Quick Take Review: Matchbin's Social Marketplace for Publishers

By Marisa Peacock (@marisacp51) May 12, 2008 Comments

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Matchbin is touted as the world’s first ecommerce platform as a service that specializes in both product and service matching. They've created something called the Community Marketplace Multimedia Edition. This technical wonder bundle is a fully fledged social media system, web content management system and ecommerce marketplace rolled-up in one.

Matchbin is geared towards those developing a community focused website. Candidate customers include newspapers, special interest groups and professional organizations. The platform enables entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations to own an ecommerce community marketplace that is locally focused, yet globally connected.

The company's latest offering brings support for publishing multi-media files including video and audio in various formats, and allows video and audio clips to be posted to websites.

Company and Product History

Launched in 2002, Matchbin is the provider of the first ecommerce and social marketplace platform as a service. The product is meant for use by individuals, organizations and businesses to buy, sell and trade locally, nationwide or on a global scale.

Powered by Matchbin’s ActiveMatch platform, Matchbin proactively searches and finds relevant goods and services for its growing number of online community marketplaces, allowing consumers and businesses worldwide a new way to buy, sell and trade goods and services with people they know and trust.

In 2005 Matchbin set out to revamp their technology with the goal of merging the physical world with the virtual world to create a online community where users could easily find things of interest, socially connect with people and communities online and be provided with ample opportunities for e-commerce.

In 2007, Matchbin released the beta version of Community Marketplace Multimedia Edition.

Partnering with more than 275 communities, Matchbin connects all of these communities and individual members together through its platform and provides them with the ability to match products and services that they can then auction, buy, sell or trade.

Matchbin's other products include Servicefront and Storefront. Servicefront is a customizable website provided and supported by Matchbin technology. With a Servicefront site, businesses get extensive “yellow page” advertising and other promotional capabilities in an easy-to-use packaged.

Storefront allows users to sell items online and benefit from no transaction fees, inventory management, credit card acceptance and access to Matchbin's ActiveMatch technology.

Market & Pricing

Matchbin Community Marketplace is geared toward local and community news outlets, dedicated to serving accurate and timely information to its readers. From classifieds to wedding announcements, its user interface and functionality reaches out to those media whose grassroots initiatives are the lifeblood of their endeavor.

With reasonable and flexible pricing, starting at US$ 399 per month, most outlets will be able to benefit from its services.

The Original Business Problem

Matchbin’s focus with Community Marketplace is to help members expand their reach in the global online classified and social networking marketplace. They hope to create a new business opportunity and a paradigm shift in the multi-billion dollar online classified transaction arena.

Revenue for Community Marketplace owners is generated from the sale of listing upgrades and other Matchbin products such as Servicefronts and Storefronts. These products are displayed in the Community Marketplace, but as with all listings and products, are accessible to any user on the Matchbin platform.

Designed with journalists in mind, Matchbin's CMS boasts an “easy to use” interface that features a Content Builder Dashboard as well as customizable community settings that make uploading media simple.