Facebook Creates a Marketplace Feature After 450 Million Users Start Buying and Selling

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Last month (September 13, 2016), we shared the news about a new, well-funded competitor to Craigslist and eBay called OfferUp. Today, the competition got a little more intense. Facebook announced it is creating a feature called Marketplace. Or, perhaps the word “creating” is wrong, as millions of Facebook users–including lots of small business owners–have already created something they call “buy and sell groups.”

“More than 450 million people visit buy and sell groups each month - from families in a local neighborhood to collectors around the world,” according to Mary Ku, product manager for Marketplace. 

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How to buy things on Facebook Marketplace

• When it rolls out in the coming days (initially, in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand), Marketplace will be a feature on the Facebook app (iOS and Android). Open the app and you'll see photos of items that people near you have listed for sale.


• To find something specific, search at the top and filter your results by location, category or price.


• You can also browse what's available in a variety of categories such as Household Electronics and Apparel.


• Use the built-in location tool to adjust the region you're looking in, or switch to a different city altogether.


• If you are interested in a product, you can send the seller a direct message from Marketplace 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.

How to post and sell items using 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


• Now anyone looking in your area can find your item and message you if they want to buy it. You can also choose to post to Marketplace and a specific buy and sell group at the same time.


• To keep track of all of your current and past transactions in Marketplace, visit the Your Items section. There, you can view your saved items, products you've posted for sale, and all your messages with people.

Availability

Over the next few days, Marketplace will be rolling out to Facebook users over 18 years old in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand on the Facebook app for iPhone and Android.

“We will continue expanding to additional countries and make Marketplace available on the desktop version of Facebook in the coming months,” according to Ku.