
// Development
LetGo Clone App - How to Build an App Like Letgo
// Development
LetGo is a free application that allows you to sell a variety of things with a couple of clicks. It is only necessary to photograph the goods, and then the system itself will determine that it will create an appropriate announcement and conduct a sales transaction. In the article you will find a description of the key features, functions and benefits of LetGo, as well as instructions on how to create a similar application yourself.
LetGo’s idea is to connect people who want to sell second-hand things with those who want to buy them and help them make a peer-to-peer deal. At the same time, the main user value of the service, in comparison with competitors, is simplicity and convenience, which are achieved by automating some processes. Artificial Intelligence Responsible for Automation.
In practice, this means the following: when the seller photographs, for example, a TV, LetGo artificial intelligence:
Due to this automation, the actions of the seller can be reduced to two things: a photo and confirmation of the publication of an advertisement. That is, you no longer need to spend from 15 to 30 minutes writing a description and determining competitive value. This simplifies the life of sellers, thus increasing the number and variety of lots, which in turn leads to an increase in the number of buyers (network effect).
Ads on LetGo, unlike Craigslist, are free for all products and regions. The listings are sorted by relevance, distance from the user and based on the history of past searches and purchases. Another difference from Craigslist is that on LetGo you cannot sell or buy services, only goods.
As for monetization, LetGo makes money with:
For example, if a user entered the query “iPhone”, advertising should promote websites and blogs, smartphone repair services or games, cases, headphones, chargers, and the like. True, related products can also be sold by LetGo users, therefore it is better that advertising only promotes services and third-party services.
Copying existing LetGo functions is certainly a good way to create your own mobile application. However, in order to succeed, you will need to somehow stand out from the competition. Firstly, you can take into account their shortcomings and develop a more advanced service. Secondly, you can create a unique function that only your application will have.
LetGo is unique in its artificial intelligence and image recognition system, which simplify and speed up the publication of announcements. In addition, the application boasts a convenient built-in chat (not on Craigslist) and video listing. All this must be in your application, as well as the following functions:
These functions include:
When creating your application, you should use a similar scheme, because users want to see the familiar model. However, blindly copying the design is not worth it, because it is, firstly, illegal, and secondly, unreasonable: people do not like outright plagiarism. A professional design studio will help to maintain a balance between borrowing and creating a new one.
Next, you need to think about which payment gateways your application will use for financial settlements between buyers and sellers (if your application will act as a financial intermediary in these transactions). PayPal, Stripe and Braintree are great options if you are creating a site for North America and Western Europe. If not, study the local market (competitors, legislation) and use popular payment methods in the desired region.
We wrote more about this in the article “How to Choose and Integrate a Payment Gateway”. There you will find a list of payment service providers and their comparison, as well as information on what criteria to pay attention to when selecting them.
If no one knows about your site, you can assume that it does not exist. And if there is no site, then there will be no profit either. This is why the app needs an ad campaign. You need to start it before the product is launched, because only in this way can you ensure sufficient interest of users to the site at the start both from buyers and sellers.
Promote marketplace offerings using Google Adwords, social networks and ads embedded in other applications. Sometimes they also use advertising on television and radio, but it is expensive and risky (it is difficult to calculate the conversion), so it’s better to focus on advertising on the Internet.
If you, like LetGo, rely on automation, then you will also need artificial intelligence and an image recognition system. If the basis of your project is another function, then MVP should have it too.
To develop MVP applications you need:
Technological stack: