Facebook Marketplace is a bustling hub of the social media giant where buying, selling, and swapping goods is as easy as scrolling through your news feed. With billions of active users worldwide, Facebook isn’t just a place to connect with friends—it’s a thriving marketplace where deals are made and communities are formed (Dixon, 2024). Since its launch in 2016, Facebook Marketplace has quickly become the go-to place for securing second-hand goods or offloading items you no longer need (How To Sell on Facebook Marketplace, n.d.). In the evolving realm of community commerce, Facebook Marketplace and its associated buy, swap, and sell groups serve as catalysts, fostering networked publics of weak ties. However, amidst the convenience and connectivity, Facebook Marketplace is not without its challenges. Given the growing concerns around privacy, safety, and trust, addressing these challenges is paramount to ensure user well-being and maintain community commerce in hybrid spaces. Facebook Marketplace and associated buy, swap, and sell groups foster networked publics of weak ties, where individuals negotiate and coordinate the exchange of goods, thereby significantly improving the sales process from traditional to hybrid spaces, encompassing both physical and digital realms.
Revolutionising Community Commerce
Online social networks like Facebook have revolutionised community commerce by bridging the gap between traditional marketplaces and digital spaces (Trehan & Sharma, 2020). These networks serve as both information-sharing platforms and broader social hubs, enabling individuals to negotiate and coordinate the exchange of goods within networked publics of weak ties (Delanty, 2018). Community commerce, defined as transactions occurring without intermediaries or fees, eliminates the need for third-party mediation and fosters direct interactions among buyers and sellers (Moser, Resnick, & Schoenebeck, 2017). As a platform enhancing social capital and fostering community, Facebook impacts users’ purchasing inclinations by indirectly influencing trust (Woo et al., 2024). This influence extends to consumer-to-consumer transacting communities, uniting social commerce and virtual communities and leveraging social networks within their structures (Trehan & Sharma, 2020). Facebook Marketplace and local buy, swap, and sell groups within the platform enable consumers to form communities where anyone can post about products, reaching potential buyers beyond their immediate networks (Podkalicka & Fredriksson, 2023). Administrators play a crucial role in maintaining group norms and facilitating transactions, while platform features such as profile views and private messaging build trust and reduce transaction risks (Moser, Resnick, & Schoenebeck, 2017). The sense of community within Facebook Groups is pivotal, influencing consumer intentions and transaction processes (Hampton & Wellman, 2018). Modern technology, including social media, has reshaped community dynamics, fostering connected and widespread community bonds despite being less close-knit and local (Hampton & Wellman, 2018). Facebook Marketplace capitalises on existing user practices, merging informal user actions with corporate strategies to facilitate local commerce (Podkalicka & Fredriksson, 2023). The platform’s localisation features and robust communication tools create a sense of community crucial for user engagement and loyalty (Woo et al., 2024). As sharing platforms, including Facebook Marketplace, operate on principles of the sharing economy, fostering community connections becomes paramount for user trust and platform sustainability (Woo et al., 2024). Therefore, Facebook Marketplace emerges as a neighborhood-centered social sharing platform, leveraging Facebook’s vast user base to facilitate consumer-to-consumer transactions with a strong emphasis on local connections and community identities (Podkalicka & Fredriksson, 2023). Through its innovative features and integration with social networks, Facebook Marketplace redefines community commerce, offering users a hybrid space for seamless exchanges in both physical and digital realms (Ku, 2016).
Networked Publics and Hybrid Spaces
Within the framework of networked publics, Facebook Marketplace and associated buy, swap, and sell groups emerge as a dynamic hybrid space where the link between digital affordances, weak ties, and social capital reshapes traditional notions of commerce. Social media platforms, as networked publics, bring together individuals with strangers, linking them to various social institutions (Ojala & Ripatti-Torniainen, 2023; Yuan, 2020). These platforms are not only spaces formed by technology but also communities imagined through the intersection of people, technology, and practice (Boyd, 2010). In the context of Facebook Marketplace, the technical affordances of the platform, such as persistence, replicability, scalability, and searchability, shape user behaviour and interaction styles (Boyd, 2010). The concept of Strength of Weak Ties Theory explains the value of casual connections in social media networks, acting as bridges between groups and facilitating the exchange of information and opportunities (Vithayathil et al., 2020; Weng et al., 2017). Weak ties, though less communicative than strong ones, serve as channels for valuable insights, enhancing the flow of information across diverse social circles (Trieu et al., 2017). Additionally, community commerce on platforms like Facebook Marketplace leverages social capital to foster trust and a sense of community among users, influencing their purchasing intentions (Trehan & Sharma, 2020; Podkalicka & Fredriksson, 2023). In these virtual marketplaces, trust is cultivated through profile views, public comments, and direct messaging, reinforcing the importance of social presence and interactive communication (Woo et al., 2024; Moser et al., 2017). The evolution of Facebook Groups into community commerce hubs exemplifies the transformative potential of networked publics in redefining the dynamics of exchange and social interaction in hybrid digital-physical spaces (Moser et al., 2017). Online social interaction underscores the significance of communities and networks in shaping the boundaries and makeup of these emergent publics, wherein individuals converge around shared interests or issues, representing themselves through discussions both within their group and with others in the wider community (Yuan, 2020). By providing a platform for individuals to engage in buying, swapping, and selling goods within their local communities, Facebook Marketplace blurs the boundaries between online and offline commerce, enabling users to leverage both weak ties and social capital for efficient transactions (Podkalicka & Fredriksson, 2023). Through the integration of communication tools, social media networks like Facebook foster a sense of belonging and trust among users, facilitating the formation of vibrant online communities centred around shared interests and economic activities (Hampton & Wellman, 2018).
