In short, Facebook Marketplace is a visual marketplace where anyone can list their products for free. The products are categorized by location and category so a buyer can quickly find all of the products they’re looking for, such as auto parts and accessories for sale nearby. Can Facebook Marketplace compete with Amazon and eBay and become the next disrupter in the eCommerce auto parts and accessories industry?
In This Episode, We Discuss:
- What Facebook Marketplace is.
- The benefits of Facebook Marketplace and how it can help you sell more auto parts and accessories online.
- How Facebook Marketplace competes with other marketplaces like eBay and Amazon.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Aaron: All right, we are back with another addition of the Pit Stop. With me as always is Chris [Garafola 00:00:20]. Chris, how’s it going today?
Chris: It’s going great. It’s going great.
Aaron: Good, good.
Aaron: Chris, today’s episode is going to be around predictions, because you know I love to make predictions, right?
Chris: You’re pretty good at predictions.
Aaron: I am.
Chris: You’ve been right on your last couple predictions.
Aaron: Yes.
Chris: You predicted that your son would have brown hair. He does.
Aaron: He does, very true.
Chris: You had also predicted the Pats would lose the Super Bowl.
Aaron: I did. I did. And I’m very happy about that.
Chris: And they lost the Super Bowl. So you’re two for two, let’s see if you can go three for three, because you have another prediction up your sleeve.
Facebook Marketplace is going to be a huge disruptor
Aaron: I do, I do. The third prediction right now is Facebook Marketplace. And everybody talks, is talking about Amazon and talking about eBay and we gotta get on those platforms and nobody’s talking about Facebook Marketplace. Right?
I just … the more I dig into Facebook Marketplace, the more I love it, and the more I want all of our partners on it. And I can’t stress it enough. I am just infatuated with Facebook Marketplace. I think it’s gonna be a huge disruptor. They’re just waiting and they are gonna pounce and it’s gonna be a big disruptor in the marketplace.
Chris: They already have all this power with the consumers that they have. How many billions, is it billions, plural?
Aaron: Billions.
Benefits of Facebook Marketplace
Chris: Users? I mean, they already have the hard work done. They have all this data already from all these consumers that are on their site. Every day. I mean, I think, what’s the average, an hour a day? People are on Facebook on average? And we all know it’s more than that.
Aaron: And you’ve got the micro-moments that they’re on Facebook and the macro-moments, right? Where you’re standing in line at the grocery store, waiting to check out and you’re just like thumbing through.
Or you’re sitting on your couch, watching TV, and you’re either on your laptop or your phone and you’re spending a little bit more time on Facebook and really being a little more engaged. Facebook has the audience and they have the eyeballs and the impressions. All the hard work is done, where, you’re going to Amazon when you need something, or you’re going to eBay when you need something.
When it’s, “Okay. I’m out of diapers. We gotta get on Amazon to order more diapers,” right? But on Facebook, you’re there at a checkout.
Chris: You’re already there.
Aaron: Your friends, information, news.
Chris: You’re there for your everything. It’s frictionless. You don’t have to go anywhere, because you’re already there and Facebook’s … they’re thinking to themselves, “All right, why don’t we create a marketplace for our consumers instead of having them go to Amazon and eBay?” They’re already here; let’s keep them here.
Aaron: If you’re not familiar with what Facebook Marketplace is, it’s essentially a visual marketplace where you can upload your products and sell them for free.
Chris: He said for free.
Aaron: For free. Right?
Chris: Did he say for free?
Aaron: Free.
Chris: Free.
Aaron: Free. Free.
Chris: Just wanted to emphasize the free.
Aaron: Free.
Chris: Already a step up off of Amazon and eBay. Because we all know they have fees.
Aaron: Free, okay? And they already have the icon nestled in the bottom of the Facebook app.
Chris: Looks like a little storefront.
Aaron: Looks like a little storefront. Little market.
Chris: Front and center.
Aaron: Right? And you click on that and it has all these different products that you can search, all these different categories you can search through, save, you can look for specific shops or vendors. Follow them. Save the products. Check out on the website or you can check out on Facebook, so you can purchase it through Facebook.
So, how frictionless is that for a consumer? Right? You know, I have my credit card information already on Facebook, I can purchase while I’m … chatting with a friend of mine, I don’t have to flip to a different.
Chris: And that’s where everything’s going, frictionless. I ordered something on Amazon the other day and they have something that says, “Instant Checkout,” where it just automatically ordered the book that I wanted.
Chris: Everybody’s going through this frictionless process, because as we all know, the more steps in the purchase path, the more consumers will drop off. Less is better. Instant checkout is as frictionless as it gets.
