SAN MATEO, CA – December 2, 2008– Oodle announced today that it has been chosen to power Marketplace, an application for online classifieds on Facebook. Oodle was chosen because of its track record of innovation with online classifieds and will be developing an enhanced version of Marketplace scheduled for release in Q1 of 2009.
Facebook first introduced the Marketplace application in early May 2007 as a way for Facebook users to easily create, share and respond to listings across categories such as “Furniture” and “Roommates.” To further expand the functionality and breadth of the application, Facebook selected an outside developer with expertise in social networking and online classifieds. Oodle will develop and power Facebook’s Marketplace application, which will be integrated into the site similar to other third-party applications.
“In many cases, finding good homes for items we are no longer using is more important than selling them at the highest price,” said Craig Donato, CEO & founder of Oodle. “For example, when I have extra tickets to a concert, I’d prefer to give them to a friend or sell them at face-value to someone I work with. We’re focused on making this simple to do with Marketplace.”
Everyone has things they no longer use that they should give away or sell. Posting to a traditional classifieds site involves meeting strangers, which can be uncomfortable. Emailing friends is inefficient and potentially annoying. Through Marketplace, members can easily buy and sell with people they know.
“Turning the development and management of Marketplace over to an innovator in online classifieds will give users more advanced ways to create and share listings on Facebook,” said Ethan Beard, director of business development at Facebook. “We’re excited by the potential of the Oodle powered Marketplace application to offer an engaging classifieds experience on Facebook.”
About Oodle
Oodle provides a better way to buy and sell through online classifieds. Buyers can see everything. Oodle aggregates over 500,000 new listings ever day from over 80,000 different sites. And sellers can post everywhere. Oodle syndicates listings, published by local sellers, across hundreds of sites in its partner network.
Oodle is the second largest online classifieds service in the US and attracts over six million unique visitors each month. Oodle’s partner network powers classifieds for over 200 leading brands, including Walmart, MySpace, and Cox Broadcasting. Oodle offers media companies, online communities and portals a proven business model and a great user experience for local community classifieds.
Oodle is also available in the United States (www.oodle.com), Canada (canada.oodle.com) & UK(www.oodle.co.uk).