Watch out OLX & Quikr, Facebook has now introduced Facebook Marketplace.
If you haven’t already heard, Facebook has just reintroduced Marketplace to their platform. What is Facebook Marketplace? Think of it as the Craigslist or OLX of Facebook, but it’s also much more than that.
As the name suggests, the Facebook Marketplace is a place where you can buy and sell items, services, etc., just like a classifieds page. You can list what you want to sell, products or services and you can tag your listings. Facebook’s computers will sort them intelligently and rank them and people who are interested in those products/services will get a intelligent feed in their Facebook accounts, based on their location and preferences.
If you want to sell something on Facebook Marketplace, its actually very easy. All you need to do is simply take a picture of whatever it is that you want to sell, add a neat little description, mention the price you want to charge and thats it, you are now ready to sell on Facebook Marketplace. Facebook users who are interested in the listing can ask you questions, bid on the items for sale and purchase the item, all this from just the Facebook app.
The biggest advantage of Facebook Marketplace is that you shall be dealing with a known friend on Facebook and not a stranger.Online Classifieds like OLX and Quikr have been real chartbusters, but most of us are wary of selling or buying anything on those sites, because of the fear of dealing with a stranger and the no possibility of seeing the product for yourself. And the biggest fear of never getting the actual product delivered to you. All you can do is believe on some reviews about the seller, which might not be genuine.
While Facebook does have fake accounts and the like, but a classified listing, from your community and vetted by it might seem to be a far safer option than what is available online today. Buyer’s confidence comes from Trust, which is a major factor in any transaction, and thats what Facebook Marketplace brings to you.When you find a listing from someone, who has 100 common friends, your chances of looking at the listing is much higher, because that seller seems friendly and known.
The other great thing about the Facebook Marketplace experience is that its just another tab on your Facebook app, that you look at umpteen times a day. I know so many people, men & women alike, who even get up at midnight to check their Facebook feed. What stops you from checking out the Facebook Marketplace tab once in a while when you are bored of looking at what other people are doing and want to explore whats in it for you.
Sounds great, doesn’t it, but there are downsides too to the Facebook Marketplace. And the major one is that your transaction is your own and the Marketplace doesn’t guarantee it, just like most classified sites. Facebook will not take responsibility for a seller or buyer’s actions on the platform, nor will it offer them a secure payment option.
But with Facebook being the largest online community in the world, the chances of Facebook Marketplace going down as an experiment seems very unlikely. So be ready soon to get your hands on that lovely porcelain vase that you have seen gathering dust on your neighbour’s shelf for a long time.
If you want more info about Facebook Marketplace, you can get more details here.
