What was the reason that brought Backpage to prominence?

About two decades ago the first classified ads platform began to appear. As you probably know if you have ever used such sites, the first and most popular is Craigslist. Since its creation, it has conquered the top spot in its field and it continues to reign unchallenged.

In the early days of CL, you literally could find anything on it. From car sales to adult services. Everything someone could buy or sell was available on Craigslist. A few years after its creation the developers of CL decided to shut down the adult services section. This created a huge gap in the field as the demand and supply were really high. This is when Backpage came into play. BP existed a few years prior to that but it was a moderately successful site.

When CL ceased the operation of its adult services section and Backpage took its place, everything changed overnight. Backpage's traffic was skyrocketed and it reached to the second spot of classified ads sites, right after CL. Of course, this decision led to is ceasure a few years later but in the meantime, the team that operated BP made some real money. None can say exactly the numbers but it is rumored that BP had more than $100 million in clean revenue per year. As you can understand we are talking about serious money.

This is a really good example of how someone decisions can affect the fate of another in the future. On this case, it was the decision of CL's to shut down one of its sections so that led to the rise and fall of another platform. Backpage made a lot of money in the meantime but eventually, it paid the ultimate price. Let's hope that this will serve as an example for future entrepreneurs that want to make fast and easy money.

What People Loved About Backpage

Almost everyone in North America knows what classified ads are. They are known and used many years before the creation of the internet as they were posted and read on the newspapers all over the U.S. and Canada.

When the world wide web came into play, it was more than natural that kind of ads to follow the stream. The first platform that hosted classified ads was Craigslist. Even if you have never used CL, you probably know it, as we are talking about a colossus of the industry. It is the biggest and most popular website of its niche and one of the most well-known internet platforms all around the world. We could write endless articles about CL and the millions of opportunities you can find in there but we are not here to do that. We mentioned CL here only because a choice they made gave the chance to Backpage to transform from a moderate site to a colossus of the niche.

Back in 2008, in the classified ads niche, there was CL that had the lion's share and all the rest of the niche traffic was divided among the rest sites of the field. Since its creation, Backpage was doing OK but it was nothing more than a moderate site among the rest, nothing even close to CL. All this changed when Craigslist decided to stop the operation of its adult services section.

This decision left a huge gap in the world of classified ads as the demand was there but there was no supplier. Soon, the developing team of Backpage took advantage of this and filled the gap by launching its own section of adult services. This section alone was the reason that within a small amount of time Backpage climbed on rank 2 of the classified ads world. It was second only to Craigslist. Backpage gave to the people what they were looking for and it was richly rewarded. The yearly revenue from ads was more than $100 million. As you can imagine the total income of the website was humongous and that was all thanks to the adult services section alone.

Along with that section, all the rest of the platform evolved and became really popular. What sex workers loved about it was the fact that BP gave them safe heaven to exercise their trade where they could carefully screen their customers without risking much. On the other hand, the people that were interested in sex services loved the fact that they could easily find what they were looking for without risking unnecessary exposure.

In conclusion, Backpage provided safety and anonymity to their users while fully supplying the demand that was already there. This was the reason that in a small amount of time BP became a colossus of the industry and of course, it was the reason that it led to its eventual downfall. You can always read our previous articles and learn more about that.

Were there any underage sex trafficking on BP?

If you are a user of classified ads websites and you have been using the internet for more than a year then you are probably familiar with Backpage and the whole ordeal that led to its seizure. Even if you have never used this particular website, you probably have heard about it since we are talking about the second biggest classified ads website of the last decade.

As you can imagine the number of Backpage users was really high on a daily basis. Only Craigslist had more users than BP as a total. In certain sections, Backpage had even surpassed CL and this happened for a good reason.

In 2010 Craisglist ceased the operation of its adult services section. Thus a gap in the classified ads sites was created since people wanted to post or find that kind of ads but the colossus of the industry had removed them. This is where BP came into play. The developing team of the platform quickly realized the opportunity and took the chance to fill the void. This led to a sudden and fast increase of Backpage's total traffic. Soon Backpage was the second biggest website in the market and definitely the most popular one when it came to adult services.

