Skills Needed to Create an Enormous Market Avenue Like Letgo: The Real Cost and Timeline

In a simple description, Letgo is the classic mobile e-commerce that enables each prospective buyer to purchase from any seller, which in turn can sell the goods to others in their local area. Based on records, the application was developed by a motivated tech startup with the sole aim of creating the biggest and powerful second-hand market place in the world. The ideology behind the establishment was a success, the living testimony of this process was the $175 million raised to further enrich the platform productivity, and hijack the maximum market shares from the largest firm in the industry such as Craigslist and eBay.

THIS ARTICLE IS DESIGNED ON THREE PURPOSES:

First, to critically observe the basic features or attributes of Letgo, and the salient function it exhibits. As well as to appraise the significant advantage Letgo e-commerce has over its rival in the industry, and finally, to identify the crucial techniques needed in the development of a mind-blowing mobile platform like Letgo.

LETGO’S FUNCTION AND THE REASON BEHIND ITS POPULARITY

Among countless and diverse e-commerce applications, Letgo is one of the worthy opponents of bigger e-commerce corporations like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Craigslist. While the main function of this application is to assign sellers to their respective buyers without any physical stress. Another core function is the Seller to Buyer “interaction mechanism,” a lucrative attribute that allows the buyer and seller to communicate and schedule a meeting outside the platform. Irrespective of the ideal function, Letgo application is completely free on the Google Play store and any other source. Furthermore, no stipulated fee on any transaction, you own all the money realized on sales.

LETGO MARKET

A research carried out and analyzed on DMR statistics revealed that, on a daily basis, 300,000 second-hand materials or pieces of equipment were uploaded on Letgo, and before the day expires; about 100,000 items are bought. The analysis further revealed that the average price of each commodity sold on the platform is between $30 to $50. Therefore, Letgo daily transaction value is estimated at $5 million. Moreover, if the average cost of the item sold every day was estimated at the figure above, we can then draw our conclusion that the potential volume of Letgo operations on daily basis is up to $15 million {an assumptions that newer products are constantly introduced and uploaded everyday}.
Since its establishment, Letgo e-commerce app had been striving to become the king of the jungle. However, the app has been successful in many cases, such as being able to breach the geographical restrictions which were a barrier many years ago. Currently, the app is available in more than 25 countries. And aside from the North and South America, Letgo is presently in operation in Asian countries.

SO, HOW DOES IT WORK?

Letgo is one of the easiest apps to operate, why don’t we start discussing its main attributes?

THE REGISTRATION

Everything starts from something, a reason why the first step is getting a Letgo app. You can download this application on the Google Play store, followed by the essential registration. Do you have an account already? You can log in via your Facebook or email address, and if you don’t have an account, do proceed to sign up. Once you are done; you are ready to rock and roll!

SELLER

Once you are here, it’s a sign that you have completed your registration. On the seller platform, there indicates the camera icon to take pictures of the product or material you are willing to put for sale. And as a super-fast e-commerce platform, the app is engraved with built-in artificial intelligence to sequentially and automatically designate your product to their appropriate quarters. Furthermore, open space is available to indicate the status and price of the commodity.
In a moment, your product is up and running! And as you await different messages and offers from many buyers in your area. You also have the privilege to make an adjustment if needed in your product description or the price tag. Letgo is designed to exhibit a distinct function, such as checking the numbers of buyers who have gone through your products during a specific period. This function is accessible by clicking on the item(s) you placed on sale in your profile, followed by selecting the more info button beside each item. The number assigned to the eye symbol is the total or current viewers.

BUYERS

During your registration, your immediate location was requested at a point in the form. The benefit of that is to enhance the system automatic search for products placed for sales in your locality. The search function also displays the ability to filter a wide range of products available on sales to a personalized one. The alteration can involve the location of the seller, category of products, and the date such product was put for sale. Immediately you click on a product, the description, pictures, and chat icon pops-out of the mainframe. Through the chat icon, you can engage a seller for further conversation.

PAYMENT INTEGRATION

Letgo e-commerce platform only coordinates the buyer and seller together but doesn’t handle the payment process. Therefore, the payment is done as planned or agreed upon by the buyer and seller. A process not protected {If issues surfaces, the victim won’t be able to make a complaint or refund}. Nevertheless, it’s highly recommended to observe the safest approach: Payment of cash in person and other reasonable means.

