Real-time global marketplace iBuySell has launched with the aim of revolutionising peer-to-peer selling in the UK, the US and beyond.
Sellers from all over the world can list items from fashion to tech gadgets on the US-based iBuySell marketplace via Android and iOS apps. In Live Sale mode, buyers can watch prices fall before they click to freeze it and buy the product. Currently prices are in dollars but shoppers can buy, and have delivered, wherever they are in the world.
Co-founder Kaustuva Mukherjee, an IT professional who has set up company with his wife Suchi, said: “My expectation is that this concept will revolutionise the peer-peer marketplace world and would be the platform for shoppers around the world to discover products internationally and experience the new fun and exciting way to buy things they love.”
Mukherjee says the big difference with iBuySell is how sales are run. The app enables shoppers to discover products under categories including fashion, clothing, jewellery, shoes, home, and tech. But instead of taking part in an auction that takes seven days or more, iBuySell sales last as little as 90 seconds.
Sellers showcase discounted products in their online storefront called closets and buyers can choose to either browse and tag their favorite items to get notified once the items go live or purchase the products right away.
Every few moments a new product gets displayed on live-sale, and then prices fall by the second before one buyer hits the freeze button to lock in the price and claim the item.
Shoppers sign up for free and can earn rewards for referring their friends via social media, emails, and messaging services. Sellers have a choice of paying a very low transaction fee of between 5% and 15%, or a monthly fee starting at $29. Sellers can set secret minimum acceptable price on every item to ensure they make a profit. They can choose to ship directly from the app, and can advertise their existing online e-commerce stores in their profile to drive traffic.
“Most online platforms are search based catalogs, the user experience is the same almost everywhere, and for the small entrepreneur it is an expensive and time-consuming effort to drive sales and improve conversion,” said Mukherjee. “So, we thought why not combine bargain hunting with a little competition, speed, and suspense, to make it fun, unpredictable and rewarding experience?”
The app was internally developed in six months and is now available publicly in over 130 countries.
