One website that was quick to see the potential in allowing their users to trade items online was Facebook. Their ‘marketplace’ quickly became an active community in itself and people even started setting up shops here, in the same way as you might do on Ebay. Being able to advertise online is nothing new however and sites like Gumtree and Craig’s List have done very well through allowing people to do this, but they find themselves struggling to compete against the newer socially-led networking sites. They encourage a more discerning buying process whereby you can do some background research on the seller, request more information, or even ask the opinion of some experts in the field. For example, before you make that commitment to buy one of those second hand bikes you can request more pics, query your friends about it, or ask those people who are hanging out in the cycling community section if you are making the right choice, and if not, what is the right one?

Another advancement has come about through sites such as Twitter, has been the ability for people to request the things they are looking for, rather than wait for someone else to advertise them. For example an extreme sports enthusiast might post on their twitter profile that they are looking for 7’6” surfboards, and because of the potential size and power of the networks here, they will likely find multiple people very quickly who have suitable surfboards for sale