THE MAIN LETGO’S COMPETITORS

To become the king of the jungle, it requires a series of intelligence, official recognition, and recommendation. In addition to that, there has never been a position without a substantial opponent. In spite of Letgo credibility, its major competitor includes Carousel, Five miles, and Offer up. A report shows that these firms have recently been successful in many of their investments, and had accumulated huge funds in enhancing their efficiency far better than the past champions: eBay and Craigslist.
For better clarification, we are going to analyze the main merit of the Letgo e-commerce platform compared with Craigslist and eBay.

Letgo Vs Craigslist
- Letgo e-commerce platform is super-fast and easier to operate compared to Craigslist. While you have to scan the hell out of product description to confirm its originality and waste a lot of time finding the products on Craigslist, Letgo is just the opposite.
- Buyers and sellers on Letgo can have a conversation, while Craigslist has nothing closer to that feature.
- Descriptions of the products are optimal.
- Each product’s categorization is done manually on Craigslist, while Letgo gets the job done automatically.
Letgo vs eBay
- On eBay, every successful sale attracted 10% cut while Letgo grant you all the profit
- A larger prey attracts bigger or stronger predators. A huge firm like eBay makes selling harder to realize since they’re having bigger opponents with incredible features.
- Letgo E-commerce app laid more emphasis on the grassroots of society, which makes it easier to find or locate local customers.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF LETGO COMPARED TO OTHER ONLINE MARKETPLACES?

- Mobile approach, well refined, and simple interface.
- The geotagging and automated listing according to the buyer’s location features.
- The Intelligence, content description, and product image recognition functions, cut all corners; which makes buying and selling on the platform easier to execute.
- To sign in on your account, verify your profile, and other activities, you can do that by simply linking your social media accounts such as Facebook to your Letgo profile account.
- You’ll be able to access some overseas marketing activities e.g Turkey and Norway on your Letgo applications which others do not offer.
- Everything about Letgo is completely free.
The Letgo founder; Mr. Alec Oxford said, “by now, our competitors should know that we are going to use any means permissible to be the King in the castle. Our operation is visible for all to see, and they can always confirm its operation and testify to its miracle”!

MONETIZATION OF LETGO, HOW DOES LETGO MAKE MONEY?

Most often, many users or viewers around the globe sometimes wonder how Letgo accumulates revenues on the platform. A simple answer to calm all curiosity is that, for now; Letgo isn’t generating any revenue on services procure on the platform. However, the founder has a grand plan for the app in the nearest future. Sooner or later, Letgo would be a monetized platform with a distinct feature “Payment Arena.”
Now, suppose you have a similar application, the below are the ways for you to earn multiple revenues.
- Ensure the integration of in-app payment on the platform to earn a significant percentage on all sales.
- Enable visual ads to promote your post.
- Allow extra charges to re-adjust or modify product descriptions.
- Set a limit for numbers of product that can be published for free

HOW LETGO WORKS: TECHNOLOGY STACKS

For the sake of proper justification, let’s analyze the technology encrypted in Letgo DNA. In the process of that, our close research brought us closer to its mainframe, starting with the open vacancy in the firm and the Linkend profiles of its developer. So, what have we discovered?
Job description
Job descriptions: Skills and Requirements.
As analyzed above, these tech gurus adopted Express.Js, React.Js, and MySQL in the creation of the e-commerce platforms {Web version}. While the application designed for iOS and Android is carved on native technologies, Swift, Objective-C, and Java’s encoder.

SO, WHAT ARE THE MERIT OF THIS PIECE OF INTELLIGENCE?

Server-side: Express.Js
Server encrypted using Express.js is an ace among all frameworks of Node.js. Even Django has no match for its capabilities. Express is leading in Top 10K sites, top 100K sites, top 1M sites, and the entire web. And with a close comparison with Ruby on Rails, Express.Js proved to be more agile in server load and boot time than its counterpart. And because it’s highly dynamic, minimalist, and easy to monitor. Any app encoded using Express.Js would be super fast and disclose extraordinary functions above all others.
Client-side: React:Js
This among varieties of Node.Js is a large JavaScript library adopted in creating the user’s world. An intensive comparison reveals that React.Js has an edge over its competitor, which is the ONE DATA BINDING.
When all data processes assume a direction, it will be easy to manipulate, control, and modify if there is a need. Furthermore, since all the data can be organized and monitored in a unit; a minimal change can be identified so easily and; therefore, gives room for further alterations, modifications, and performances check. In a nutshell, React.Js is a piece of technology that enhances the effectiveness of the development process in every direction.
Mobile
As stated earlier, Letgo mobile application exhibit Swift, Objective-C and Java in its core mainframe. Generally, every platform is assigned the appropriate native application that can function effectively at its core. Therefore, Objective-C or swift, are specially designed for iOS, while Java is programmed for Android. However, you might prefer to cut all corners by developing a hybrid app with React Native framework and save yourself the development process like many other clients would prefer.
Since there are similarities, 70% of code developed in React Native for Android versions can be reshuffled and reassigned for iOS platforms. In a regular process, codes are developed from scratch to the end {both on Android or iOS}. However, the case is a bit different from hybrid web applications, since you only have one ReactNative code to maintain, and nurtured for the app optimal performance.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN SELLING MARKETPLACE APP LIKE LETGO

