Craigslist Adds 100 U.S., International Markets

Craiglist morphed in size late Sunday, adding 100 cities and countries to its roster of mostly free classified sites in what appears to be the company’s single largest expansion. The U.S. expansion covers 72 new markets from Akron/Canton, OH to Yakima, WA., including nine in Texas. (Craiglist’s main U.S. menu is now organized by state instead of city.) The international expansion in 28 cities and countries includes Pakistan, Portugal, Malaysia, Beirut and Helsinki. Craigslist expanded by 15 sites last January.
The expansion came up in a somewhat snarky weekend WSJ interview with CEO Jim Buckmaster; the detail was off but the gist wasn’t — each new market represents another area where newspapers face new competition. Buckmaster’s reponse didn’t break any new ground: “The Internet at large, and free classifieds in particular — and even beyond that, Craigslist free classifieds in particular — certainly pose challenges to the newspaper industry as far as being able to raise their profitability over time. … The demise of the newspaper has been overstated.”
The move comes as the company tries to cut down abuse of its New York real estate listings by adding a $10 charge per listing for brokers.