As TechCrunch reported back in December, Oodle is taking over Facebook classifieds. The new service launches Wednesday and will be rolled out to Facebook users over the next sixty days. I’ve been bearish overall on companies that require local network affects, and usually classifieds fits in that bucket. As good a job as Craigslist has done it only monetizes about 1% of its users, and that’s probably one reason it has spread as far and as fast as it has. But- by design- it’s not the next great billion dollar Web powerhouse.
Oodle, too, has been a long slog. As founder and CEO Craig Donato told me last week, had he known how hard of a slog classifieds would be, he might have chosen a different startup idea four years ago. I’m sure he was (partially) joking, but Oodle has long been the question mark in David Sze’s otherwise stellar Web 2.0 portfolio that includes Digg, LinkedIn and Facebook. (Now, some see Digg as the question mark, but that’s a different post.)
Oodle has done two things well to combat the local trap. One is deals with huge properties like MySpace, Facebook and AOL that really juice distribution and listings. As a result, before it even goes live with Facebook or AOL, the site has 40 million listings with 500,000 new ones added each day. Second smart move: Making classifieds social, not local.
Increasingly, the social Web has created more meaningful communities than just geographical proximity. Sure, we are more likely to know and regularly interact with people near us, so you can’t ignore geography. But think about how many times you’d rather sell something or buy something from someone you know or someone who knows someone you know, than someone whose only commonality is living in your city.
The Oodle app is coming about just at the right time for Facebook. Not only is the site huge, but it’s so focused on the Wall that distributions of listings and conversations around items for sale will be natural and organic. And unlike eBay or Craigslist, it’s just a few clicks to post something. You fill in what it is, why you’re getting rid of it, how much you want and designate whether you’re giving it away, selling it, or want the money to go to charity. Can you imagine if posting something on eBay was that easy? My dining room of boxes would be empty.
That’s not to say Oodle replaces Craigslist or eBay. You can reach a wider audience, and hence conceivably make more money on both of those. And Facebook could be too tied into your social graph for some transactions. Do you want your boss to see your old Playboys are for sale? Lastly, if you’re setting up a small ecommerce business, I doubt Facebook marketplace is the right fit. But if you’re just a regular person who has something they want to buy or sell for a fair price from a reputable dealer whose reputation they can trust– it’s going to be a stiff competitor.
And come to think of it, wasn’t that the original eBay community?
I don’t know about selling to someone I know. I think I’d rather sell to someone I don’t know!
are you offloading lemons?? no one buy from denis!!
Your articles still lack of serious, knowledgeable analysis, compared to other good TC writers and have that “touchy-feely” assumptions based on your what? inexperience in the IT field [your own words]?
You are groping in the dark here…
Anyway, what are you doing in Techcrunch? You wrote several times that you were leaving TC… or perhaps that was another one of your “expert assessments” — Please don’t write that you are staying on “due to readers’ requests.”
I disagree. I thought the article was a good summary of the Facebook-oodle deal. It’s easy to read, relevant and insightful.
“Anyway, what are you doing in Techcrunch?”
That’s between the author and TC surely? Even if she did write she was leaving, can she not change her mind?
Am I the only person to find it ironic that you would criticize a perfectly reasonable writer, whose article you just “consumed”, with such poor grammar?
@susan.
I am afraid that you are missing my points – Sarah’s article is “perfectly reasonable” and has a kind of “sweet irrelevancy.” With a casual, soft angle… nothing wrong with that, except that, well, I would really like to say that TC now is about, yes, technology.
This author “talks” to important people and then jumps to off-the-wall, erroneous assumptions… It is obvious that she needs to learn a *lot* about IT before writing an accurate, appealing piece.
I never “consume” TC articles, in this case, I tried to read it without holding my nose. I could not do it, feeling the same way when I read the author’s other articles. I would not apologize for my “grammar” –It is as good as any other writers/visitors here on TC. If “grammar” is the reason you read TC, then, you are a fool… as is defending the “sisterhood” just for its sake.
TC is for IT professionals.
d-bag
I agree to the point that I don’t want to feel compelled on lowering the price BECAUSE you’re a friend… plus I don’t want to feel on the hook if it breaks.
I think this will work more like a FreeCycle concept where I’m basically giving it away.
localizied classified is a no brainer for FB to immediately pick up some serious revenue
i’d like to put in an ad for a hip, snarky, brunette tech writer / author who has a pension for interesting live interviews, i wonder what it will turn up?
Jason – do you mean penchant? I *do* hope so.
In terms of classifieds becoming a *serious* revenue earner, I’m not sure I understand why it should be any more so than the ad platform they have launched?
Yes, “penchant” –
“a hip, snarky, brunette tech writer / author” I would add clueless tech writer, with an attitude. A “reporter” attitude… out of place in Techcrunch.
its not live for me…
I read your paper well.
All of us wish that you have a good luck on your future with all our true heart.
당신의 글을 잘 읽었습니다.
당신의 앞날에 무궁한 발전을 기원합니다.
Sarah,
so how long are you staying at Techcrunch? I like
your posts. Different style to others here.
