Why Facebook Wants to Host the World's Flea Markets and Swap Meets
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. (TheStreet) -- Facebook (FB - Get Report) wants to run the world's swap meets and flea markets.
The world's largest social network on Tuesday announced features designed to help people sell items online. The features are part ofFacebook Groups, the social-networking communities with a collective monthly audience of more than 700 million people.
Unlike Craigslist, which is open to anyone, the items being bought and sold would be exchanged between people within an affinity group, or a user's friends. Facebook, which won't be processing payments, is betting that such familiarity will make the groups more accessible and popular.
Those participating would join "For Sale" groups that would then select a "Sell" option when posting an item. In selecting the new post type, the seller would provide a description, set a price, identify a pickup or delivery location, and then mark anitem as sold.
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The update, which is rolling out to groups over the next few months, adds much-needed structure toanarea where previously there had been almost none.
"There's already been lots of selling on Facebook, but it's been casual and informal," Gartner analyst Brian Blau said, "meaning that people simply make a post saying I'm selling something and they manage the process themselves."
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Why Facebook Wants to Host the World's Flea Markets and Swap Meets