social media | 2 Dogs and the Cat

In my recent adventure of selling vintage clothing online, I researched places that aren’t the Etsy or eBay usual. I inevitably came across Poshmark, a social site dedicated to buying and selling fashionable clothes and accessories between users.

The browser version of Poshmark is similar to Pinterest.

Poshmark is a market designed around social interaction with followers and virtual parties. Much like Pinterest, it encourages communication between all users across the site and provides linking amongst Facebook and Twitter accounts. Currently, Posh, as it’s called by users, is only in the U.S.

It’s available as both a mobile app and in-browser. Both versions are appealing; the app is styled much like Instagram, while the browser version is very reminiscent of Pinterest. Photos of items no longer needed can only be uploaded through the app with Instagram-style photo editor. The items are then listed and sold at a price determined by the seller. Users can browse through virtual “closets,” filtered by size, and purchase from others.

My “closet” only has one item listed for sale – a vintage dress.

I made my first purchase from Poshmark this morning, and the buying process was very easy. I “liked” three items the seller had, so I asked her to “bundle my likes.” This means she made a separate listing of the items I “liked” together as one. This avoids multiple shipping charges. Once I purchased the items, Poshmark simply sent the seller a printable shipping label, a she sent the items from the post office.

The seller never had my debit card information; as it goes straight to Poshmark. In turn, they credit the sellers account. She can keep those credits on the site and use them as virtual cash, or she can withdraw the credits. Unfortunately, they do have a high commission rate of 20 percent per sale. Since my items were $30, she only received $24. This sometimes leads to off-site, private Paypal sales, which are against Poshmark’s TOS.

Their are a few negatives: I found searching rather difficult. If I search for “vintage,” for example, I get the same photos I saw a month ago. I’m uncertain how new items are found through searching. I also haven’t quite grasped Posh Parties, though I am sure that will come with more use.

Poshmark will gain more traction (more users actually buying and selling rather than just having a profile) when more users sign up. I know that’s obvious, but here’s why: Right now, three of my Facebook friends are on the site. A lot of people would feel more comfortable buying secondhand from those they know verses strangers around the country.

Interested in signing-up? Download the app and use the code HLLWZ for a $5 credit.

In my day job, I am the backup for our social media coordinator, and my husband handles all social media for a university. Despite this, I don’t generally post much here about social media.

However, a new trend on Facebook has led me to make this post.

Is Facebook becoming more about ads and products than interacting with friends?

I don’t mean the traditional ads on the side of the page that FB has been running for a few years. I mean using a page itself as an ad, and getting thousands of people to “share” or “like” as a contest.

A few weeks ago, a photo of a child’s jumper came up on my newsfeed. While I don’t have children, I’m 29 and many of my friends are starting families. It was some “Share this photo to win!” contest. I didn’t think much about it and moved on.

Until I saw it again. And again. And again, until the same photo, all from different friends, was consuming my newsfeed. Slightly annoyed at this point, I attempted to hide or block the page itself, only to find that hiding or blocking pages is not an option (someone let me know if there is a way around this). The only options I had were to hide the photo every time, hide the friend from appearing in my newsfeed entirely, or unfriend around two dozen people.

I liked reading many other things from these friends and I enjoyed keeping in touch, so I didn’t feel unfriending or hiding them was the best route. Plus, it wasn’t like one friend was doing it repeatedly – it was at least 20 or more people posting it one or two times each.

There are other contests from pages on Facebook – “Like this page and tell them so-in-so sent you!” and “Vote for my baby’s photo and I’ll win!” I’ve noticed these contests tend to happen more with smaller businesses, though lately I have seen a few from well-known brands as well.

The child’s jumper photo faded out (though I still see it every now and then), but it’s still happening with tons of other “share this to win!” contests – vacations, photo sessions, jewelry – you name it. While no doubt “share it to win it” is a good marketing promotion for that particular brand, photos and links to these often get in the way if I simply want to catch up with friends.

I don’t think it will happen overnight, but I can clearly see Facebook going the way of MySpace in a few years if this isn’t cleared up. Think about it: People stopped using MySpace because it became annoying and unable to use with jumping photos, unusable layouts, etc. I can already see Facebook going down this path.

I’ve been using Facebook since 2005; when colleges had to be selected for it. At the time, I preferred it over MySpace for it’s crispy-clean “basic” appeal. Unless it gets back to that appeal that made it stand out in the first place, people will inevitably lose interest, just as with MySpace.

What do you think? Have you ever had a page take over your newsfeed as described above? Do you think Facebook is on it’s way out or here forever? Leave your comments below.

[I should note that this post isn’t meant to offend anyone who shares photos or participates in page contests. I don’t think anyone doing so is wrong, but I do believe Facebook should have an option to block pages].