Facebook Launches Marketplace Expansion To EU, Huge E-Commerce Investments

Mark Zuckerberg is at it again in his bid to make Facebook the ultimate all-in-one platform, this time by expanding the social network’s e-commerce reach. Now, the service is open to 17 EU nations, thus allowing them to conduct online product offers akin to that of Craigslist. Called Marketplace, it’s a free platform that allows smaller sellers to trade in used goods and other services.

The Marketplace platform was launched 10 months ago and in the places where it has been available, users have taken to it enthusiastically along with everything else Facebook. With this new expansion, the countries able to sell stuff on the social media network more easily have grown to include Belgium and Denmark, Fortune reports.

Arguably, one of the most appealing aspects of this service is the fact that it exposes sellers to the more than two billion users that Facebook currently has. Then there’s the matter of the absence of fees, which other e-commerce sites charge sellers with. The whole thing is being marketed as a means of conducting transactions on smartphones or computers in less than a minute.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that most people who are going to use this service are likely to be local. Sure, they could set just how far they are willing to travel to buy stuff, but in the absence of convenient delivery system like that of Amazon, the options are frankly limited.

For those who might have the matter of safety as a concern, Facebook assures that this is not going to be a problem. The social network is using artificial intelligence to scan the goods and services that are for sale, Forbes reports, in order to make sure that no illegal or illicit activities are in play. All in all, Marketplace is basically a convenient means of buying things on a geographical basis.