Sex Trade Big Business for Craig

Money charged for formerly free ads estimated to bring in $36 million

Craigslist revenue grew 22 percent last year, to $122 million, largely on the strength of increasing fees for "adult" advertising and no longer sending that money to charity.

At least, that's the best estimate provided by the Advanced Interactive Media Group, which regularly calculates revenue estimates for the private company by tracking the number and nature of ads posted to the site.

Craigslist only charges for job listings, real estate listings in New York City, and posts to its erotic services classifieds.

The latter category saw what AIM believes to be increased profit growth thanks to higher fees. Craigslist first instituted the fee in part to make it easier for law enforcement to track potential criminals by having credit card information on file.

However the company, which originally promised to donate those fees to charitable organizations, announced that it would no longer disclose its plans with that money last year, suggesting it's now going to the bottom line.

AIM also estimated that company's costs to be $50 million a year, but admits that number is likely less accurate than the revenue projection.

Jackson West figures better Craigslist making the money than Dave Elms's shady Erotic Review.

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