Tech

Soon, You Can Buy & Sell in Facebook, Just Like Carousell

2018-01-24 , 10:59 am

Carousell might have been our go-to app for online stuff, but it seems that there’s a viable alternative soon.

Facebook, the platform we’ve been using for ages, kinda got tired of but still can’t really get rid of, has released a new feature called Marketplace. As the name suggests, it’s a feature that will allow Facebook users to buy and sell items.

Marketplace

According to The New Paper, those using the latest version of the Facebook mobile app will see the implementation of a “shopfront icon”, while desktop users will see a new tab. The function will reportedly be pushed out over the subsequent two weeks.

The feature will allow users to “list and browse items for sale as well as filter results by location, price and categories”.

However, Facebook’s allegedly not responsible for transactions or delivery of items. As a result, buyers and sellers would have to communicate through the messaging function to work out offers and transaction details.

While the platform’s currently without a feedback and user rating function (pretty important for transaction-based platforms, really), it’s currently being tested in the US and is expected to arrive in other countries in the future.

Meanwhile, you do not have to link your public profile on Facebook to the buy-and-sell platform. According to Facebook product management director Karandeep Anand, the social experience on Facebook will differ from Marketplace, and “listings will not appear on individual profiles”.

But being able to see a seller’s public profile, he added, would definitely “help to add a layer of trust”.

Third Asian country to launch the service

Singapore, which reportedly has four million monthly Facebook users, will be the “third Asian country” to kick off the service after Thailand and India, said Mr Anand.

Incidentally, the service, which was first introduced in the US in 2016, is presently available in 47 other countries. However, it’s restricted to users aged 18 and above.

According to Mr Anand, the Marketplace feature is an “evolution of existing Facebook groups that are used for trade”.

“Over 550 million people globally use Facebook today to buy and sell items in local communities. We are building on that to create a single destination for people to discover, buy and sell items,” he said.

Additionally, members of such communities will now have “the option of cross-listing items for sale on the groups and Marketplace simultaneously”.

“Marketplace is primarily a platform for consumers to trade used goods, though markets such as the US are testing the listing of Facebook pages and shops as well.”

“We will learn from that and explore what the Singapore Marketplace needs,” he added.

Revolutionary?

Carousell might be a pretty nifty app, but Facebook’s latest venture might just give it, and other online business transaction sites, a real run for it’s money.

After all, online transaction sites thrive on numbers.

And Facebook, I dare say, has that in spades.

Which makes you wonder just how far Facebook can go, and what it could achieve even in the future.

Little wonder why it’s something we’ve all grown up with, and yet still can’t shake off after all these years.

Since you’re here, why not watch a video about a guy who lodged a Police report here in Singapore because he was friendzoned? Seriously. Here, watch it and do remember to share it (and also subscribe to Goody Feed YouTube channel)!

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

Soon, You Can Buy & Sell in Facebook, Just Like Carousell

Marketplace

Third Asian country to launch the service

Revolutionary?

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