Launched a free Chrome extension for classified-ad sellers — now stuck on the hardest part: getting the first real users
Hey everyone,
Wanted to share where I'm at and get some honest input from people who've been through this.
I built a Chrome extension for people who sell on Kleinanzeigen (Germany's biggest classifieds platform). The problem it solves: ads sink down the search results over time, so sellers manually re-post them to get back to the top. My tool does that in one click — it carries over the title, description, price, and photos automatically. It's live and free, and I use it daily for my own ads.
The build was the easy part. Getting users is the real challenge — and where I'd love advice.
What I've tried so far:
- Direct outreach to high-volume sellers (bike shops, clothing resellers). A couple replied, most didn't. One business was interested but went quiet.
- I've got a landing page and just started posting in maker/beta communities.
Where I'm stuck / questions for you:
- For a niche tool tied to a specific platform, what actually worked for you to get your first 10-20 real users?
- Direct outreach feels slow and hit-or-miss — is that just the reality early on, or am I missing a better channel?
- How did you figure out if people would pay before building payment infrastructure?
I know the honest answer is often "it depends," but I'd genuinely value hearing how others cracked the cold-start problem for a niche product.
Happy to share the tool with anyone curious — just ask in the comments.
Thanks 🙏