Ku said 450 million-plus people regularly visit buy-and-sell Facebook Groups-from neighborhood merchants to global collectors.
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But Australian Retailers Association spokeswoman Carla Bridge said Facebook’s entry into buying and selling online was unlikely to challenge traditional retail outlets, and would simply bring more second-hand trading online. With Messenger now operating entirely independently of Facebook, the company has chose to remove the last reference to it from its core app. (Here’s just one example, focused on birds.) The new Marketplace feature highlights Facebook’s role as a place for commerce and gives users a straightforward destination in the app for buying or selling something.
Users can also browse what is available in a variety of categories such as household, electronics and apparel, said Ku. To find something specific, search at the top and filter your results by location, category or price. Users can also save items and talk make an offer later.
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Peterson says she’s open to trying Marketplace, which like For Sale Groups does not charge listing or transaction fees and does not process payment or handle delivery. This is also the place where you’ll be able to make an offer on the item as well as message the seller. These include connections between users and brands they like, advertising, and a customer service infrastructure through Messenger. Instead, Facebook gains what it has always been most hungry for: users’ precious eyeballs and more of their time each and every day. The Marketplace feature is just an extension of that.
Facebook is betting on the popularity of buy and sell websites like Kijiji and Craigslist with it’s latest feature dubbed “Marketplace”. It lets you create a sales post from your existing account, with a description, photo and an asking price. Next, you confirm your location, select the category you want to list the item in, and post it.
If you consider yourself the Queen Of Letting Crap You Don’t Need Anymore Accumulate, then please #respect, because I am undoubtedly your Overlord.
The new mobile app feature builds on Sale Groups, which have been a feature on the website since February 2015.
As Business Insider notes, this is not Facebook’s first foray into classified listings.
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Check it out in the Facebook app if you want to see what’s for sale (shop icon on the bottom). Only those members listed as 18 years old and over will get access.
