Buy-and-sell Groups on Facebook already draw more than 450 million monthly visitors. Building on that habit, Facebook is shipping a major new surface: Marketplace, aimed at rivals such as Craigslist, Letgo, and even local players like Zebramo.
Marketplace sits as its own tab, reachable from a marketplace icon in the bottom bar of the main Facebook app. The experience feels a lot like Letgo and similar mobile classifieds apps.
It is location-based, so the first screen highlights listings from people near you. You can sort and filter with the top search box by location, categories such as home goods or electronics, and price. You can change your search area, open product details, and view the seller’s Facebook profile. Messaging runs through Facebook Messenger: buyers and sellers send offers and chat there. Checkout happens off Facebook Marketplace for now; the company is not processing payments on-platform yet.
Listing an item is as simple as on other classifieds apps: take a photo, add details, confirm location, and publish to Marketplace.
The first markets are the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, on Facebook’s iOS and Android apps. Once it proves popular there, a wider global rollout is likely, and the pace of mobile classifieds worldwide suggests Facebook will not wait long.
