Shpock (“SHop in your POCKet”), is a free car boot sale app for Android and iOS, for which they say “You’ll find the most beautiful things in your neighborhood and sell your things quickly to other people around you”.
You can create your offer by taking a picture, writing a title, a short description and setting a price and then anybody using the app in your local area can see your offer. Naturally you can share your offer via Facebook, Twitter, SMS or email with your contacts.
If you find something that you want to buy on Shpock, you can negotiate the price and agree on where and when it comes to the golden handshake. Once you’ve agreed to a sale on Shpock, it becomes a legally binding contract so only accept offers you’re willing to carry through.
Naturally for a mobile app it’s fully social, you can register with your Facebook account and can also “Follow” friends and Shpock users you think might list more items of interest in the future.
Shpock was originally co-founded by Armin Strbac and Katharina Klausberger, two entrepreneurs from Austria. Since the initial launch in September 2012, Shpock has gained more than five million downloads and its users have listed several million items. These figures make Shpock one of the largest mobile marketplaces and top lifestyle apps in the German-speaking area and a rising star in British app stores.
Shpock obviously isn’t going to be a marketplace for most businesses to make additional revenue streams, however it might be quite handy for disposing of that old filing cabinet you want to get rid off or other materials that your business no longer needs. Plus of course it’s an attractive alternative traditional classified ads for pretty much anything barring restricted categories such as pets, food, houses or anything which is regulated by law.
