Users sell Craigslist on charging for busy pages

WASHINGTON – Craigslist, the popular Web site where folks from around the world find used sofas, second jobs and cheap housing, is starting to ask for money for a spot on its busiest pages.

Last week, it was New York City apartment brokers who were being told that a listing fee is on its way. Later this year, Washington, D.C., area employers may be asked to pay for an ad on the region’s job listings page.

It’s an out-of-character move for the site, which is best known for allowing users to post their ads free of charge. But it’s the users who begged the site operators to do something about the number of repeat listings on the site.

Starting March 1, a $10 fee will be imposed for listings in New York with hopes of deterring the brokers who list the same apartment many times in a single day.