I find myself wanting to either buy used or sell used items. You know, less junk in landfills and more reuse whilst also saving a dime right. Good stuff. We all know of Craigslist and the sketchiness there.
I am told that OfferUp and FacebookMarketplace are great alternatives. Well, fuck facebook so that isn't an option. Never creating an account there which leaves me with OfferUp.
I go to their website and everything looks fine. Ok cool, sign up.
They let you sign up with an email and then prompt for a phone number....
SKIP! Not giving them my phone number
Ok I now have an account. Let's go ahead and post my old pullup/dip stand.
"Please install the app"
sigh
I hate apps. They take up space on my phone, send far too many notifications and steal all my data.
Fuck it I want to sell this pullup/dip stand so I'll get the app.
Download. Install. Login.
Cool, now lets try posting again.
"Please give us your phone as part of trust and safety"
Fuck. They start off with like ya we just need email and a website then move the goal post to nah you also MUST use the app, then move the goal post AGAIN and require a phone number. Color me pissed.
Again, fuck it. I really want to stop buying everything new and throwing away shit so I give em my phone.
Now, already in the app I am getting mega suss vibes. I am seeing a hell of alot of "tinter"'esk themes with "Boosts" and "promotions" and "get your items discovered" shit. Like, hold up, do I seriously have to pay to promote an item? What is this?
Ok, whatever just let me list an item. Create a post, add some imagines, and give a description.
Little weird how they force a square image but I get trying to keep it all consistent.
And post.
And here we go. Prompts for boosts and promotions and all other kinds of bullshit. Then I start getting the notifications. JFC how do people live in app world. It is like turning off an adblocker for a few seconds.
What floors me is my item is posted, but it doesn't show up in search. Like wtf. Do I need to pay to post? What is the point of this?
I open up the good old eye bleeding website of Craigslist on my phone. That is right, no app. Just a website. I list an item, add images, description, location, price, and done. WOW!!! OMG it is actually listed. It is there. I can see it in search. And wow it didn't force an app on me nor ask for my phone number.
I had a hard time finding the app on my phone and in the app store. This is because their logo is literally the company name on a green background. The design is shit. Just throw some hands holding a star up or something that kinda represents a visual of offering something up? idk.
Random rant on a shit product over. I'll stick to Craig and his list. I am fine with risking my kidneys being harvest if it means I don't have to install spawmware apps.
Cheers.