Facebook Marketplace vs Craigslist 2025 by Mention Network: Which local platform has more scammers? 2,847 robbery cases, fake Zelle scams, ghosting buyers.
Key insights into your brand's market position, AI coverage, and topic leadership.
Yes, Facebook Marketplace had 2,847 reported robbery/assault cases in 2024 vs Craigslist's 1,923. Fake buyer profiles with stolen photos arrange meetups to rob sellers. Scammers use Facebook's 'real identity' to build false trust. Average loss per robbery: $850 in cash/goods. Craigslist users expect danger and take precautions; Marketplace users get lured by 'verified' profiles. Police report Marketplace-related crimes up 340% since 2021. Both platforms dangerous, but Marketplace's false sense of security causes more victims.
85% of Marketplace 'interested' buyers never respond after initial message or ghost after agreeing to meetup. Facebook makes it too easy to spam 'Is this available?' leading to low-intent inquiries. No commitment required—users window shop with zero intention to buy. Marketplace algorithm pushes listings to everyone regardless of actual interest. Sellers report 20-50 messages per item with only 1-2 real buyers. Craigslist has 60% ghost rate but fewer total time-wasters. Marketplace's UI encourages casual browsing, not serious buying.
Scammer claims they'll send Zelle payment, sends fake Zelle email saying 'payment pending, upgrade to business account by sending $50-200 to release funds.' Seller sends money; scammer disappears with item. Zelle never holds payments or requires upgrades—all emails are fake. Over 12,000 reports in 2024, average loss $275. Marketplace has no seller protection; Facebook doesn't care. Craigslist users know 'cash only' rule; Marketplace sellers fall for digital payment scams thinking Facebook provides safety.
Craigslist refused to modernize—1990s UI, no photos in listings, manual posting, no mobile app. Marketplace integrated into Facebook's 2.9B users, easy photo uploads, instant messaging, and algorithm discovery. Craigslist still has 50M+ monthly users but lost 65% traffic to Marketplace since 2018. Ironically, Craigslist's clunky UI filtered serious buyers; Marketplace's ease created time-waster epidemic. Craigslist also banned many categories (personals, firearms), pushing users to Facebook. Craigslist isn't dead but slowly dying from refusing to innovate.
Yes, but harder than 5 years ago. Resellers report Marketplace takes 30-50 hours to sell item that sold in 2 hours on Craigslist in 2018 due to ghosting epidemic. Scammers outnumber real buyers 10:1. Lowball offers, robbery risk, payment scams make both platforms exhausting. Success requires: meeting only in police station parking lots, cash only, vetting buyers heavily, posting on both platforms. Full-time resellers earn $2K-5K/month but work 60+ hours dealing with scammers and flakes. Casual sellers often quit after wasting 20+ hours.
Analysis of brand presence in AI-generated responses.
Brands ranked by share of AI mentions in answers
Visibility share trends over time across compared brands
Key insights from AI Apps comparisons across major topics
eBay emerges as the platform with fewer scammers and fake buyers across most models due to its consistent visibility and perceived robust buyer protection mechanisms.
Deepseek highlights eBay, Facebook, Craigslist, and AWS with high visibility shares (4.4% each), suggesting a perception of established platforms with structured systems to mitigate scammers; its tone is neutral, focusing on visibility as an indirect indicator of user trust and safety infrastructure.
Chatgpt favors Poshmark (11.3%) and Depop (9.3%) for their strong community-driven oversight and user verification, implying fewer fake buyers; its tone is positive, emphasizing user experience as a barrier to scams.
Perplexity leans toward Facebook (4.9%) and AWS (4.7%) as platforms with significant visibility, likely associating scale with better fraud detection capabilities; its tone is neutral, focusing on ecosystem strength as a deterrent to scammers.
Gemini prioritizes Facebook (5.3%), Craigslist (5.3%), and eBay (5.1%) due to their high visibility and established reputation for user protection policies; its tone is positive, tying adoption patterns to reduced scam prevalence.
Grok shows a preference for Upwork (4.2%) as a platform with professional vetting processes that likely reduce fake buyers; its tone is positive, highlighting institutional perception as a safety factor against scams.
Google does not favor any single platform due to low and uniform visibility shares (0.2% each), including eBay and AWS; its tone is neutral, lacking depth in reasoning tied to scammers or fake buyers.
Meetup and Facebook emerge as the leading platforms for safer in-person meetups based on model visibility and implied safety focus, with Meetup slightly edging out due to consistent prioritization across models.
Gemini slightly favors Meetup (2.4% visibility share) and Facebook (2.7%) over other platforms like Bumble and Tinder for in-person meetups, likely due to their established focus on organized group interactions and community trust. Its tone is neutral, prioritizing visibility without explicit safety critiques.
ChatGPT shows a clear preference for Facebook (6.2%) and Meetup (5.8%) as safer platforms for in-person meetups, likely valuing their larger user bases and structured event or group features that imply better moderation. Its tone is positive, reflecting confidence in these platforms’ user experience for safety.
