By Galen Moore
From the windows of Mass High Tech’s newsroom, I can’t count construction cranes on the Manhattan skyline. Other folkloric indicators of economic activity, such as men’s underwear sales, are also closed to my view. However, as I chew over the good news that our recession is over, I’ve had my eye on another trend that may not augur well for our region: Business is booming on Craigslist’s Boston site. As of August, listings in the Boston site’s “business” category — where business owners go to sell unneeded furniture and equipment — have doubled over the past two years.
Similar listings quadrupled nationwide, according to a Craigslist spokeswoman. The listings include everything from office supplies to entire businesses — such as La Bella’s Fine Foods, a catering and café business in Medford that the owner says needs a capital investment to get profitable again.
Craigslist’s overall traffic has grown steadily through the recession. In August 2009, the San Francisco-based online classified marketplace saw 11.6 million more visitors than it saw in August 2008. The site’s 25.6 percent growth, compared with its traffic a year ago, vastly outstripped the Internet at large, where the number of monthly users grew by 4 percent in the same time frame.
“Things are really slow,” said Tony La Bella, the eight-year owner of La Bella’s Fine Foods. “From where I am, it’s probably best to let somebody take it and see what they can do with it.”
He’s posted his business for sale at $30,000, a price that has garnered plenty of interest, but no real offers. “I’ve already sold it 18 times,” he quipped, “but nobody has any money.”
On the other side of the Craigslist equation, graphic designer Jessica Sutton has furnished most of her Fort Point studio with mid-century modern furniture bought on Craigslist. It’s a habit she picked up last year, when she was starting out in a smaller office in the Back Bay. “I was just starting out and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money,” she said. Now, bargain hunting has become her M.O.
Craigslist doesn’t reveal the number of posts it sees daily, but the flood of offers could easily overwhelm any shopper. Sutton said she doesn’t have time to dig through the site itself — and she doesn’t have to. Boston blogger Keyse Angelo puts up her favorite picks on a Google-hosted blog she calls Crocodile Tears.
Angelo, who on a typical day posts between 10 and 20 new furniture items, links to “sponsors” on her blog — but hasn’t gained any revenue. Most of the sponsors are friends who run their own businesses, she said.
Angelo, 29, said she and many people she knows won’t pay full price for nice things, with Boston’s second-hand market burgeoning and accessible through the Web.
“There’s so much stuff in the city, and there’s so much transition,” she said. “Students are coming and going; professionals are coming and going. There’s an abundance of furniture and clothes. There’s no need to go and buy new things.”
Posted by Brendan Lynch
Tags: Craigslist, Crocodile Tears, Galen Moore, Jessica Sutton, Keyse Angelo, La Bella's Fine Foods
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