Facebook is reportedly testing a new feature called "Local Market," which is essentially a location to buy and sell items and services, similar to Craigslist.
The feature, which is only in testing and is not being broadly distributed just yet, will allow users to buy and sell a variety of products, such as cars, clothing, furniture, books and so on. Some users reported access to the app, and those who dug down deeper in the new section found areas to both "Buy" and "Sell," as well as ways to search the entire marketplace using particular keywords.
Most users who had access to Local Market found that the section was only live for around two hours. Not only that, but not everyone was able to access the section if they had the option, reporting that it spent a lot of time loading.
It seems as though the section will be accessible both as a dedicated tab on mobile devices and through a bookmark on the desktop version of Facebook. The section will also be populated largely by Facebook groups dedicated to buying and selling products, which is the reason that many of the categories had thousands of items on offer despite the section being completely new.
If Local Market does end up going live to the public, it could certainly pose a challenge to services like Craigslist. While Craigslist has been around for a long time and is a well-established place to buy and sell items, users might enjoy being able to sell things straight from Facebook without having to head to a different website and access a different account. There's no doubting that Facebook is more accessible than Craigslist, with the Facebook app being installed on over one billion smartphones. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not users are willing to ditch their groups in favor of a dedicated buying and selling section.
Source: TechCrunch
