Schibsted launches classifieds site in India

Classified sites are usually useful services but do not have the highest reputation. Very often cluttered and not well organized, free ads sites are perceived as cheap.

Norway-based media company Schibsted Classified Media hopes to change this idea in India by launching free classified website Sahipasand.com. The site, based on the model of Swedish Blocket.se, allows users to insert ads for free to buy or sell any kind of item. The site also contains categories about cars and properties, but also allows users to search for jobs, either by browsing through job ads, or by inserting their CVs in the system.

Compared to other classifieds sites, Sahipasand focuses on the local level. Instead of presenting the user with a choice over dozens of categories Sahipasand allows the user to choose over a map of India, divided in 28 territories. This, according to SCM, will incentivize hand-to-hand exchanges and will reduce the risk of scams and unwanted ads. A pre-publishing moderation system will assure, SCM says, a unprecedented level of quality.

Sahipasand is part of the Schibsted Classified Media network, the third largest classifieds group in the world after eBay and Craigslist, present in more than 20 countries around the world. The launch in India represents a new challenge for the Norwegian company, which up until now focused on smaller countries. India, with a population of more than one billion and more than seventy million internet users, represents on of the most promising markets for companies operating in the online sector. Below one is the home page screenshot