Online classified ads easing shopping for Nigerians

Bola Akinkunle is a computer geek. Laptops, Xboxes, PlayStations, music players are a part of the paraphernalia in his daily life and he likes to dress well. A decade ago, Akinkunle would have to visit half of Lagos to satisfy his needs. Then to get an item in the state – used or new – one must journey to markets in Katangua or Yaba (clothes), Alaba International (electronics), Owode Onirin (automobile parts), or other market places within the metropolis. But with the internet and advent of classified ads in Nigeria shopping has become easier.

Local classified ads websites have sprung up in the country in recent times. Exchanges of commodities have attained newer and more exciting heights. These agencies provide the average Nigerian a platform where those commodities they no longer needed are exchanged for money and also create a channel for those who needed the items to get it at a cheaper prices.

Jobs, real estate (lease and sale), services, events are posted online free of charge by the seller. From the comfort of the home, the busy schedules of the offices or the rickety rides on the country roads, buyers and sellers meet over the World Wide Web.

Akinkunle says goods on these websites are not limited to secondhand items which owners may be desperate to discard.

He says sellers of new products also take advantage of the ads sites, adding that “it is free advert” for them.

Tolu Lawal, a student who says he has benefitted from many a classified ad in Nigeria, noted that the “system has helped economics and the flow of money” in the country.

He says: “These days used items no longer get thrown into the trash can, dashed out to neighbours and friends or just simply stacked in a corner of the home. You can get money for things you no longer needed simply by posting it on an ad website.”

For Lawal the online market place offers a departure from the days he had to endure the gaze of passers-by when buying used items. “Once we have agreed the terms on phone, the next point is to decide on a place where I get the goods and I pay the money. Most times, it is in a restaurant,” he says.