KiJiJi Site Review: Easy to Use and Multilingual

KiJiJi is a relative newcomer to the free classified internet world, and offers many of the features found at Craig's List or a similar site. The site is provided by Marktplaats BV from The Netherlands.

One of the first advantages of KiJiJi is that registration is optional. You can post an ad without going through a registration screen and giving your contact details.

Removing this step quickens the process and puts you that nearer to posting or searching.

KiJiJi has an attractive and usable design. You don't get the annoying ads that flash and interrupt your viewing. In fact, ads are at a minimum. With no registrations fees and so few advertisements, one wonders how the website is maintained.

Like Craig's List, this site is localized. When you visit, the home page portrays a green map of the United States. Choose your state and then your city or insert your zip code and go immediately to your city of choice. KiJiJi is also a global site with thirty-two countries listed, including Canada, England, New Zealand, Australia, Slovakia, India, Hong Kong, Greece, and Switzerland. With the different countries, the ads and the KiJiJi sections are displayed in the language of the country selected.

If you are familiar with other online classified sites, then KiJiJi is intuitive. Classifieds are arranged for sellers and seekers. Within each city, there are ten major categories: For Sale, Services, Jobs, Resumes, Cars & Vehicles, Community, Pets, Housing, Vacation Rentals and Events. However, the interface for each city is more detailed and displays the actual ads posted and the total number of postings.

This site offers a the ability to post images (again without a charge), a bulletin board type forum, an individualized Watch List for those who register, a Search function and pages that describe the site's policies. Registered members have the option of building a Profile, choosing a Nickname and KiJiJi will interface with Skype for instant notices. Members can also push the visibility of their classified by purchasing what is called a Top Ad through PayPal.

Website policies of KiJiJi prohibit spam, multi level marketing and a long and impressive list of other prohibited images, jobs, services and statements. Users are encouraged to flag objectionable ads. The website's U.S. policies explicitly mention a number of laws that are enforced, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. However, it does not offer buyer protection programs or secure payment systems. Ads are not reviewed by KiJiJi before posting, so there are a number of postings that qualify as spam or otherwise should be flagged by users.

Altogether, KiJiJi is an easy-to-navigate site and an alternative to some of the bigger classified sites offering the same services. It may be new to this marketplace but it gives a solid choice for the online buyer or seller and looks like it will be around for awhile as its popularity increases.