newspaper and turn to the classifieds, but more often than not people are jumping online to meet their shopping needs. Websites offering free classifieds like Kijiji and Craigslist provide the opportunity to buy, sell and rent at ease. But if you’re not sure where to start or what a reasonable price for a pair of women’s show chaps is... well... I can explain one of those things!

Online Classifieds are websites that allow users to post and/or view classified advertisements for free. If a user wants to create an ad, they just go to the site and click “Post Ad.” After choosing a category that there product falls within (Buy/Sell, Pets, Housing, Services, Vehicles, Jobs, etc.), the person creates their ad. They’ll have to decide if they are offering something or looking to purchase something, the desired price, a title, and a brief description. Then other users can search for their ad or browse within the categories listed above.

Perhaps the most well known online classifieds website is Craigslist. The site, started by Craig Newmark in San Francisco, took over the internet in the mid to late 90s with options to post ads for nearly anything. E-bay, the online auction website, created Kijiji to compete with this free service. While Craigslist is used almost exclusively in the USA, in Canada Kijiji seems to be much more popular and offers more listings in my experience.

My father is somewhat obsessed with this whole process. He’s bought windows, appliances, furniture, and vehicles off of Kijiji. Both of my parents have also been using it to sell off all their unwanted exercise equipment, appliances, and basketballs (Yes, they recently sold three worn-out basketballs from my childhood for $5 each on the site, which just goes to show there’s nothing too big or small for Kijiji). I’ve also used the site. I’ve found numerous apartments on the site and since I’m currently looking for a summer residence, I posted an ad two days ago. Within 12 hours, I had six responses. Kijiji is also where I found my job selling Christmas trees for two weeks this past December.

While my family and I love the site, it’s not for everyone. When responding to ads, one must remember that it is online and that the ads can be posted by anyone. When going to see an apartment found on the website, it may be best to take precautions. Also, shoppers should always see the item being purchased or apartment being rented before making a commitment; pictures and people lie. A close friend once rented an apartment off the site without going to see it and spent a summer with a hole in her bathroom large enough to see her neighbours.

Craigslist also has a bad reputation as a result of their personal section (Kijiji removed their personals). This is where people can look for dates, friends, and sexual encounters. That said, if any ads are inappropriate or offering something illegal, it’s possible for users to flag them and the administrators of the site will take the offending ad down. As a joke, someone recently posted an ad selling children, which was removed within the hour and police investigated the incident.

So if you want to take second-hand shopping to the next level, check out one of the many free online classified websites that the internet has to offer. And if you want to know why someone wants a super ugly couch because it’s free online... well... I can try to explain!

I Can Explain... Online Dating

In a world filled with nearly eight billion people, with technology that connects us all, why does it remain so hard for so many people to find somebody to love? The truth is we all live within our bubble of friends and family and meeting new people is a challenge not easily accomplished without the aid of blind dates and/or alcohol. Thus, to compensate, the internet has given us a tool to meet strangers in a hypothetically “safer” way. But are there really plenty of fish in the online sea or is it all a waste of a good fishing rod? No need to bait your hook just yet… I can explain!

If you’re looking for an online dating site, you have quite a selection to choose from. There are a variety of pay sites like Match.com, eHarmoney.ca, and lavalife.com. Though there are issues with these sites as browsers and members often have trouble communicating and it may be hard to differentiate the two. There are also free sites like PlentyofFish.com, which I can speak to more specifically.

When you first register on Plenty of Fish (PoF), you’ll be asked to fill in your profile as well as a short questionnaire. In the profile you’ll answer generic questions like name, age, height, body type, and hair color; then there are some biographical questions like if you have children, your religious affiliation, if you drink or do drugs, and your job and education level. You’ll also have to write a brief biography describing yourself. Most are short and a solid percent start with some version of: “I hate writing about myself, but…”

Once you have a profile, you’re ready to go! You can search for people based on how they answered their generic and biographical questions or you can let PoF narrow your search to people they think you’ll get along with. Once you find someone that peaks your interest, just send a message and hope for a response. You can see who has looked at your profile and who has read your messages. As well, you can limit the people who message you based on age, gender, marital status, intentions, and other variables.

In an episode of How I Met Your Mother, Barney Stinson broadcasts his cell phone number to the world at the Super Bowl. As a result, his cell phone rings off the hook with women calling for dates. That is PoF for women sometimes: many messages, all of the time, mainly generic, and many inappropriate. For men, it’s a bit different with (like in real life) the expectation falling on the man to make the first move.

However there are success stories. My sister is dating a boy from PoF, my ex-girlfriend is engaged to someone she met on the site, and a close friend is now happily married to her online love connection. So who’s to say meeting a stranger at a book store is any better than meeting someone over your browser? Perhaps, the future of dating is online. If you’re comfortable with it, take these sites for what they are: a way to get out of the bubble and meet some new people. If you find a shark, just throw him or her back and keep on fishing. And if you’re not sure what someone means when they ask “ASL?”, well… I can explain!