Frustrated Craig'slist users start own sites

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All Mike Baker wanted to do was sell some doghouses that his sons and their friends built in his wood shop. The houses were part of a neighborhood program he had started. He posted ads for them on Craigslist, the free Internet classified site.
At first it worked. But pretty soon his ads wouldn't stay posted -- people kept "flagging" them, or reporting them for not fitting into the Craigslist rules, and they would disappear. Sometimes they were gone minutes after he posted them.
Baker got mad He ranted and raved on Craigslist about the vile flaggers and even sent notes to their Internet service providers, threatening to sue them. But the self-taught computer geek also decided to get even.
Baker, a stay-at-home father of three, fired up a Web site, www.alaskaslist.com in January meant to be an alternative to Craigslist, where Alaskans can post guns for sale or sell eggs or saddles without having their ads "flagged" or rendered invisible because they don't fit Craigslist rules.
Baker said he hopes his site will be the "antithesis of Craigslist." He provides a spot for people to sell guns, or find a breeder for their English Bulldog, both types of ads that Craigslist prohibits. He also lists things like boats and cars and garage sales, the mainstay of classified advertising sites.
Instead of using the Craigslist method of moderation -- relying on volunteers to monitor ads and flag them if they don't fit the rules -- Baker reads each ad himself before posting it. There are no discussion boards, no personal ads, no profanity and most importantly to him no flaggers.
"I want it to be a family site," Baker said.
After launching the site in January, he posted his 2,500th free ad last month and celebrated by getting a business license. The site hit an all-time high of nearly 6,000 page visits one day in late February, according to traffic counts he posted there. Posters can list ads for free, but Baker makes some money by selling a "featured ad" status that bumps paid ads to the top of whatever category they're in.
A lot of the traffic, Baker said, comes from people who are frustrated with Craigslist and want an alternative.
Robin Scheff, a mobile dog trainer in Anchorage, said she turned to Alaskaslist after her ads were repeatedly flagged on Craigslist. Scheff posted ads for in-home dog training, but was told her posts didn't belong in "Pets" because they advertised a business.
"Their whole complaint was, 'You make so much money, you should advertise in the Daily News. Get off,' " she said.
After being repeatedly flagged, she stopped posting. Her business dropped by 20 percent. She and her daughter resorted to slipping business cards under people's windshield wipers in hopes of a call back.
When Baker started Alaskaslist, she jumped on it immediately. Scheff said she's not getting the same two-to-three calls per day that she got with Craigslist postings, but she is getting one or two a week from Alaskaslist.
"It's a smaller site, but it's a fantastic site -- I see it as an opportunity," she said. "Craigslist was a fantastic opportunity that's just lost. I can't go back to it."
Other frustrated Craigslist users have launched Web sites that offer tips for keeping ads posted, like www.stopabusivecraigslistflaggers.com. And numerous sites like www.alaskaslist.com have cropped up, including www.freeified.com and www.adcrow.com.

Reach Rindi White at rwhite(at)adn.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com

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