When I want to sell something, I generally always use eBay or Craigslist, but usually the process takes time, I don’t get to meet the person I’m selling to (or buying from), and I can’t list from my smartphone. Which is why I’ve become intrigued by Social Listing, a two-month old startup that launched at Disrupt NYC last week.
Social Listing is offering a rich mobile app that combines a few of the key ingredients in Foursquare, Instagram, and Craigslist. Say you’ve got something to sell, for example, whether it’s a device, a car, or you have a service to offer, or a job that needs to get done, Social listing is a location-based app for iOS and Android that connects buyers and sellers all speedy-like via your mobile device. This means that you can snap a pic with your iPhone and then instantly shareit with nearby buyers on Facebook and Twitter. Geotagging takes place automatically behind the scenes, so that users don’t have to manually input their location.
Basically, within 15 seconds, you will be able to list the item you want to sell, which solves a pain point in the selling and sharing of services and goods to people just down the street. No longer do you have to snap a pic, copy to your computer, go online, and post. Not that you would grow old doing this, but in today’s world, faster is always better.
Social Listing also allows nearby buyers to launch the Social Listing app and view items that have been sorted by location using a mileage metric. If the buyer is interested in what’s being sold, he or she can tap to call or email the seller. Then Social Listing bows out of the transaction and the rest happens between buyer and seller.
“Social Listing gives us the power of immediate purchase,” said Duy Huynh. “When I buy something, I want to buy it right now from people who are within 500 feet from me. Local newspapers couldn’t do it. Craigslist couldn’t do it either. Social Listing makes local browsing and shopping faster and easier.”
Since these transactions all happen locally, making it easy for users to meet up in person to exchange goods or services, it takes away the need for shipping fees, while simultaneously tapping into that huge local buyer/seller market that every web company across the board wants a piece of.
Social Listing Founder & CEO Huynh said that the service is currently offered for free, but will eventually switch to a freemium model, where businesses pay to list but individual sellers use it for free.
Some may also be familiar with Zaarly, another startup at Disrupt NYC this year that is also creating some buzz around its mobile app. Zaarly users can post what they’re looking for (i.e. a six pack of beer), how much you’re willing to pay for it and how soon you need it. Zaarly will then share your request in the local community through the platform, and also allows you also post your request to Twitter and Facebook. Whereas Social Listing is the uber-fast mobile Craigslist and eBay version of Zaarly. In line with that, Social Listing has a Community & Opinion section where people can share their opinion about things around them like new restaurants or new gadgets.
Together the two startups are building some very appealing mobile extensions to the Craiglist (and reverse Craigslist) experience.
Check out Social Listing at Disrupt NYC in the video below:
Update: I’ve just received word from Founder Duy Huynh that Social Listing is changing its name to “Taap.it”. As a part of its name change, Taap.it will add business-to-consumer functionality, allowing businesses to setup their mobile storefront in just minutes to instantly connect with local customers. This B2C upgrade will go live on July 1st.
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