Nicolas Perrotta from OLX informed me about the free classifieds and auction site OLX.com. India is one of the first countries where they are launching the service.
Here are the details on the site. 
About OLX, Inc.
Founded in 2006, OLX offers a new generation of classified and auction service providing a more local service on a global level. OLX includes classified listings for jobs, housing, goods and services, personals, events and community, plus a wide variety of discussion forums. OLX is based in New York and has offices in Buenos Aires. OLX is a privately held company. For more information, visit www.olx.com .
To provide a better service we have decided to include:
· A city, neighborhood and zip code database so we can cover an entire country and not just pre-selected cities
· A distance field allowing you to see postings within a certain range of your zip code in the countries where it is possible
· Ability to post items in virtual worlds ( e.g.; SecondLife)
· Ability to comment on listings to create a stronger community
· Advanced search allowing searches at variable regional settings
· Auction and Buy It Now options and a rating system for the For Sale category
· Ability to post listings in any language in any country
· Ability to view the site in any country in any language
· Global reach
· Mobile version
I sent some questions to them and Alec Oxenford, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the company replies as:
FROM: NICOLAS PERROTTA - ALEC OXENFORD
TO: ASHISH KUMAR
**********************************************************
1. Why have you chosen India as one of the first countries to launch OLX? How did you guys do the survey of the Indian market ?
- India is big in terms of population, GDP and other relevant economic indicators.
- India grows fast.
- India is very technology prone.
- India is very close to other also attractive Asian markets.
To survey India we used:
- Public Sources (Internet, Google, Blogs)
- Market Research studies (JP MorganChase, etc)
- Interviews with other players
2. Have you guys tailored the site to suit the needs of people staying in India or do you plan to do that in future ?
OLX offers functionalities that exceed any competitive offer in India. We have decided to include several relevant features.
Already OLX offers (still a Beta)
• A city, neighborhood and zip code database so we can cover an entire country and not just pre-selected cities
• A distance field allowing you to see postings within a certain range of your zip code in the countries where it is possible
• Advanced search allowing searches at variable regional settings
• Auction and Buy It Now options and a rating system for the For Sale category
• Ability to post listings in any language in any country
• Ability to view the site in any country in any language
• Global reach
Soon OLX will offer.
• Ability to post items in virtual worlds (e.g.; SecondLife)
• Ability to comment on listings to create a stronger community
• Mobile Version
3. There are other popular Indian websites who also have their classifieds? How do you plan to compete against them ?
OLX offers unique product proposition, ‘a free local classified service on a global level’. A combination of a much better product with smart viral marketing, keyword advertising, affiliate management, word of mouth, partnerships with newspapers and portals, effective PR, mobile distribution, should allow us to get traction in enough locations to provide a great public service to our community of users.
4. Is there a revenue source other than advertisements ?
Currently OLX will be 100% free for users. OLX will only generate revenues via advertising sales.
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January 18, 2008 at 3:26 am
check out Locanto - Free Indian classifieds for a similar offering to olx.
Locanto.in has some good initial tracktion and is growing quickly.