eBay, Kijiji, Craigslist and The Recent Past…

I thought these two were trying to fool each other but…

It seems I was wrong.

I also thought one of them was probably telling the truth…

Seems I was right.

In Restless Pursuit of Craigslist’s Success

“The Kijiji unit of eBay, a free classified ads service covering 13 countries online, was introduced in the United States in late June, and has already achieved modest success in some important markets, including New York. Its vice president and general manager, Jacob Aqraou, said it would market itself far more aggressively in 2008, and was further refining its service in hopes of putting a dent in Craigslist’s huge market-share lead.”

Now I might consider that the San Francisco Superior Court ought to give this article a good read…

A tidbit or two;

• “Mr. Aqraou said Kijiji was meant to appeal to consumers who were uncomfortable with Craigslist’s laissez-faire approach, where ads for sofas and child care discussion boards are a click away from offers for sadomasochistic encounters and prostitutes.”

• “And although Mr. Aqraou said most of Kijiji’s visitors had come from word-of-mouth referrals, it has spent an undisclosed amount on ads, including some aimed at people who searched online for Craigslist-related terms like Craig Newmark, the company’s founder. Kijiji also leaned on its parent company for marketing help, sending 15 million to 20 million e-mail messages to eBay users who fit the ‘young family’ profile.”

Containing an obviously open reference is the following;

In mid-December, Kijiji introduced Spanish-language options for Miami and several Texas cities, and the company said it would probably introduce similar services for American cities with large populations of Polish, French and Chinese citizens, among others.

“It will pull in a lot of groups that have been marginalized by the mainstream Internet offerings,” said Colby Atwood, president of Borrell Associates, an advertising consultancy in Seattle.

“It’s a perfect example of why Kijiji will hurt Craigslist more than anybody else,” Mr. Atwood added. “It adds to what Craigslist does, without changing the underlying model of free classifieds.”

Why Kijiji will hurt Craigslist? Gosh, do you think that was the perception all along – or was it the fact?