If you got on Facebook lately, you might have noticed a change. In the online version, in the bottom menu, instead of the app showing messages, it’s now showing a marketplace. The same happened in left corner menu in the browser.
The change has been coming for a while now. After noticing the increasing number of people in groups with the sole purpose of selling and buying products, the network was quick to create price functionalities and communication channels with the sellers. Now in what it seems like the last step for it, they launched their marketplace. Yes, you don’t have to be in hundreds of groups to find good deals nearby you!
The categories are housing, entertainment, clothing $ accessories, family, electronics, hobbies, vehicles & bicycles, and classifieds. Facebook also gives you the option of only searching the free articles, as a viral initiative that started on Facebook was Free Your Stuff, a group where everything is for free, and it is already present in several cities around the world.
It is also unclear the business model of the marketplace as Facebook is not charging anyone for uploading something for sale. What we can expect is that in the future they can charge for ads in that section or charging for a highlighted place in the marketplace. It still to be seen. But I am curious to see what comes out of it. Maybe the next house you are going to buy comes from Facebook. Why not?
Beyond what Facebook will do with its new functionality, I am even more curious about what the user will do. In the free section, people look for owners of lost documents they found. Maybe the next thing is a Facebook Lost & Found? Or maybe you can be the first author who launched a book only for sale on Facebook?
