Marketplace lets Facebook users list items for sale, and could be an attempt to upend the crowded world of peer-to-peer selling.
It simply means whom you are selling and from whom you are purchasing. Oops, there will be challenges for the marketplace like craiglists, ebay, quikr,olx, amazon.
Facebook’s latest product launch appears to be a modest step into a classified advertising market currently fought over by eBay, Craigslist and more nascent startups such as LetGo and OfferUp – the latter recently valued at $1.2bn.
But with the official launch of Facebook Marketplace, through which users can list items for sale or search the area near them for things they want, the company could be attempting to use its gargantuan audience of 1.71 billion monthly users to upend the local sales market completely.
Facebook says that already, “more than 450 million people visit buy and sell groups each month”, using informal groups like this one set up for people in Hackney, London.
The world of peer-to-peer selling is notoriously hard to assess because transactions between individuals aren’t necessarily reported. But Facebook is definitely entering an established and already-crowded marketplace.
The largest operator in the classified ad space is still eBay. It sold more than $20bn of merchandise in 2015, according to its latest financial report, though much of those sales are from large-volume sellers, rather than individuals.
In the US, Facebook Marketplace will be taking on Craigslist, the classified ads site founded in 1995 and widely credited with destroying the market for newspaper classified advertising. Craigslist records 50bn worldwide page views and 80m classified ads per month – though because sales are between individuals and their results are unreported it is impossible to know how many of the ads are successful.
Over the next few days, Marketplace will roll out to everyone over 18 years old in the US, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand on the Facebook app for iPhone and Android.
“We will continue expanding and make Marketplace available on the desktop version of Facebook in the coming months,” Facebook’s Director of Product Management Mary Ku said in a post late on Monday.
In recent years, more people have been using Facebook to connect in another way – buying and selling with each other.
Use the built-in location tool to adjust the region you’re looking in, or switch to a different city altogether.
“When you find something interesting, tap on the image to see more details from the seller, including a product description, the name and profile photo of the seller, and their general location. You can also save the item to find it later,” Ku posted.
You can also send the seller a direct message from Marketplace to tell them you’re interested and make an offer.
From that point on, you and the seller can work out the details in any way you choose. Facebook does not facilitate the payment or delivery of items in Marketplace.
To sell an item in ‘Marketplace’, take a photo of your item or add it from your camera roll.
Enter a product name, description and price. Confirm your location and select a category.
“To keep track of all of your current and past transactions in Marketplace, visit – Your Items section. There, you can view your saved items, products you’ve posted for sale, and all your messages with people,” Ku noted.
Facebook does not allow transactions of illegal items like drugs or explosives. It also bans the sale of firearms, animals, and alcohol, among others.