Mark Zuckerberg and his team of engineers seem keen to spread Facebook's capabilities way beyond the social network's original remit - from digital assistants to virtual reality - and now it looks like they've got their eyes on the buying and selling scene as well.
A select number of users have spotted a new Local Market feature living inside the Facebook app, a feature that lets you buy and sell goods in your local area. There's been no official news from Facebook and it appears the Local Market option is in the very early stages of testing right now.
Eventually, it could become a fully fledged competitor to eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Craigslist and other similar sites - anywhere you can buy and sell stuff with your neighbours. Alternatively, Facebook could ditch it altogether if these early trials don't go well.
Buyer (and seller) beware
The Local Market page is apparently built on top of existing local Facebook groups where items are already bought and sold - so it's not so much a completely new feature as a better way of finding these pages, complete with improved search and organisation.
Some of the categories spotted by testers include music, property, autos, gardening, DIY, clothes and beauty. No matter what you're after - or what you need to flog - it looks as though Local Market will have you covered.
We should know more if and when Facebook makes the feature official. If it does get the green light then it'll be one more reason to keep Facebook installed on your phone beyond those inane status updates and photo posts from people having a better time than you are.
