Social Listing, a New York City startup launched last week at Tech Crunch Disrupt with a location-based mobile application to connect local buyers and sellers. The new app for both iPhone and Android aims to reinvent local classified advertisements by enabling users to sell anything, socially, locally and in realtime from their mobile phone.
Whether you want to sell your bike, your girlfriend’s pet rabbit or sublet your apartment, Social Listing makes it instant and easy to do so. Simply click the camera button in the app to snap a photo of the item, set a price, write a brief description and send it to nearby Social Listing users, as well as Facebook and Twitter. To buy an item, turn on the app and browse nearby classifieds. Simply tap the screen to call a seller and arrange a meetup.
“It is so fast and easy to use. Social Listing turns those boring classified ads into more social, fun, and most importantly – instant local purchases…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 will completely change how we browse and shop locally.”
-Duy Huynh, Product Manager at Social Listing, who has spent the last 5 years working in e-Commerce
To use, power up the app and let it track your location. Set miles from 0.0-10. Within 2 miles of my house I found a really cheap 4 BR apartment, a Seiko Men’s watch for $45, a Purple G Shock Watch (um, yes please) for $85 and a massage bed for sale amongst about 15 other random, yet not unappealing items. I’ve submitted a free purple MacBook case for $1.00 and it immediately showed up. The ability to edit posts does not appear to be a feature yet.
In speaking to Huynh, the product manager, I learned that the editing feature will be live in the next version, which should be live in the App Store within 10 days. The new iPhone version will also include many features that the Android version already has including the ability to update posts, leave comments, and a community section for wanted items.
The app is lightweight, and very minimal. There’s no “manage my listings” page or track recent purchases, just a rotating list of buyable items, organized by location. Unfortunately, listing an object does require an email address, which can be a bit scary if you’re worried about spammers or stalkers. But I’m one of those who believe that early adopters are good people so I’m really psyched to start using this app (I’ve already posted 3 items!).
Huynh says their next release will also hide the seller’s email address, but for now it’s the only way they have to contact sellers. In future iterations, if buyers like the post, they can hit on Contact to send a message and the buyers won’t see the seller’s email address. Then, if the seller likes the buyer’s proposal, they can contact the buyer.
The “why didn’t I think of that app” launched only a few days ago…Bravo on an app well done.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.