For eight years the site was operating smoothly and gave the chance to thousands of sex workers to advertise their services freely and find new customers via this platform. All of this ended abruptly when BP was accused of hosting illicit advertisements of underage sexual services and the federal government was forced to take action. The authorities seized Backpage and its contents and more than 100 people were charged with various accusations about illegal sex trafficking. The highest members of BP's hierarchy were arrested and forced to assist federal authorities in closing down the platform.

Now, the real question here is if the accusations about underage sexual ads were true or not. In reality, we might never know the truth but the sure thing is that federal authorities were frustrated enough to take action and that by itself is a really good hint. In any case, we condemn underage sex trafficking and anyone involved in such activities should be punished.

On the case of adult sex services we believe that everyone should be allowed to do as he/she wishes as long as everything is done consensual and between adults. The sure thing is that the seizure of Backpage has taken away safe heaven from those that want to offer sex services and now they are forced to go back to the street or other environments that are not nearly as safe as BP was for them. It is our personal belief that sooner or later someone else will pop up and fill the gap. Let's hope that the next one will have a much better way to confirm the age of the users than Backpage did.

History of Backpage

Backpage was a really popular site during the years it was operating but it is safe to say that it became even more notorious after its seizure. The reason for that is the accusations that were made against it and the severity of its punishment. It is safe to say that Backpage gained a big amount of post-mortem fame due to those facts. Here we will try to explain a little about its history so you can understand how BP ended up the way it did.
The website was launched in 2004 as a free classified ads electronic platform, much like its predecessor Craiglist. The dawn of the new millennium was the turning point of the internet as more and more people turned from newspapers to websites in order to find what they were looking for. There was much space for growth in that environment and the Backpage developers knew that. While it did well the first years of its operations it was still a moderate platform among the rest of its niche. Everyone was after CLs success but none had managed to duplicate it.
The chance for Backpage came in 2010 when Craigslist decided to shut down its adult services section and a big field was left free for exploitation. The cunning developing team of Backpage soon rose up to the task and took over the adult services advertisement market. In the beginning, those ads were free but after a while, Backpage began to charge for those. People continued to post and use them even though they had to pay a fee to post their ad now.
The number of users was so big that Backpage made more than $100 in revenue per year from that section alone. As you can understand the general income of the platform was sky-rocketed to the stratosphere.
For several years, Backpage was the safe heaven all of those who were willing to have sex for money and those that were willing to pay for that. As everyone knows prostitution is illegal in almost all of U.S. and a website like that was certain that it would draw the attention of federal authorities.
This happened in 2017 when some accusations about underage prostitution ads were made and the federal government was forced to take action. After only a few months in 2018, Backpage was shut down completely. Even though Backpage officials made an effort to alter its profile by suspending its adult listings, the prostitutes continued to post their ads in various sections such as "massage" or "women seeking men", etc.
On April 6, 2018, the website was seized by the federal government and hundreds of arrests were made. If you try to enter Backpage now you will be notified about the seizure and you won't be able to see its contents. It is highly impossible that it will ever be back it but it is almost certain that sooner or later someone else will fill its gap since wherever there is demand there will always be someone able and willing to supply and make money out of it.

What were the contents that forced the Backpage seizure

If you were a user of Backpage you know by know that it is no longer in operation. Since 2018 the federal authorities have seized the website and many of its officials were arrested and accused with many charges involving illegal sex trafficking advertisements.
While Backpage was famous for its adult services section, it was not the only section that it had. In general, it was a classified ads website much like Craigslist. At the beginning of its operation in 2004, it was a platform with moderate traffic. It was in 2010 that CL closed its adult services section and Backpage jumped in to fill the gap that Backpage's traffic multiplied.
As you can understand, even though prostitution is illegal in the biggest part of the United States the demand and supply is there, there is no denying that. This is what probably led Backpage officials to pursue that course of action.
Quickly that platform became a safe haven for sex workers and for people that were willing to pay for sex. For almost 8 years Backpage made serious money by facilitating prostitution ads.
While they were usually concealed and the site itself never admitted that it was providing ads for hookers, everyone knew what was going on. The real problem began when reports of underage sex trafficking begun to show. At this point, federal law enforcement was forced to take action and investigate the matter. The investigation began in 2017 and it took just a few months to come to an end. More than 1000 people associated with illegal prostitution ads were arrested and most of the Backpage official was accused with various charges that had to do with illegally paid sex advertising.
In any case, Backpage was closed for good. This has led to a series of events, such as protests from sex workers about taking away their safe haven. Most of them lost the way to screen their customers carefully and they are forced to go back to the street. This involves much worse working conditions and a bigger amount of risk.
Moreover, many platforms have tried to fill in Backpage's shoes and take advantage of the gap that was created but as of now, none has managed to be a successful successor. Of course, since the demand and supply are there and people are willing to pay for sex, it is only a matter of time before another platform rises up to the task.
In conclusion, we would like to say that if Backpage was facilitating underage sex trafficking ads then it is rightfully shut down as child prostitution is something that should never be tolerated. On the other hand, we believe that any adult that is willing to have sex for money should have the right to do so, in a safe environment that will protect him/her and his/her customers.

