On an intimate gathering with Multiply reps last week, we learned that the once popular social networking site in the country will now head towards the direction of e-commerce. Not a bad move considering there are a LOT of popular online shops utilizing Multiply and its huge community. Besides, at this point it’s very much difficult to compete with the juggernaut that is Facebook.
So what’s going to happen with Multiply? What will change?
Well first and foremost, you can still use your account as is, sharing your thoughts, photos etc. with friends and families. The new features that they will incorporate will only affect and benefit Multiply online sellers.
I wasn’t able to take a picture of the mock up pages that they developed but it looks like it’s going to be great for sellers. Instead of relying on the photo album to showcase your wares, there’s a proper inventory system complete with support for photos, tags, quantity, price and most of all, an online payment system that as of the moment accepts credit cards, G-Cash, bank transfer or Paypal.
No more checking each item’s comment space for questions and price inquiry. No need to edit each album to update the price of your products. Basically, the whole Multiply Marketplace will get a revamp that will make it a true e-commerce space for Mulitply users.
Of course, these changes doesn’t come with a price. Multiply will require sellers who migrate into this new system to give a percentage (tentatively around 3 to 4 percent) of their sales to cover support, development and bank fees. But with the benefit to the sellers and buyers, big and popular shops won’t think twice into moving into the new storefront. Small and new sellers can still use the old and primitive way of selling though.
With the Multiply Promote to provide a self-serve ad service for sellers to be able to reach out to millions of users within the community and Multiply Trust which is a verification service to give sellers credibility and security, Multiply is poised to transform into a social e-commerce community.
