Craigslist has always been murky about revenues, and remains a free site for most categories. It only charges a commercial rate for recruitment, with listings costing just $25 in 17 markets and $75 in San Francisco. Fees for apartment listings (in New York) and “adult and therapeutic services” ads fit into the nominal fee category, assessed mainly to track who is advertising and to limit ad spam.

Indeed, site leaders Jim Buckmaster and Craig Newmark have made a big point of saying they have enough money and don’t need to pump up the revenue machine — much to the frustration of eBay, which owns about 20 percent of the site.

But even with its modest feel levels, and mostly free status, the reality is that Craigslist is actually beginning to make real money, according to a new report and forecast by the AIM Group. AIM says Craigslist is poised to earn $122 million in 2010, with profits between $88 million and $99 million.

Recruitment accounts for more than half the site’s revenue, and roughly 17 percent comes from the New York-only apartment fees, says AIM. The big surprise is the projection for sex ads, which will bring in 30 percent of the gross. AIM notes that represents three times its projections for Craigslist sex ads in 2009.

The post AIM Group Projects Craigslist Revenues at $122 Million appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

There was a time when it looked like eBay would replace garage sales — or the Goodwill box. But putting things up for sale was probably too much work. In fact, garage sale postings in 2009 were up 80 percent on Craigslist last year.

Craigslist, Oodle and PennySaver have been among the leaders in online listings. Now add Garage Sales Tracker to the list. Based in Boca Raton, Florida, the start-up provides a full platform for local media companies, including community newspapers.

Launched in January 2009, Garage Sales Tracker posts sale locations on an embedded Google Map, and includes useful tips for sellers (“have plenty of single dollar bills on hand”). It also provides related information about local consignment shops, and allows users to filter their search by item or geographic location.

Garage Sales Tracker can also be white labeled by the media partners. It is also a destination site in its own right, selling ads to related categories, including self storage (U-Store-It) and foreclosure listings (RealtyTrac). Mortgage brokers are envisioned too. The site also earns revenues from featured listings. Otherwise, listings are free.

Mobile also plays a significant role in the site’s development. Garage Sales Tracker currently has an iPhone app, which helps garage sale shoppers on-the-go. An Android app is currently in development.

The post ‘Garage Sales Tracker’ Teams With Community Paper Sites appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

There was a time when it looked like eBay would replace garage sales — or the Goodwill box. But putting things up for sale was probably too much work. In fact, garage sale postings in 2009 were up 80 percent on Craigslist last year.

Craigslist, Oodle and PennySaver have been among the leaders in online listings. Now add Garage Sales Tracker to the list. Based in Boca Raton, Florida, the start-up provides a full platform for local media companies, including community newspapers.

Launched in January 2009, Garage Sales Tracker posts sale locations on an embedded Google Map, and includes useful tips for sellers (“have plenty of single dollar bills on hand”). It also provides related information about local consignment shops, and allows users to filter their search by item or geographic location.

Garage Sales Tracker can also be white labeled by the media partners. It is also a destination site in its own right, selling ads to related categories, including self storage (U-Store-It) and foreclosure listings (RealtyTrac). Mortgage brokers are envisioned too. The site also earns revenues from featured listings. Otherwise, listings are free.

Mobile also plays a significant role in the site’s development. Garage Sales Tracker currently has an iPhone app, which helps garage sale shoppers on-the-go. An Android app is currently in development.

The post 'Garage Sales Tracker' Teams With Community Paper Sites appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Trulia, which is ranked a Top 7 real estate site by comScore, has followed the lead of Realtor.com and Zillow and added rentals to its site. The rentals section features all Trulia’s functionality, such as neighborhood information, mapping and ratings information, and filters for relevant searches such as “pets allowed.”

The site also offers “search on the go.” Roughly 10 percent of Trulia’s usage now comes from mobile devices. Trulia’s mobile Web site is compatible with the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android platforms.

Trulia rentals covers the gamut from multifamily to houses. Listings will come from Independent Listings Services, as well as from brokerages and landlords. There are “millions” of units on the site at launch, with more than 25,000 in New York City.

One advantage of Trulia rentals, per CEO Pete Flint, is Trulia’s ability to assume hosting duties for listers including the hosting of contact info, images of units and floor plans, and other information. That separates Trulia from some of the rentals aggregators in the market, such as Oodle, he says.

Flint notes that 30 percent of the site’s visitors are typically looking to either rent or buy. The market trends are “absolutely in favor of renting,” he says. Overall, rentals “are as large as the ‘for sale’ business.”

Separately, in an interview with BusinessWeek, Flint deflected rumors that Google has been looking into buying the company. Trulia uses many of Google’s features and it would seem to be a nice fit. But Flint told BusinessWeek that the real estate market isn’t strong enough to appreciate the site’s full value this year.

As an alternative, the company is looking for an outside investor that would let employees and owners cash in their shares without waiting for an initial public offering, similar to Facebook’s arrangement with Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian company, and Yelp’s arrangement with Elevation Partners.

The post Trulia Branches Out Into Rentals appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.