Are there any good alternatives to Backpage

Backpage before its seizure was the second biggest platform for classified ads. It was second only to Craigslist and it came to prominence after CL closed its adult services section. Soon after that, Backpage took the chance to fill that gap and make some real money out of it.
The truth is that Backpage made really big money out of sex trafficking ads. It is rumored that it made more than $100 million in revenue per year. Of course, all that was illegal and 7 years later, in 2017 it was seized by the federal law authorities. More than 100 people associated with Backpage sex ads were arrested and 8 of the website's officials were prosecuted.
The shut down of Backpage created a huge gap in the niche as the demand and supply for sex employment is still there. While prostitution is still illegal in the vast majority of the United States, the supply and demand are there. This means that sooner or later someone will try to fill that gap, it is simple law of economy.
The reality is that there are already some websites and platforms that have tried to fill that gap but none of them has reached the success of Backpage. There are some promising ones such as Ohlala app but they are still too small comparing to their predecessor and most of them are operating locally only to states that prostitution is allowed such as Nevada in order to avoid the fate of Backpage.
If you are indulged to travel abroad your options are multiplied vastly as the laws about prostitution in different continents such as Europe, Asia or even South America and much more tolerant towards sex workers than the U.S. ones. If you are willing to pay for sex, a trip to Amsterdam would probably be the best thing to do at the moment.
Of course, there are a few more platforms that are trying to fill Backpage's shoes in the continental U.S. but most of them are either unreliable with low population or full of scammers that would do anything to take your money away. We strongly believe that sooner or later there will be a platform that will take over the niche and provide a safe haven for sex workers but at the moment we would advise you not to try to find any prostitutes online. It is much more likely that you will end up losing your money rather than finding what you are looking for.

Will Backpage Come Back

If you were using Backpage frequently you have heard about it seizure. It has been shut down by the federal authorities with the accusation of illegal sex trafficking ads. Now, if you try to enter Backpage.com you will see the message: “Backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized.” and that is as far as you can go.
Since 2010 Backpage had come to prominence and quickly reached to the second place for classified ads websites. This happened because Craigslist closed it's adult services section and Backpage quickly took its place and a successor of the field. As you can understand the money that this site was making were really big. It is rumored that Backpage made more than $100 million in revenue per year for the sex adds alone. Federal authorities claim that on this platform were posted more than 1 million prostitution ads per day.
Something like that could never go without coming to the federal government's attention. In 2017 Backpage was seized and more than 1000 thousand people associated with its sex trafficking ads were arrested. Among them were all the leading officials of the website.
Now, two years later, Backpage is still down and there is no plan for it to return. The charges that were made against Backpage and its officials are too heavy to be allowed to continue its operation. But this has another unintended side effect. The number of sex workers that were using Backpage as a platform for their ads was enormous. The use of this website to find clients gave them the chance to screen the clients much better and thus have a much safer work environment than working in the streets.
When Backpage seized its operation, they lost that safe heaven and the majority of them are forced back to the street. That involves a much higher percentage of risk as they are no longer able to carefully screen their clients. While prostitution is illegal in the U.S. the sure thing that there is the demand and supply out there and wherever those two are present there will always be someone ready to take risks and make money out of it.
We believe that Backpage is not coming back anytime but soon there will be other platforms out there that will facilitate sex trafficking ads. As we mentioned before it is the simple law of demand and supply. Probably, the best thing that the federal government can do is control that traffic in order to provide a safe environment for both clients and workers and not try to stop it as it is pretty much impossible.