I created a burner Facebook account just to use Marketplace. On day 0 I'm told that I can't use Marketplace 'yet.' Every day for a few weeks I login and check and get the same message. Sometime at the 3-4 week mark I'm told I need to add a phone number or my account will be disabled. Back to craigslist/nextdoor/etc
Edit: My fault for using a loaded term like 'burner'. I don't have a facebook account. I created a 'real' account that I intended to use for marketplace. Apparently the lack of posting and/or lack of phone number is the issue facebook has, which is the issue I have with it.
It's amazing that it's possible to create "burner" accounts but my 15 year old account was banned twice for trying to authenticate oculus software so I could root an Oculus Go using John Carmack's technique. I gave up on getting unbanned after the second banning and haven't looked back.
My friend has a German last name that sounds a bit Nazi-esque, she had to make a fake ID and use a fake name on FaceBook because they would not believe her real name.
On one hand, I enjoy potential for anonymity on the web, and even in a social network I want there to be an option to contribute thoughts/opinions/content anonymously. FB & Twitter's veiled (not even upfront and honest!) insistence on phones is awful.
On the other hand, when it comes to marketplace, I very much don't want to have a no-name random person with burner phone and fake account showing up to my door to pick up synths or cameras or baby stuff :-/
> On the other hand, when it comes to marketplace, I very much don't want to have a no-name random person with burner phone and fake account showing up to my door to pick up synths or cameras or baby stuff :-/
That's an interesting perspective. Is it the 'burner' aspect that you don't want, or the lack of being able to look at someone's social media to determine if this is someone you want to do business with?
If I buy or purchase something from FB marketplace, it's because I desire the real or perceived assurance of a real permanent public identity. Or to put it another way, I want their stake in the game to be comparable to mine.
If somebody is contacting me on FB marketplace in an anonymous fashion with no history or traceability, to me, they're voiding the benefit of FB marketplace. It becomes an uncomfortable asymmetric situation, and I see no benefit, and multiple drawbacks, of engaging with them with my full public, historic, traceable personality, against their black box.
There is nothing wrong with the anonymous mode, in fact it's great - as long as it's symmetric.
If my SugahHoney2001 meets your RoosterBooster17 in a parking lot via Kijiji to exchange some cameras, cool.
If my John Smith meets your Jane Doe at my doorstep with full identity on FB or Linked in to buy some synths, cool.
But if my Tom Jones, 57, Brampton, working for Microsoft, 845 public photos, hobbies of square dancing and kite gliding, is approached by your ___ from ___ and ____, I'm not going to respond - it's placing all the risk and commitment on one side of transaction.
Hope that elaborates my personal perspective somewhat :)
Well....yeah? It's Facebook, not Twitter. Burner accounts are specifically not wanted. And FB likely also doesn't want anonymous users potentially trading illegal/stolen goods.
For the avoidance of doubt, Marketplace won because it's _in Facebook_, and FB push it heavily, not because it's better. It's just as full of spam, scams, and people being crap to each other.
It's the other way around. The only reason Facebook Marketplace is thriving is because of how shitty the alternative had become. Facebook's other recent product launches (like dating) haven't had close to the same reception because people saw no reason to switch.
Edit: My fault for using a loaded term like 'burner'. I don't have a facebook account. I created a 'real' account that I intended to use for marketplace. Apparently the lack of posting and/or lack of phone number is the issue facebook has, which is the issue I have with it.