In this digital age, buying and selling goods has never been easier. Buy and sell mobile apps help declutter homes and earn an extra buck. Or then you can find items you need for a bargain in comparison to how much it would cost at a store. Here, we’ll explore the top buy and sell apps in Chicago.
Chicago, the vibrant city known for its diverse population and bustling economy, is no exception to the online marketplace revolution. Folks looking to tidy up or spruce up their homes, have several apps that can help buy and sell items efficiently in the Windy City.
Buy and sell apps allow users to list items for sale or buyers to browse for the goods they need. Then communicate with the buyer/seller to negotiate the price and complete the sale. You also have the option to exchange goods with one another as in barter system.
Top Buy And Sell Apps In Chicago
These apps are free to download and easy to use. To get started, create an account, and sellers can list out the items they want to sell. While buyers can browse through listings and scour for items to buy.
When you find an item that you want to buy, you can connect with the seller through the app to negotiate a price and complete the sale. Or then, buyers and sellers can exchange goods with one another. These apps have built-in safety features to help protect users from fraud and other scams.
1. OfferUp
Founders: Nick Huzar and Arean van Veelen
Total Funding: $221.9 million
Business Model: OfferUp is a free platform that makes money through its ‘Bump’ feature, where users can promote their listings for a fee.
Unique Selling Proposition: OfferUp focuses on creating a trusted and user-friendly marketplace. They have integrated user profiles with ratings and reviews, making it easier to establish trust when people buy or sell items.
Brief on the app with revenue details: OfferUp has gained immense popularity in Chicago due to its simplicity and safety features, thus we have placed it among the top buy and sell apps in Chicago. Users can easily snap a picture of the item they intend to sell, add a description, and set a price. The platform also offers in-app messaging, for both parties to negotiate and complete the sale.
As of 2021, OfferUp had generated more than $14 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV), showcasing its immense popularity in the local buy and sell ecosystem.
2. Letgo (Now part of OfferUp)
Founders: Alec Oxenford, Jordi Castello, and Enrique Linares
Total Funding: $975.1 million
Business Model: Similar to OfferUp, Letgo primarily offers free listings and generates revenue through promotional features.
Unique Selling Proposition: Letgo, which merged with OfferUp, had a strong presence in Chicago. Its unique proposition was its user-friendly app interface and advanced machine learning algorithms that helped users categorize their listings effortlessly.
Brief on the app with revenue details: Although Letgo is now part of OfferUp, it was once a powerful player in the Chicago buy and sell market. Its merger with OfferUp created a stronger combined platform. The combined entity aims to provide an even better experience and bargains for buyers and sellers in the city.
3. Facebook Marketplace
Founder: Mark Zuckerberg
Total Funding: Facebook Marketplace operates under the Facebook/Meta umbrella, and its funding isn’t publicly disclosed.
Business Model: Facebook Marketplace is free to use and generates revenue through advertisements and sponsored listings.
Unique Selling Proposition: The unique selling proposition of Facebook Marketplace is its massive user base and integration with the Facebook platform. This means that your listings can be shared easily with friends and local groups, increasing visibility.
Brief on the app with revenue details: Facebook Marketplace is among the top buy and sell apps in Chicago and it has become a go-to platform for many Chicagoans due to its ease of use and extensive reach. While exact revenue figures for Marketplace are not disclosed, it undoubtedly contributes significantly to Facebook’s advertising revenue.
4. Craigslist
Founder: Craig Newmark
Total Funding: Craigslist is primarily a classified advertisements website and doesn’t rely on venture funding.
Business Model: Users can post free listings, but job and housing ads in select cities require payment.
Unique Selling Proposition: Craigslist is known for its simplicity and longstanding presence in the online marketplace arena. It’s a no-frills platform for buying and selling items.
Brief on the app with revenue details: Craigslist has been a staple entity in the Chicago buy and sell scene for years. We have this among the top buy and sell apps in Chicago and it’s one of the oldest online classifieds platforms, and while it may not disclose revenue figures, its widespread use speaks to its enduring popularity.
