The days of listing your unwanted stuff on Kijiji (owned by eBay) or Craigslist might be over, if Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) has anything to do with it.
The social network made it official on Monday, revealing a new update to its mobile app called Marketplace. This app will enable people to list anything from small knick-knacks to cars, all from the comfort of an app people are already familiar with.
The app will add to similar groups that exist for almost every town or city in North America, but with one big perk. Users won’t have to get approved or deal with a group organizer that may be cranky. Facebook automatically lets anyone with a valid account join Marketplace.
Facebook’s main competitors in this space manage to make money without taking a cut of every transaction, which means Facebook will probably be stuck operating Marketplace for free too. But Marketplace gives users another reason to come back to the site--often, where they’ll be exposed to ads. Both buyers and sellers will have reason to check the latest offerings at Marketplace often.
Marketplace offers protection for buyers, which is a big plus. Before agreeing to pick an item up, a buyer will interact with someone that has a real Facebook profile behind them. This will give buyers more confidence they’re not going to meet a potentially crazy person.
It’s likely eBay-owned Kijiji won’t be the only site affected. If Marketplace catches on, it could be another blow for eBay and its auction business.
Facebook shares were down marginally in Monday morning trading, falling 0.13%. eBay fared much worse, falling 1.6%.
Tech Insider
