Bellevue Startup OfferUp Could Compete With Craigslist

A Bellevue startup wants to move in on the buy-and-sell market created by Craigslist. Private investors seem to think OfferUp could do it: They have estimated the company's value at more than $800 million.

Until this week, OfferUp had no revenue at all from its smartphone-centric buy-and-sell market. But according to Geekwire, that has just changed.

In Seattle only, users can now pay for items using OfferUp’s smartphone app. When they do, OfferUp gets a nine percent cut.

The cut comes out of the seller's proceeds. So a $2 coffee cup sold at the list price would net the seller $1.82.

Geekwire says OfferUp is still beta-testing the feature. If the fee works, it puts OfferUp in a stronger position to compete with Craigslist.

Craigslist was the website that disrupted newspapers by offering a buy-and-sell forum online. It still looks like a creature of the 1990s. However, it does not charge a fee to users who buy and sell.