Will Facebook Replace eBay?

By Tim Martin  

eBay has been around since 1995 for consumers to buy and sell just about anything from all over the world. eBay is the most successful auction website on the Internet, but there is someone else joining the game. This player was not created for this market, but is definitely a player to be on the lookout for. eBay, meet Facebook.

Communities from all over the country are creating groups on Facebook for the purpose to buy, sell, and trade goods. There are no eBay fees, no PayPal fees, and no worrying about shipping. You simply make a post in the Facebook group with the item you have for sale or trade, post a picture of it, and wait for people to reply. You can also post about items you are looking for.

Here are some advantages to using Facebook instead of eBay:

- No fees to pay to eBay, PayPal, or for shipping
- You can negotiate
- You are dealing with someone in your area
- On eBay you can't really trade. On Facebook, you can post that you are looking for a specific item and post what you are willing to trade for, or post an item you want to sell or trade and see what other folks offer
- You can see the item before handing money over to the buyer. On eBay, you send the seller a payment, and hope you receive what you think you are paying for
- When you are selling something, you don't have 9849238498238 other people selling the same thing, so you don't have to play the "pricing game"

Here are some advantages to using eBay instead of Facebook:

- You have a much wider selection of merchandise since you are looking for items for sale all over the world
- If you get ripped off, there is a system in place to go through to get your money back
- There is feedback about the seller or buyer on eBay
- You have a larger base of people to sell your item to, which you can maximize your profit
- You are shipping the item, so there is no risk of meeting a stalker or weirdo when you are selling or buying something

Just remember if you do decide to sell, buy, or trade on Facebook to always meet the other party in a public place and take someone with you if possible.

What does everyone else think? Have you bought anything from someone in a Facebook group like this? If you have not, would you?

Tim Martin is a Technology Specialist, Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/tsmartin75 or on Twitter @tsmartin