I am sure we miss Arrington too….
I think the stranger aspect of Craigslist is deeper than you expect. I don’t want anyone to know about my private stash. “Do you want your boss to see your old Playboys are for sale?” hits the nail on the privacy side too.
Congrats to Craig and the rest of the Oodle team. Always fun to see how other people in the space approach the same problems we’re over here trying to solve at iList. Now I just need to wait for this thing to actually go live for my account.
Chris,
Hoe does IList make money?
-mptest
Don’t know if it’s just me. But it’s pretty much all fail being a non-US user. Searched listings for Country “Canada”, instead got “Canada, KY”. And then it’s showing listings from Chicago, New York.
Think global people.
Oodle has done a magnificent job with securing partnerships with a hand-full of large traffic generators, but can their current revenue model bring them to profitability?
There is plenty of money to go around within the classified space – I’m just not sure if sponsored listings, along with google side ads ever lifts you out of the red. There is such a thing as having too many listings – just ask craigslist.
Good luck, Craig.
Just a quick heads up. You can find the new marketplace application at apps.facebook.com/marketplace
Thanks!
Craigslist so simple but so effective. I think its a model we all strive for as entrepreneurs but find very hard to achieve. I’ve been hearing for a while that they will loose their industry leading marketshare but it hasn’t happened yet. Goodluck to all!
I think using the social graph is just too small a circle to sell your junk to. Sure some friends might want your junk, but they might want it for free or might want to trade favors. There’s not problem in selling locally to strangers if you do it in a public place. The problem with Craigs List is safety and having a reputable buyer and seller, Craigs list should have a Buyer Identity Confirmation. I’ve tried selling stuff to my friends with e-mail blasts and usually no one is interested.
Sarah, I remember seeing a lot of “Market” type apps in facebook a couple of months(maybe more) ago.
Was no developer able to have a successful application to leverage the social graph that they need to to deal with Oodle OR will Oodle be integrated into Facebook, but not as an applications ?
While your boss seeing a listing for your old adult magazine collection might make for some interesting water cooler conversation, it’s probably not what most users are looking for. Facebook is definitely a great tool for mass marketing, but there are going to be some things you just won’t want some (like all of your friends) to see.
I think iList’s “promote” feature has got it right; allowing users to select which listings to advertise on social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. Your friends can help you promote your listing by sharing it with their networks and your audience continues to multiply.
Whether Facebook Marketplace is the right fit for Oodle or not, news of the partnership on various blogs is most likely increasing traffic on the site, a positive in most lights.
I also dig the iList scene
I find that importing and exporting craigslist ads via iList is the coolest function ever. And yeah, I can even promote on my social networks.
And yeah, what Mike said.
Wrong. Classifieds are all about LOCAL. I can’t stress this enough. The social component is a very minor side feature which I also can not stress enough. Craigslist has had the social component very well integrated since 1996 so it just goes without saying.
If you want to know why Craig wins hands down in every sector of classifieds try split testing between the CL and Oodle in any category.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the response rates with CL are 10 times greater than Oodle. That’s not Hyperbole, that’s a fact from someone who’s done a lot of testing. FB classifieds will remain as relevant MySpace classifieds, which is not very.
It’s got to be about Local and it has to be the right venue. Social networking just doesn’t fit the bill very well.
The question at the end of your article: “…wasn’t that the original eBay community”? Is really provocative. I would expect the “MAGIC” of Facebook to diminish with this cominig down the pipeline. I think the original eBay community and Craiglist users for that matter enjoy anonymity. Facebookers are anything but anonymous, as pointed out in the the Playboy-back-issues-for-sale-to-your-boss example. I’m not looking forward to this. With the proliferation of Facebook – what’s taken so long for a good social-networking thing to go completely swap-meet? And so be it if it helps people convert their post-consumer era stuff back into cash.
“Barry, it is a good article, however Sarah’s assumptions and guesses do not quite fit on TC…”
Agreed. Here is one assumption that turned out to be incorrect.
“Do you want your boss to see your old Playboys are for sale? ”
The poster of this ad doesn’t mind.
http://apps.fac...w/-/1245026932/
Nice to see the internet full of supportive, constructive criticism.
Are the negativists all puppet accounts ran by one person/group with a grudge, or just generally being rude?
Talk about confirmation bias… pick out anything that _remotely_ could be used to support the initial premise, even though most of the examples are rendered entirely or almost entirely invalid in context.
Telling people they suck is cruel. Publicly doing so is worse. Sending a private suggestion with a way to improve relevancy, or suitability to the apparently niche community here is a constructive response.
It may be wise to consider the consequences of your words and opinions before you share them so glibly.
*rant over*
Correction: The smiley there was intended to be an ‘eye-roll’, not a ’sun glasses’ look… Sorry about that,
i find entertainment value here. leading social startup puts Oodle all over there Facebk. next thing you know they will face stiff competition from a classifieds site named Drip.
TC is for passionate bloggers. right now there is no credibility in any marketplace, anywhere. right now credibility is in the eye of the beholder.