Facebook Rolls out ‘Marketplace’ on Mobile for Buying & Selling
Facebook just announced the roll out of a new classified’s section on their mobile app: Facebook Marketplace.
Built with all the basic functionality that you would expect, marketplace allows users to both search for items they wish to buy and post items they wish to sell.
A new “shop” icon will be available from the bottom tray in the mobile apps, opening with photos of items that people near you have listed for sale. Search offers filters for location, category and price. Marketplace also has a save function so you can come back to it later. Facebook Messenger will handle the chat between the two users, though as with other online classifieds, the transaction is left up to the buyer and seller.
Buying and selling is nothing nothing new to Facebook with 450 million users visiting Buy & Sell groups each month. These groups will continue though making it a little easier, as you can also choose to post to Marketplace and a specific buy and sell group at the same time.
The added access to the users name, profile photo and general location adds an extra level of security that is currently missing from competing sites such as Craigslist.
The added feature will be limited to users over 18 years old and will start in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand on iPhone and Android. They will expand the program to additional countries and the desktop version in coming months.