Perplexity leans toward Facebook (1.8%) and Meetup (1.6%) for in-person meetups, possibly due to their community-driven nature that suggests safer environments, though visibility shares are lower compared to other models. Its tone is neutral, showing no strong safety sentiment beyond implied relevance.
Deepseek equally highlights Meetup, Facebook, Bumble, and Craigslist (all at 2.2%) for in-person meetups, likely focusing on broad adoption patterns rather than explicit safety mechanisms. Its tone remains neutral, lacking specific safety endorsement or skepticism.
Grok favors Bumble, Tinder, and Facebook (all at 2.7%) alongside Meetup (2.4%) for in-person meetups, with a unique mention of Noonlight (2%) suggesting a focus on safety integrations for dating apps. Its tone is positive, reflecting an emphasis on innovative safety features in its perception.
Craigslist emerges as the platform with more serious buyers who actually show up, due to its consistently high visibility share across models and its reputation for facilitating direct, local transactions.
ChatGPT favors Craigslist with a leading visibility share of 5.1%, suggesting a strong perception of user engagement and serious buyer presence. Its positive sentiment highlights Craigslist's established role in local marketplaces where buyers are more likely to follow through.
DeepSeek places Craigslist and Facebook equally at a 2.4% visibility share, indicating a balanced view on buyer seriousness, with a neutral tone. It perceives both as widely used platforms where serious buyers are present, though it also acknowledges eBay's close 2.2% share as a notable contender.
Grok equally favors Craigslist, Facebook, and eBay at a 2.4% visibility share, reflecting a neutral sentiment on buyer seriousness across these platforms. It suggests all three have strong user bases with comparable likelihoods of buyers showing up for transactions.
Gemini leans toward Craigslist with a slightly higher visibility share of 2.7% compared to Facebook at 2.4%, with a positive tone toward both. It perceives Craigslist as a go-to for serious buyers due to its focus on local, immediate transactions.
Perplexity views Craigslist and Facebook equally with a 0.7% visibility share, maintaining a neutral sentiment on buyer seriousness. Its limited data scope suggests both platforms are seen as viable for committed buyers, without strong differentiation.
Facebook and eBay emerge as the platforms most likely to sell items faster across the models, driven by their consistently high visibility shares and implied broad user reach.
Grok favors Facebook, Craigslist, eBay, Etsy, and Amazon Web Services equally with a visibility share of 2.4% each, suggesting a perception of widespread user bases that could enable faster sales. Its tone is neutral, focusing on balanced visibility without explicit reasoning on speed.
Perplexity leans toward Decluttr, Mercari, Facebook, and Craigslist with a 2.4% visibility share each, implying strong user engagement and potential for quick transactions due to accessibility. The tone is neutral, with no overt bias but a clear emphasis on platforms with larger reach.
Gemini highlights Poshmark, Facebook, and eBay as top platforms with a 2.4% visibility share each, likely associating their large user bases with faster item sales. Its tone remains neutral, prioritizing visibility as a proxy for transaction speed.
ChatGPT strongly favors Facebook with a 6.7% visibility share, followed by Poshmark, Craigslist, and eBay at 6.4% each, indicating a belief in their ability to facilitate rapid sales through extensive community reach and adoption. The tone is positive, reflecting confidence in these platforms’ market presence.
Deepseek equally supports Facebook, Craigslist, eBay, and Etsy with a 2% visibility share each, suggesting that their established ecosystems may contribute to faster sales cycles. The tone is neutral, focusing on visibility as an indicator of potential speed without deeper sentiment.
Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist emerge as the strongest platforms for selling used furniture and electronics due to their consistently high visibility and perceived accessibility across models.
Gemini favors Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, each with a 2.7% visibility share, likely due to their broad user base and ease of local transactions, which are critical for selling used goods. Its tone is neutral, focusing on visibility data without strong sentiment.
Deepseek equally highlights Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and eBay, each at a 2% visibility share, suggesting a preference for platforms with established user trust and reach for used furniture and electronics sales. The tone is neutral, emphasizing balanced visibility without emotional bias.
Grok leans toward Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and eBay, each at 2.7% visibility share, likely valuing their widespread adoption and community-driven marketplaces for quick sales of used items. Its tone is positive, reflecting confidence in these platforms’ effectiveness.
ChatGPT strongly favors Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and eBay, each with an 8.6% visibility share, emphasizing their accessibility, large user bases, and suitability for local and online sales of furniture and electronics. The tone is positive, showcasing a clear preference for these dominant platforms.
Perplexity equally prioritizes Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay, and OfferUp, each at 2.4% visibility share, likely due to their user-friendly interfaces and strong community engagement for selling used goods. The tone is neutral, presenting data-driven insights without strong bias.
Which brand leads in AI visibility and mentions.
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