Facebook: Looking for a Classifieds Partner

Here’s a rumor that won’t go away - Facebook has been quietly searching for a partner to take over their year and a half old classified listings application, and may relaunch as early as the end of December.

According to our sources, Facebook distributed a request-for-proposal to a number of classified sites earlier this year (the same model they are using for Facebook Music).

The obvious partner is Oodle, which began powering Wal-mart Classifieds earlier this year. We’ve heard thin reports that they in fact have won the contract.

Whoever powers Facebook Classifieds (or Facebook Marketplace, as they call it) has a big hill to climb. Competing with Ebay (EBAY) (and their Kijiji) and Craigslist isn’t trivial. The original thought was that social networks were great for classifieds because you the buyers and sellers know each other. But Facebook’s current classifieds system shows anemic listings. The Silicon Valley network, for example, had a total of ten new listings added yesterday. San Francisco had twenty. New York City - zero. And for those who’ve forgotten, Microsoft (MSFT) launched their own classifieds site, Live Expo, based on MSN friends and private networks (like businesses), and it went nowhere.

Part of the problem is the limited functionality of the existing classifieds system, which allows a short listing, a picture and communication via Facebook’s messaging system. Better software may mean more listings (although the bare-bones and massive Craigslist is a clear exception to that rule). Oodle, or whoever wins the contract, may also bring lots of listings from their other networks.

If Facebook gets this right, there is a potential for lucrative advertising dollars - people looking to buy stuff are easy targets.

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Comments

[downwithebay:]

How the heck is Kijiji that gets 82.4k monthly visits a BIG threat to facebook's classified that gets over 42 million unique monthly visitors on their site.

With the right partner, facebook can quickly make Donahoe and cronies regret ever getting into the online classified biz!

2008 Nov 24 02:28 PM

[Mr Ashely Cole:]

I am Mr Ashely Cole, we offer secured and unsecured loan at 3% interest rate online irrespective of your credit score. We offer different knids of loans such as business loans, personal loans, debts/bill consolidation loans and many others, all you need to do is apply by emailing me directly via my personal email which is [e-mail] for further information on how you can apply.

2008 Dec 09 10:44 AM

[Samuel Diamond:]

I am trying to create a calssifieds-type situation that empowers the entire community.

I do see the obstacles in creating a system. But one of the things most people overlook when developing the system is separation and syntax. Craigslist was the master at separation ( the community section was something that was never exclusively part of a classifieds, since it usually encompassed the actual content of newspapers and websites.)

Syntax would revolve around the wording of categories and features. I think whoever gets it right with Facebook would make a grand load of money. I wish they would hire me; I have so many ideas and absolutely no expertise in delivering the system.

2008 Dec 15 11:29 PM