The Benefits of Selling and Buying Via Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace has been revitalized and the social media giant is hoping this time it is a success. In an attempt to compete with sites such as Craigslist and Ebay, the revamped eCommerce app was rolled out on Monday, October 3rd.  It comes complete with an easy to use template to guide you through the process.

In a post by the LA Times, it explains more about the benefits of selling and buying via Facebook Marketplace:

‘Discover, buy and sell’: Facebook takes on EBay and Craigslist with its new Marketplace feature – LA Times

Facebook Inc., looking to take a chunk of business from EBay Inc. and Craigslist, unveiled a feature Monday that lets users buy and sell products among themselves.

The feature, called Marketplace, is “a convenient destination to discover, buy and sell items with people in your community,” Mary Ku, Facebook’s director of product management, said in a Facebook post.

EBay and Craigslist are formidable targets, with each proving to be resilient and dominant players in the world of online commerce despite rapid changes in technology and competition from various rivals over the years.

But Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook, with 1.7 billion monthly active users, poses a substantial threat to take some of their market share.

Facebook said its Marketplace will roll out in the next few days to users over 18 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. It will be available on the Facebook app for both the iPhone and Android smartphones.

Read the rest of the story here:  ‘Discover, buy and sell’: Facebook takes on EBay and Craigslist with its new Marketplace feature – LA Times

In this video, Bloomberg West reports on the new app allowing you to shop while you catch up with your family and friends on Facebook:

With the premiere of a new product, there are usually some kinks to work out. For Facebook’s Marketplace, the glitches that appeared the day after the launch were not what they had expected. Some of the items that slipped through their filters caused some embarrassment, but Facebook was on top of the situation:

Facebook apologizes for all the weird things that showed up on Marketplace – Oct. 4, 2016

Within hours of Facebook launching Marketplace, the Craigslist-esque forum had already been overrun by users selling a mix of bizarre and illegal items.

In Pittsburgh, a can of beer was listed for $25. In London, someone was trying to “sell” his pregnant girlfriend for $400. And in New York, someone listed “About 6 Oz. Water (Bottle Not Included)” for $56.

On Tuesday, Facebook (FB, Tech30) blamed a “technical issue” for all the strange posts, but didn’t elaborate on what the issue was other than to say it prevented the review system from screening posts that violated its Commerce Policies.

Facebook’s guidelines prohibit a dozen categories of products from being sold on its platform, including drugs, animals, “adult items or services,” alcohol and weapons. Although Marketplace is a new feature, people have always been able to buy and sell things on Facebook. Stopping things like private gun sales has been a problem before.

Original post here:  Facebook apologizes for all the weird things that showed up on Marketplace – Oct. 4, 2016

With the success of online shopping sites, it makes sense that other companies would attempt to replicate or reinvent their own platform. Since the Marketplace does not create any actual revenue for Facebook, it remains to be seen as to whether it will become the go-to place for buying and selling. After a year of experimenting with the platform and all of the initial bugs are worked out, I think it will be a great way to stay connected and promote your goods.

Originally posted on S&S Pro Blog