Watch several marketplaces at once: Kleinanzeigen to Marktplaats
If you are looking for something specific, you usually start on one marketplace: in Germany on Kleinanzeigen, in the Netherlands on Marktplaats. That is a good start, but rarely enough. Listings are scattered across many sites, and the cheap ones sometimes appear where hardly anyone looks. This guide explains why it pays to watch several marketplaces at once, which ones suit which goods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux, and how to organise your searches so you don't lose track.
Why are listings scattered across so many sites?
Sellers pick the marketplace they know. A retired engineer sells his tool collection where his grandson once sold something. A dealer lists on eBay because that is where his ratings are. A family in Vienna uses willhaben, one in Utrecht Marktplaats, one in Antwerp 2dehands. There is no marketplace where everything is listed.
On top of that, fewer buyers look at the smaller marketplaces. A listing on markt.de or quoka often gets fewer enquiries than the same one on Kleinanzeigen. Whoever reads along there has better chances.
Which marketplaces do people use in each country?
The dominant general classifieds site is Kleinanzeigen in Germany, willhaben in Austria, Marktplaats in the Netherlands and 2dehands (Dutch) or 2ememain (French) in Belgium. A rough guide by type of goods:
- General second-hand goods: Kleinanzeigen, markt.de and quoka in Germany; willhaben in Austria; Marktplaats in the Netherlands; 2dehands or 2ememain in Belgium.
- Collectibles, spare parts, branded goods: eBay, with different prices on each country site, from ebay.de to ebay.nl and ebay.co.uk.
- Vehicles: AutoScout24 in several countries, plus gebrauchtwagen.at and the vehicle sections of Kleinanzeigen and willhaben.
- Flats and houses: depending on the region WG-Gesucht, ohne-makler.net, ImmoScout24.at, derStandard Immobilien, Flatfox, Immovlan or athome.lu.
The complete list by country is on the marketplaces page.
Organise by what you are looking for, not by marketplace
The most common mistake when watching many marketplaces is organising by site. Then you have a section "Kleinanzeigen" with twelve searches, a section "eBay" with eight, and you have to work out in your head what belongs together.
Better the other way round: one folder for every topic you are looking for. In the folder "VW T3" the searches on Kleinanzeigen, AutoScout24 and willhaben sit side by side. When a new listing comes in, you see it in the right context and compare prices at a glance, including across borders.
Duplicate listings
Some sellers list on several marketplaces at the same time. Then the same offer is reported to you twice. That is no disadvantage: price or description often differ, and you see where the seller responds first. Contact them only once, though.
Choose the interval per search
Not every search needs the same interval. A large, fast marketplace with many competing buyers justifies a short one. On a small marketplace, where a listing is still there after an hour, a longer interval is enough. That keeps costs in check without you missing anything important.
For the night, the same applies as for a single search: if you don't reply at night, you don't need to check at night. "Don't check at night" per search saves credits, and in the morning you see everything that appeared overnight.
Language and buying across borders
If you live in one of these countries, the marketplaces next door are often worth watching: bikes in the Netherlands, design furniture in Belgium, classic cars in Austria. Search in the local language, since listings are written in German, Dutch or French. A few words are enough: "Fahrrad" or "fiets" for bike, "Stuhl" or "stoel" for chair, "Uhr", "horloge" or "montre" for watch. A translation tool handles the descriptions.
Listings usually show the asking price, often marked "VB" on Kleinanzeigen or "bieden" (make an offer) on Marktplaats; pickup and cash on collection are the norm for private sales. What else to consider when buying across the border is in the guide Buying second-hand across borders.
Watching several marketplaces with Suchagent
Suchagent does exactly this: you paste the addresses of your searches from different marketplaces, sort them into folders by what you are looking for and choose a separate interval for each search. New listings arrive via Telegram or e-mail and appear in the web app in one shared list, with marketplace, photo, price and location.
If a marketplace is unreachable or blocks the check, you see it in the status of the search, and Suchagent retries on its own. That way you keep track, even if your searches are spread across half a dozen sites in several countries. If you buy to sell on, the guide Find good deals faster shows how to combine this with sharp keywords and a quick reply.