Trust and Safety in Online Transactions
Amidst the dynamic landscape of online transactions, Facebook Marketplace prioritises trust, privacy, and safety through various mechanisms such as robust user feedback systems, customisable privacy settings, and stringent platform policies (Mokhberi, 2023). Unlike older e-commerce platforms, Facebook Marketplace forgoes typical trust assurance features like conflict resolution systems and escrow payment services, instead relying on the inherent trust-building qualities of shared personal information among group members (Mokhberi, 2023). Experts have found that being in a close group, having things in common with traders, and being nearby affect how trust works in Facebook Groups, where group members share personal information to build trust (Mokhberi, 2023). Additionally, studies on community commerce show that positive ratings and reviews on a profile help individuals make purchase decisions, emphasising the significance of reputation systems in fostering trust (Mokhberi, 2023). Facebook Marketplace not only stays out of the transactions involving goods and money but also, unlike Facebook buy-and-sell groups, it doesn’t have human administrators to oversee the group or enforce rules. The platform’s evolution, bolstered by AI enhancements, reinforces its commitment to safety and reliability, which is evident in features like buyer and seller ratings and improved content moderation tools in Facebook Groups (Marketplace Turns Two, 2018). By seamlessly integrating with Messenger and offering advanced search options, Facebook Marketplace ensures a user-friendly experience while utilising sophisticated algorithms and security measures to facilitate secure transactions (Facebook Marketplace, n.d.). Furthermore, privacy settings and the block feature are crucial for keeping personal information safe and feeling secure, as many individuals utilise these tools to prevent others from accessing or misusing their information (Mokhberi, 2023). Facebook Marketplace emerges as a mediatised marketplace that not only transcends geographical boundaries but also cultivates a sense of community, enabling users to engage in safe and efficient transactions within hybrid physical and digital spaces.
Navigating Risks and Safeguarding Users
Despite its convenience and integration with social networks for trust-building, Facebook Marketplace’s lack of robust safety measures and oversight mechanisms exposes users to various risks, ranging from privacy breaches to real-world harm (Zulfakar et al., 2023). The platform’s evolution from a seemingly secure option to a hub for scams underscores the risks users face (Purtill, 2024). Exclusive data revealed from the National Australia Bank reveals a substantial surge in scam reports, with a majority originating from social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace (Purtill, 2024). Real-world incidents, such as theft and violence during transactions, emphasise the tangible dangers users encounter (Yahoo News, 2024; 9news.com.au, 2024). With its vast global user base, Facebook Marketplace became an ideal platform for bad actors to carry out scams (Purtill, 2024). While Meta, the parent company of Facebook, acknowledges the scam issue and works to promptly identify, disable, and ban scams and associated accounts, the company’s efforts still leave the platform vulnerable to exploitation (Purtill, 2024). The absence of robust safety measures, including conflict resolution systems and consumer protection programs, exacerbates these risks (Mokhberi, 2023). Trust and satisfaction can be compromised as users navigate through a landscape fraught with financial, psychological, and time-loss risks (Zulfakar et al., 2023). Governments worldwide are increasingly addressing the issue of online purchase scams and urging tech companies to take action against scam activities on their platforms (Purtill, 2024). The introduction of Facebook Marketplace indeed brought convenience for users to buy and sell items directly within the platform, often through word-of-mouth marketing, but this convenience has also led to an increase in online scams, with many users falling victim to fraudulent schemes (Zulfakar et al., 2023). While community commerce offers many benefits, it also comes with its fair share of challenges and issues, including concerns about technology, financial security, and the prevalence of scams (Zulfakar et al., 2023). Common scams on Facebook Marketplace, such as receiving inadequate products, shipping scams, and attempts to move conversations off the platform, contribute to users’ worries about the integrity and quality of products, leading to concerns about trust and satisfaction (Zulfakar et al., 2023; Purtill, 2024).
Conclusion
In the bustling digital marketplace that is Facebook Marketplace, the lines between the virtual and tangible blur as billions of users engage in buying, selling, and swapping goods. Through the integration of social networking features, Facebook Marketplace capitalises on the power of weak ties and social capital to facilitate transactions and build trust among users. At its core, Facebook Marketplace is about people—connecting, sharing, and trading in a digital town square. However, amidst the convenience and connectivity, challenges around privacy, safety, and trust persist. Despite efforts by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to address these issues the company’s efforts still leave the platform vulnerable to exploitation. Facebook Marketplace and associated buy, swap, and sell groups continue to redefine community commerce, and it is clear that by doing so they have significantly improved the sales process from traditional to hybrid spaces, encompassing both physical and digital realms. As we continue to adapt to the dynamic world of online transactions, let us not overlook the human element – the genuineness of interactions, the trust built, and the sense of belonging fostered.
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