Aaron: You don’t have to go to any other sites to search. I’m gonna go on Facebook, I’m gonna get everything that I’m looking for. I want to find out … I want to see what my friends are doing, boom, it’s there, and oh by the way, I’ve gotta buy a new roof rack.
Whatever it might be. That and Facebook has all of your browsing data, all your browsing information, all of your history. They know what you’ve been looking at. They know what you’ve been searching, so they’re actually prompting you, it’s coming up in your timeline. It’s oh, check out these products from these different vendors or these different shops, this is new to Marketplace this week and based on what you’ve already been searching for.
All that information and that data is being used and harnessed within Facebook and within Marketplace that it’s just … I can’t see why and how it’s not going to be a disruptor.
Facebook Marketplace Adds a Social Element to Ecommerce
Chris: And on top of it, it adds this social element to it that eBay and Amazon doesn’t have and this might sound silly but, Facebook is obviously a social network, emphasis on the social.
Aaron: You just brought up a really, really good point Chris, the fact that it’s very social and very engaging is when you purchase it, or when you check out to a website, that it prompts you to, if you go back to that page, it actually prompts you with three different responses.
Basically wanting to know like, how was your purchase? Was it good, bad, or didn’t purchase?
Chris: Right.
Aaron: Right, so, you’re getting those automatic reviews and it’s prompting you to create those reviews and submit those reviews and it’s also gathering all of that data from, “It was good, it was bad, I didn’t purchase,” well, why didn’t you purchase it, right?
Facebook Messenger Keeps You Engaged
Chris: Even before that, if you have a question. If I’m a consumer and I have a question, Facebook integrates their Messenger, so they already have their chat app built right in. So, if I’m a consumer, and I have a question, which I tend to do, I usually have a lot of questions before I purchase something, because I’m a nerd, I’m always reading reviews.
Aaron: He’s nerdy.
Chris: I don’t want …
Aaron: You’re a nerd.
Chris: I’m a nerd. I embrace it. You know, before I buy something, especially something that’s expensive, if I’m buying a roof rack that’s $300, $400, that’s expensive, I want to know I’m getting the right part and I would probably message the vendor and so Facebook integrates this perfectly with their Messenger where if a consumer has a question, you can literally chat with them in real time, if you want. Which is really powerful.
That’s already built into the Marketplace.
Aaron: Yeah, I can’t … once again, I can’t see why not and how it’s not going to be a disruptor in the marketplace space. Right? And going to compete against eBay, Amazon.
Chris: It’s a logical next step for Facebook. As a business, they’re trying to grow and I mean, it just makes sense. They’re so powerful. I can’t see how they can’t compete with the Amazons and eBays. It was only a matter of time and it’s already happening.
It’s unfolding every day or every week, they’re coming out with new improvements and advancements with the Marketplace.
Aaron: Yeah, so that’s my prediction for another prediction.
Chris: I mean, you’re two for two.
Aaron: Yeah, I’ve been really, really pleased with the first two. I mean, you know. Thank the Lord for both of those. And I’m really hoping that-
Chris: Your third prediction comes to fruition.
Aaron: I’m three for three with this Facebook Marketplace. It’s just gonna be a huge benefit to the brands, the sellers, and also, to the consumers.
Chris: Right.
Aaron: Right? And that’s the most important.
Chris: They’re making it easier for the consumer. They’re already here and now they can order stuff here, too. Why go to Amazon or eBay? It’s just making it easier for the consumer and potentially making more meat on the bone for you guys. At the moment, Facebook isn’t charging to sell on this Marketplace, whereas eBay and Amazon, as you guys all know, they have their fees and then PayPal has their fees.
By the time you get your cut, it’s, you know … not as great.
Aaron: There’s not as much, yeah. Yeah. You know, we’ll see. We’ll see how it pans out, man. And hopefully I’m right and if I’m wrong, I’ll admit it and I’ll say, “Hey, that was dumb,” and I’ll own it, and we’ll move on from that. And we’ll figure out-
Chris: I won’t forget it, actually, if you’re wrong.
Aaron: I know.
Chris: I’ll never forget it.
Aaron: I know, I know. When I’m right, we’ll cut this back up. Kyle will cut this back up and we’ll show like the highlights of me being like, “Okay, put it, minute two when I said this was the prediction,” anywho. We’ll see.
But that’s it for this episode of The Pit Stop. Chris, we’ll see how this prediction unfolds.
Chris: Yeah, we’ll see. Stay tuned.
Aaron: But in the meantime, if you’re not on Facebook Marketplace, get on it.
