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Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

cnbc.com

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Re: Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

#21

Post by chocolatkey »

Freedom2 wrote: post #5

Genuine q, what makes FB marketplace good, and how did it blow up over Ebay / Craigslist? Is it a combination of having the platform with the most people as well as being the most likely platform to have people who are situated near you?

What I preferred recently when buying a used car over Craigslist was that I was able to vet the seller more easily because this was their Facebook profile. Like many other people on the older side, their profile was completely public, and I was able to scroll through over a decade of pictures, education, family etc. This was a very useful check against scams and lies.

Re: Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

#22

Post by theanonymousone »

lordofgibbons wrote: post #15
ErigmolCt wrote: post #8

But I wonder how long it'll stay fee-free. Meta isn't known for leaving money on the table forever

The marketplace is the only reason I ever log into that god forsaken website. Maybe it's a loss leader

I will be very surprised if Marketplace (taking isolated, if that's possible) is not profitable.

Re: Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

#23

Post by csydas »

> Marketplace isn’t a major direct revenue source, but it keeps users engaged.

> “It’s one of the least monetized parts of Facebook,” said Enberg. “But it brings in engagement, which advertisers value.”

> Meta relies on ads for over 97% of its $164.5 billion revenue in 2024.

Facebook's spin in the article was delusional as expected for a big tech business, but I'm surprised they let this little nugget of truth slip out, and somehow managed to not learn anything from the fact that a huge demographic engages _more_ with the part of the site that gets the least monetization focus.

Re: Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

#24

Post by mxxx »

My FB account exists almost solely for marketplace, which has almost total market dominance for local classifieds where I live in Australia. Recently they’ve stopped letting you send messages to sellers via the website on your phone and insist that you use the app instead. It’s probably one of the few hooks they have left to try and get people on to the platform.

Re: Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

#25

Post by Mashimo »

Freedom2 wrote: post #5

Genuine q, what makes FB marketplace good, and how did it blow up over Ebay / Craigslist? Is it a combination of having the platform with the most people as well as being the most likely platform to have people who are situated near you?

People can share their market place listing with their social circle. That includes specialized groups, but also friends.

I recently sold a 35 year old camper van, with one click I shared it in a group for old cars. People who saw it in turn shared that again in other groups for cars.

Users see those listings in their feed, on the same page where they might see news or funny dog videos.

If I sell on my local version of Craigslist, only people who actively search for a camper van would see it.

Re: Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

#26

Post by grudg3 »

Freedom2 wrote: post #5

Genuine q, what makes FB marketplace good, and how did it blow up over Ebay / Craigslist? Is it a combination of having the platform with the most people as well as being the most likely platform to have people who are situated near you?

In some countries, eBay or craigslist was never a thing. In NZ we have our local version of eBay but the success fees have gotten so ridiculously high that FB marketplace is slowly becoming the only option.

Re: Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

#28

Post by fumufumu »

Freedom2 wrote: post #5

Genuine q, what makes FB marketplace good, and how did it blow up over Ebay / Craigslist? Is it a combination of having the platform with the most people as well as being the most likely platform to have people who are situated near you?

[dead]

Re: Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

#30

Post by stevage »

And yet it is so underdeveloped. I'm in a few second hand board groups where every listing is like 20 different games at different prices. They have to put a price, so some people put 0, some put $30 and some put $999,999.

I hate buying stuff on marketplace, it's so feature poor.

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