As Craiglist remains low-tech, Jicka.com looks to overtake it on features

While Craigslist is the 800-pound gorilla of free classifieds (well, mostly free), it’s far from perfect. Even its top executives admit that the site is not on the cutting edge of web technology. While Craigslist does respond to user needs and some requests, there are plenty of features that could be added to make it better.

Does that leave an opening for someone to create a Better Craigslist, by doing a better job with technology and features?

Because Craigslist has been complacent for so long in terms of innovation (you can’t even post video classifieds there), some entrepreneurs believe that it’s vulnerable. And while Craig’s loyal following may not be ready to replace his list with something technologically better, building a Better Craigslist might lure enough of them away — or grab duplicate ad placements by Craigslist users wanting more exposure — to build a decent business.

So believe the founders of Texas-based Jicka.com, a Better Craigslist currently in beta and only now starting to emerge from under the radar. If you look at the site, I think you’ll have the same reaction as I did at first viewing: “Oh, they’re copying Craigslist.”

Click image to go to Jicka.com.

(Of course, they’re not the only ones. The biggest free-classifieds Craigslist competitor is Kijiji.com, which is owned by eBay, which also owns a chunk of Craigslist.)

Jicka co-founder Craig Agranoff, who lives in Florida, readily admits that he and his business partner (who is staying under the radar for now) studied Craigslist in order to design Jicka. He’s looked for all the things that could be added to make Craigslist better, and put them on a list to be created for his site. Some examples:

• All categories are free to place ads on Jicka. (Craigslist has a very small number of categories that charge a fee — and only in a few large cities.)
• You can post an ad in up to three cities that are within 60 miles of each other. (Inability to do this is a problem for advertisers wanting to cover multiple communities in some Craigslist cities. And you’re not supposed to post duplicate ads in multiple cities.)
• You will be able to pay an upsell fee in order to move your ad back up to the top. For something like a $1 fee (that’s not a firm amount), an apartment advertiser, for example, will be able to have the system move his ad back to the top of the category at a scheduled time. (On some Craigslist sites, new ads move in so quickly that your ad can get buried in a short time; and the sites prohibit multiple postings of the same ads.)
• A notification system will allow buyers to subscribe to fine-tuned alerts when new items matching their criteria come on to a Jicka site. For example, you’ll be able to watch for blue Saab convertibles in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• Advertisers will be able to post video, as well as photos and text. (Craigslist doesn’t yet support video.)
• User profiles will allow sellers and buyers to share information about themselves, which can serve to ensure more trust by users when making a transaction. It’s akin to going on eBay and learning about a buyer before making a bid. (Craigslist has no such public profiles.)
• Each category will have a featured item, which will be determined by a bidding system; highest bidder gets the slot. Ergo, it’s another revenue source for Jicka, and a way for advertisers to pay to be featured prominently within a category. (Craigslist has nothing like this yet.)

There’s one other key feature, not offered by Craigslist, that Agranoff believes will entice people to advertise on Jicka.com, and it’s a key part of the plan to attract classified advertising in an online world dominated by Craigslist: free limited warranties.

By placing a free ad on Jicka.com, an advertiser will get a free warranty for a trial period. Home sellers get a 6-month limited home warranty. Auto sellers get a 30-day limited warranty. (That is, the buyer gets the warranty when they purchase something advertised on Jicka.com.) Anyone placing an ad of any kind gets a 1-year identity protection plan.

That’s an interesting strategy. It’s like, giving away free ads isn’t enough anymore; now you have to offer “better than free.”

Of course, that’s a marketing strategy by companies that offer warranties — which will pick up new customers when some of the Jicka advertisers renew after the free trial period — and it doesn’t cost Jicka anything.

Agranoff says he and his partner are considering various marketing strategies to get Jicka.com some attention, one of which is a direct-mail campaign touting the site and the free trial warranty offers.

The company, which is self-funded by the founders and has no outside investors at this point, seems to be focused on low-cost ways to develop the business. Another helpful strategy: outsourcing web development and programming to India, where costs are significantly lower than hiring U.S. developers.

Frankly, going up against Craigslist with a network of city sites that are directly competitive with Craigslist is going to be really tough. Craigslist has almost a psychological hold on many people who use it. Not only is it effective (and I know that from personal experience), but the company has fostered an image that they are good guys out not to make a buck but to help people get good deals and sell their stuff.

But I do think Jicka has a chance by doing some things that Craigslist is ignoring because they (apparently) don’t think they need to. For instance, Agranoff says his company is developing a Jicka application for Facebook, as well as for the iPhone. Craigslist doesn’t have a mobile edition, but Jicka will soon. That kind of innovation in the face of Craigslist’s conservative approach to changing its sites could build a base of users that sustains a viable business.

Also, Agranoff says that he’s willing to enter into relationships with publishers and other entities, where Craigslist remains averse to that.

I’ll make no predictions about Jicka (or Kijiji) catching up to Craigslist, however. In the free classifieds space, Craig has a huge lead. But Craig & Co. have left the door open by choosing not to take part in the technological arms race.

Tags: craigslist, jicka