I’m sure you can remember the huge buzz that went around when Ebay first launched and people could easily sell almost anything that wanted. It meant that you didn’t have to have you own physical shop to make money buying and selling, and people could find items online that they may not have been able to find elsewhere. Ebay is still going strong but now with the rise in social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, the online trading markets are stronger than ever.

Facebook was among the first social networking sites that had the foresight to realise the potential of allowing their members to advertise items on their site. They termed their new section ‘Facebook Marketplace’ and it soon became very popular, with many people even setting up their own shops to trade their goods. Being able to advertise online is nothing new however and sites like Gumtree and Craig’s List have done very well through allowing people to do this, but they find themselves struggling to compete against the newer socially-led networking sites. They encourage a more discerning buying process whereby you can do some background research on the seller, request more information, or even ask the opinion of some experts in the field. For example, before you make that commitment to buy one of those second hand bikes you can request more pics, query your friends about it, or ask those people who are hanging out in the cycling community section if you are making the right choice, and if not, what is the right one?

Another advancement has come about through sites such as Twitter, has been the ability for people to request the things they are looking for, rather than wait for someone else to advertise them. For example an extreme sports enthusiast might post on their twitter profile that they are looking for 7’6” surfboards, and because of the potential size and power of the networks here, they will likely find multiple people very quickly who have suitable surfboards for sale


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