It's the namesake of our marketplace, Proffery -- so what exactly is a proffer? Is it exactly the same as an offer? Or something altogether different?
So does proffer just mean the same thing as offer? It technically does, but it is used in different circumstances, proffer obviously more rarely than offer.
As in the image, proffer is generally used in more formal instances, like legal proceedings, and is intended to emphasize courteousness. And that is where our use comes from. Our marketplace is a place to receive a formal, and courteous proffer for your unique or collectible item. Wide-open marketplaces, like Craigslist, Facebook, or OfferUp, are suited to a looser approach, for people who don't mind being flooded by lowball offers and messages -- sometimes leading to scam transactions.
Proffery restricts the ability to communicate with sellers because the only real communication necessary is to present, or proffer a number one is willing to pay for an item. If there is not enough information, questions can be publicly submitted, but you cannot initiate a private conversation on the platform. There are no DMs. So if an automobile listing, for example, leaves out the odometer reading, one could submit a clarifying question, and the seller may decide to add it to the listing, or they may not. At that point, anyone interested can adjust their offers or refrain from offering altogether.
In the long term this will benefit both sides. Because the negotiation of a deal is the only path from a listing, we will avoid having scam sellers and scam buyers. Sellers will see that contributing to this marketplace is a low-bandwidth way to improve their marketing, and buyers will be fewer and more serious. We see no reason to cater to scam users. And frankly, we prefer to work in an interesting niche and we can't hope to compete with the major marketplaces out of the gate anyway.
You'll notice that contrary to our name, the actual button to initiate a proffer says 'Make an Offer' -- and this is just a nod to the reality that that's how most people speak. Maybe one day we'll be popular enough to change it to 'Proffer Now' or something. But for now, we have to opt for clarity for our users.
We hope you find something interesting to look at, happy hunting!
