Nowadays, if someone mentions buying or selling something in a private sale, we usually think of platforms like eBay, Craiglist, or apps like LetGo. These are the go to channels when it comes to selling something to another person and making sure you get paid in return. But we also are reminded of the issues a lot of these sites have. For instance, eBay’s popularity has been dropping, there has always been issues with fraud, and they take a significant fee of the sale. Craigslist has a laundry list of negative news stories about transactions going bad with everything from robbery to murder being involved.
So, to say that the peer to peer or consumer to consumer marketplace model could use a bit of disruption might be an understatement. And as I’ve been covering the blockchain and startups using this technology for different purposes, I think it would be beneficial to discuss what the blockchain could do for the C2C (consumer to consumer) space.
Internationally
Probably the biggest difference blockchain can make is in the international community. Those of us in developed countries often take for granted the fact that we all have ways of transferring money easily from bank account to bank account. But in many countries bank accounts are a rarity, or when they are there the means to make transfers are very painful.
But having a decentralized C2C platform would eliminate the hassles of transferring funds in exchange for goods or services. And one company that is garnering a lot of attention for their efforts is SOMA. SOMA is a decentralized C2C platform that recently received an endorsement from Arto Joensuu, the former CEO of Dubizzle, now the largest classifieds/C2C marketplace in the Middle east.
“The current C2C models do very little to represent small-scale entrepreneurs in developing countries. And for most small-scale producers based out of developing countries, basic banking institutions are completely out of reach.”
His statement reinforces what I was just talking about regarding the difficulties experienced currently, but he continues with what he believes is a solution.
“I think of Soma as the key solution that will enhance and democratize the current consumer-to-consumer business model.” He continues, “its design goal is to bring the social aspect of trading back into the digital marketplace. It will usher the era of decentralized social wealth and AI-powered product suggestions, thus creating a marketplace concept that I believe could one day rival with the likes of eBay and Amazon.”
These are lofty praises for a startup, but when you examine the potential of the blockchain, you kind of see where he’s coming from. Right now the blockchain is being touted as the next big revolution in technology. Many people compare its disruption to what the internet has accomplished in the last 20 years. So, using that kind of tech, you can see how the skies might be the limit for what companies can do.
Disrupting Amazon and eBay
If SOMA and groups like them are truly going to be successful in their efforts, they’re going to need solid technology and mass adoption. But similar to what Alibaba did by growing internationally before ever setting foot into the North American market, there is a roadmap for groups that use developing countries to facilitate their growth.
eBay has officially taken a backseat to groups like Alibaba and Amazon, so the history of disruption in this space is pretty recent. And if people are right about blockchain technology, then that rate of disruption is likely to accelerate. So, while the odds of dethroning one of these powerhouses seems far-fetched at this point, the opportunity to do so is definitely there.
Regardless of the market movements, it will only benefit the consumers if the disruption can take place and there can be additional security and convenience added to the C2C model.