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58.com runs an online classifieds marketplace in China where people find jobs, apartments, used goods, and local services.
58.com is China's big online classifieds board — a place where people go to find an apartment, hire a plumber, sell a used phone, or land a new job. Think of it as the digital version of the bulletin board at the front of a supermarket, except millions of people check it every month and local merchants pay to stand out on it. The listings cover housing, jobs, second-hand goods, and local services, and the company sits in the middle connecting buyers with sellers and workers with employers.
The money mostly comes from businesses, not ordinary users. Local merchants — recruiters, landlords and agents, repair shops, small retailers — pay for better placement, featured listings, and subscriptions that help them reach more people. For a small business owner, that's often cheaper and more targeted than traditional advertising, which is why the model works. The consumer side stays largely free, which keeps the traffic flowing and makes the paid placements worth buying. There's a real story behind the site. It was founded in 2005 by Michael Yao Jinbo, who built it into one of China's best-known internet brands, and it grew through a series of deals, including a merger with the rival site Ganji.com, before listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. That chapter closed when a private-equity consortium took the company private in 2020, so 58.com no longer trades on any exchange. Today it is owned by private investors rather than public shareholders, which means less disclosure and fewer quarterly fireworks for outsiders to watch.
Its position is strong but not safe. As China's largest classifieds platform, it benefits from huge scale and network effects — more listings attract more visitors, which attracts more merchants. But much of the daily traffic and buying behavior has shifted to super-apps like Tencent's WeChat and short-video platforms such as ByteDance's Douyin, where local merchants can now market themselves directly. Rival classifieds and job boards keep chipping at the same audience, and running a listings marketplace means constant spending on trust and safety — fake postings and scams are an ongoing headache. The business is real and cash-generative, but it lives in a crowded neighborhood.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026