You can now expand your audience on OfferUp to national shoppers – the mobile classifieds app is adding shipping capability. While Craigslist is local-only and Mercari is shipping-only, OfferUp now offers both options. You can meet a buyer locally and do the deal in cash, or you can agree to ship the item and accept electronic payment through OfferUp’s integration with Stripe.
Under its current Terms, which have not been updated, users can select the payment method of their choice:
“A buyer may, by agreement with the seller, elect to make payment by cash, check or other payment method accepted by the seller. Such payments are made directly between the buyer and the seller when they meet in person to complete their purchase and sale transaction, pursuant to terms they determine. OfferUp is not a party to such transactions, and does not facilitate such transactions, refunds or returns in any manner.”
However, OfferUp also integrates with Stripe, which lets sellers offer buyers the choice of paying by credit cards and other electronic payment methods through the OfferUp Service.
Announcement follows:
In 2011, OfferUp paved the way for a simpler, more trusted way to buy and sell locally. We tested and tried the market to understand the needs of consumers who wanted to buy and sell in their communities, and built an experience that would save them time, while providing safety checks, on and offline, for more secure transactions. We’ve always approached the market with a different perspective — one that focused on the simplicity, dynamics, and trust of the market in order to build a sustainable business that could scale. Frictionless.
Today we take that mission nationwide, made possible with the ability to ship. We’re increasing the opportunities for our users to find exactly what they need, and reducing friction for them to complete a sale at the exact price they’re looking for. Our users have been asking for us to take the next step towards building a platform that will provide more opportunities for buyers and sellers to connect with people across the country, so that’s what we’re giving them. Now, it’s about simplicity and reducing friction at both a local and national level.
We’ve built a loyal community who see our marketplace not just as an app, but as a way of life. Many of our users depend on OfferUp as a way to earn or save money, so we believe we have a responsibility to increase their chances of having successful transactions.
Though local is who we are and always will be, meeting the needs of our users via shipping, was the next logical step for our business, because success is what keeps them coming back every day. We want to give them the choice and the opportunity to discover more value and make their best deals, whether they’re in the same neighborhood or across the country.
SOURCE: OfferUp Announcement
Make no mistake, this is OfferUp putting eBay directly in it’s sights in an attempt to lure sellers away from eBay by undercutting eBay’s ever-increasing seller fees and provide OfferUp buyers with more options than just local. OfferUp is also flush with VC funding.
Nice to see a scrappy smaller player with some chops make such a bold move, unlike some other marketplaces that arguably should, but for whatever reason (hoping for an eBay acquisition, likely) maintain a subordinate, even obsequious demeanor bowing down for “being tolerated” by eBay. Yeesh.
As a seller I still wish OfferUp could carve a path and make the Letgo merger a reality. I also wish OfferUp allowed listing creation from computer and not just mobile apps (I realize they have their reasons).
Yes, I wish they could also do something with a regular PC. A number of older people do not use their phones to search the web and especially not to load things onto the internet.
If they had a regular set up myself and probably tens of thousands more people would be happy to use their site.
To be innovative you need to explore all channels.