To develop and monitor an app stronger, agile, and flexible has Letgo can take a lot of time, even cost a fortune. In 2017, the transaction performed on the application is estimated at $23 billion, and with a net value of $1.2 billion; Letgo platform isn’t a small kid in the neighborhood. Furthermore, the information acquired on the official Linkend page, shows that Letgo is having a team of 100 employees of different nationalities, working continuously in the improvement of the application features.
Furthermore, Letgo operates on a higher server load, which requires incessant maintenance and technical efforts. Therefore, the creation of a similar app having extensive attributes should start with the simplest functionality and server load. So, what would it cost to develop an application as Letgo?

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO DEVELOP AN APP LIKE LETGO

In this section, we shall sequentially analyze the main features of Letgo, and the number of hours it would take to realize each function and the outcome.
The list of features
- Register via Facebook or email
- View products for sale
- Observe products by category, location, and price.
- Check seller’s profile
- Buy the products
- Sell the products
- Modified products for sale
- Remove products for sale.
- Received in-built notifications about your listing.
- Invite friends from Facebook.
Based on our analysis, creating a spectacular app having all Letgo attributes {both web and mobile} would require nothing lesser than 449 to 1019 hours, which is further determined by the complexity of the app functions.
Extensively, the table below examines the time frame to create a web application. And, while analyzing each procedure and steps in row and column.

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Furthermore, the analysis above covers Bug fixing, Manual testing, and Management. It should be known that these variables do affect the timeline and cost of creating any breathtaking application. While analyzing each variable according to the ratio they assumed in the development process, Bug fixing adds 25% to the total ratio, followed by Manual testing, and Management assuming 10% each.

To create a standard e-commerce application requires different tasks, such as the service provider hourly rate and location. For instance, in the United States, an app development ranges between $100 to $250 per hour, while the rate is quite different in Eastern Europe where development offices are located. On an hourly basis, you can hire a senior developer for $40 to $70 and have the job done.

HOW TO DESIGN YOUR MOBILE MARKETPLACE THAT STANDS OUT.

Once you have decided to build an app equivalent to Letgo, don’t ever think of cloning or making a copy of it. Instead, why can’t you go the extra mile in the creation of something enormous, unique, and of greater benefits? And instead of thinking about how to create massive e-commerce, you had better consider your prospective customers and their demands. Below are some keys to create a unique platform that attracts potential customers.

• BE SPECIALIZED

First, do ensure your app is specialized in a product. For instance, among varieties of categories of products, choose one you can work extensively on. This can be fashion, sports, toys for children, and more. Suppose you chose fashion; you can decide to work on animals or human apparel. Therefore, being precise will draw you closer to your primary audience, and it will be easier for you to create a strong and reliable marketing strategy.

• DO HAVE A LOCALITY

Part of what makes Letgo a unique e-commerce platform is the concept of localization in buying and selling of any commodities. Instead of going wider and attracting brilliant competitors, you can develop an app that narrows its focus on a specific group, city or country and accumulates more customers as you rake in cash.

• DEVELOP THE APP FOR A PLATFORM {Go one at a time}

During your app development, you can give either iOS or Android platforms a trier to evaluate its performance, and determine the efficiency through each users’ feedback. And after a series of modifications as a result of the genuine recommendation made by your app users’, then you can now implement the moderated part on the other platforms. Furthermore, you can adopt a cross-platform solution like the React Native Node.Js to carve such vibrant apps on iOS and Android platforms.

• PLAN YOUR STRATEGY

A significant aspect of any app development is “planning.” Therefore, before you start with the core development process, you must engage in the fundamental activities which have to do with placing your client or app users first in the process.
But how can you get this done?
First, sequentially analyze the basic functions essential for the start. Then, do have an open conversation with your clients to know their needs, the problems they’re facing with a product or the entire platform, solution, and any updates they would like you to be introduced to the platform.

CONCLUSION

In a quick summary, creating a massive and enormous e-commerce marketplace for the appropriate audience isn’t difficult for the right expertise. Instead, it is essential to create enough time for the planning and selection of the crucial features needed for its survival. Nevertheless, once you have set things straight, you are good to go; and halfway to success! Contact us to proceed further.