Angie may have answer to where Craig can be beat

Thanks to Henry Pollson for his comment here pointing out an article of interest to anyone who has to compete against Craigslist in their local market:

“Angie’s List: A better alternative to Craiglist for finding local contractors.”

Writer Henry Grimes points out his experience with finding local contractors to do work around his house. When he used Craigslist, he found that the people who placed ads there offering their services sometimes were unreliable.

However, using Angie’s List, he’s found excellent contractors. The difference: Angie’s List offers user ratings of contractors, while Craigslist just runs their ads.

Here’s Grimes’ description of Angie’s List:

“Angie’s List is similar to Craigslist, in that it’s a long-standing site (it was launched back in 1995) that has local listings for over 140 US cities and metro areas. Unlike Craigslist though, Angie’s List has ratings and reviews, and the site focuses exclusively on contractors and local service providers. It’s a far superior way to find high quality contractors.

“The downside of Angie’s List, however, is that you have to pay to access its listings. Membership costs $6.95 per month, or $53 per year, plus a $10 per month initial sign-up fee. … The way I look at it, though, compared to the hundreds if not thousands of dollars you’ll be investing with your contractor, an Angie’s List subscription fee is a small price to pay.

So here’s an example of a niche within classifieds (Services Offered) where Craigslist is vulnerable. It is certainly possible to create services that are better than Craigslist. Craigslist definitely has deficiencies, so look for them and try to create something much better that addresses them.

Now, Angie’s list is well established, so a local newspaper wanting to do a better job with community and customer ratings of local businesses and services will have to go up against it. Or reach out to Angie to explore a partnership.

Tags: angies list, craigslist