[spacechild1]

I'm from Austria and until recently I didn't even know that FB Marketplace was a thing. Never used it in my life. We have a great local website (https://willhaben.at) that everyone uses. I guess it's the Austrian version of Craigslist.

[theshrike79]

Same in Finland, we have a few local options (one of which was bought by a massive Nordic conglomerate) that were established well before FB Marketplace became a thing.

One of them even has an escrow system where the money stays in escrow until the delivery is confirmed as being correct, the money will also be released if the recipient never fetches the parcel.

FB Marketplace is just scams wall to wall, reporting does nothing. The only way to do business in via FBM is face to face and verify the item.

Usually local FB for sale groups are better quality and actually moderated, which marketplace isn't.

[aredox]

Lots of countries have settled on a local marketplace before FB arrived. E.g. in New Zealand, https://www.trademe.co.nz/ is too big to be displaced.

First mover advantage, nimbleness, and filters appropriate to regional differences (e.g. in Switzerland, translating easily between the different langages and filtering by canton) make such website stay ahead of the FB juggernaut.

[pulsartwin]

There is certainly a lot to be said for first-mover advantage, but TradeMe specifically (while still popular) is currently fighting a losing battle. Between rising listing fees, selling fees as a percentage of the product's value, and the influx of drop-shippers that flood categories with "local" products, its days are likely numbered. Personally, while 10 years ago everyone I knew was using it, I no longer know anybody that goes to TradeMe to sell everyday items. I'm not a fan of FB, but the fact that it's monetarily free to use makes all the difference for the average user.

[herbst]

Same in Switzerland. Happy to have Tutti and similar sites. No need for a walled garden market place.

[nicbou]

In Germany we have Kleinanzeigen. It dominates this market.

[qwertox]

Until recently, Kleinanzeigen belonged to eBay. That may have contributed to its popularity.