ALMOST two years after its launch in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, Facebook Marketplace was launched this month in Guyana, according to Inspire Inc. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yog Mahadeo whose company was contracted to operate the service.

“We know people already use Facebook to buy and sell with people in their community. This activity started in Facebook Groups and has grown substantially over the past few years. In fact, more than 550 million people from all over the world visit Facebook buy and sell groups each month,” Mahadeo said.

He explained that the Marketplace is a new tab in the Facebook app that lets users buy and sell items in their communities. Guyanese will now be able to browse a customized feed of products for sale, post their own stuff for sale, and easily use the Messenger app to contact buyers and sellers.

Adding that Marketplace is the outgrowth of Facebook groups, which already allow members to buy and sell online, the CEO said Guyanese already are well acquainted with Facebook’s potential for peer-to-peer shopping.

Mahadeo noted that Marketplace is building on the success of the groups’ buy-and-sell feature. In doing so, it makes the peer-to-peer experience more user friendly.

“Marketplace appears as a blue icon resembling a lemonade stand at the bottom of the Facebook app. [When you] click on the tab you’ll be able to see an inventory of items for sale that Facebook thinks you’ll be interested in. If you’re buying and selling through the groups, the app will probably have a better idea of what you like,” according to the Inspire Inc. CEO.

Further, he said the company will help people trade safely on Marketplace by offering safety tips, privacy controls and easy to use reporting tools.

Adding that with Facebook groups, persons will be able to see the profile of people selling online; Mahadeo said Marketplace also allows you to view a person’s selling history.

Notably, he said the Marketplace search function is much more advanced. In addition to searching for a specific product, you can browse by category, view your recent searches and see trending items.

He further explained that perhaps the biggest improvement is that Marketplace allows you to easily contact and haggle with buyers and sellers either through the tab itself or using Messenger. Your counterpart will get message notifications even if they’re not your Facebook friend, which currently is not the case on Facebook groups.

He underscored that forcing users to trade online using their Facebook profiles might go a long way toward ensuring safety.

Persons interested can visit https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/