5. Poshmark
Founders: Manish Chandra, Tracy Sun, Gautam Golwala, and Chetan Pungaliya
Total Funding: $160 million
Business Model: Poshmark earns a commission from each sale made on the platform, with higher fees for lower-priced items.
Unique Selling Proposition: Poshmark specialises in fashion and offers a social shopping experience, allowing users to follow their favourite sellers and discover curated closets.
Brief on the app with revenue details: Poshmark makes itself a part of the top buy and sell apps in Chicago and it has made a niche for itself in the Chicago fashion market. It’s known for its vibrant community of fashion enthusiasts and has seen substantial growth in recent years. As of 2021, Poshmark had over 80 million users glued to its ads and facilitated over $5 billion in GMV.
6. Mercari
Founder: Shintaro Yamada
Total Funding: $387 million
Business Model: Mercari charges a commission fee on each sale which varies depending on the selling price.
Unique Selling Proposition: Mercari offers a simple and user-friendly platform for buying and selling a wide range of items. It’s particularly popular in the electronics and collectibles domains.
Brief on the app with revenue details: Mercari has made a mark in the Chicago buy and sell space by providing a hassle-free selling experience. In 2022, the platform’s annual gross merchandise volume (GMV) reached $6.4 billion, demonstrating its strong presence in the market.
7. eBay
Founder: Pierre Omidyar
Total Funding: eBay is a publicly traded company and doesn’t rely on venture funding.
Business Model: eBay charges various fees, including listing fees and final value fees, depending on the category, and selling price.
Unique Selling Proposition: eBay’s unique selling proposition lies in its extensive reach and auction-style listings. This makes it a go-to platform for buying and selling both new and used items.
Brief on the app with revenue details: eBay is a household name in the online marketplace industry and among the top buy and sell apps in Chicago. In 2020, the company reported a revenue of $10.3 billion and continued to be a popular choice for Chicago residents looking to buy and sell items.
Buy And Sell Software Solution From Appscrip
Entrepreneurs or businesses looking to foray into the buy and sell industry, have an apt product from our stable – the OfferUp Clone Script that will set you up perfectly in the buy and sell domain. This robust and reliable platform can be used to create a successful local buy and sell marketplace.
The features available in the script are:
- Highlighted advertisements: Sellers can post ads and highlight them. With a subscribed to a paid plan buyers can view these posts.
- Commissions: The app can set the percent of commission on every sale made by a seller on the App.
- Targeted Campaigns: The admin can create and run targeted campaigns in specific areas, state, or countries.
- OfferUp Like Homepage: We have adopted PWA tech (Progressive Web Application) to build our software solution and the UI is inspired by the original OfferUp website and app.
- Profile Verification: During login, both the buyers and sellers must produce ID proofs to ensure authenticity.
- Buy Direct or Exchange Products: The buyers can directly purchase an advertised product; they can negotiate the price or then exchange with any item on the marketplace app.
Conclusion
Chicagoans have a plethora of options when it comes to buy and sell apps. Whether you’re looking for a trusted local marketplace like OfferUp or prefer the vast reach of eBay and Facebook Marketplace, these platforms cater to a wide range of needs.
Choosing the right app depends on your specific requirements, but with these top buy and sell apps in Chicago, you’re sure to find the perfect platform for your buying and selling endeavours in the Windy City.
As mentioned earlier, our Buy and Sell Script is a fully customisable solution that entrepreneurs and businesses can tailor it to their specific needs. For example, they can choose to add additional features, such as a social media integration, a payment processing system, or a shipping integration.
After an Engineering degree and a Diploma in Management I devoted 16+ years working in the automotive industry. My innate skill and extreme passion in writing, encouraged me to adopt it up as a profession. I have been writing for more than 10+ years in the software industry. The 400+ blogs I published are informative, exhaustive and interesting to a professional and causal reader.
