This week on Tap That App, we take a hands-on look at OfferUp, an app for iOS and Android (and available on the web) that is taking the local garage sale into the 21st century -- on your smartphone.

OfferUp is a simple way to make some cash from the stuff you don't want, as well as to find great local deals on other peoples' used items -- be it electronics, clothing, furniture, or you-name-it.

Selling and buying used stuff is the lifeblood of the Internet. And given the fact that sites like eBay and Craigslist have existed since the Web 1.0 (and still look it), you may be wondering what OfferUp brings to the table.

OfferUp's unique strengths as a digital secondhand marketplace all bowl down to two things: safe localization and immediacy. Both are due to the fact that unlike the old stalwarts eBay and Craigslist, OfferUp was born in the smartphone age and native to mobile.

The app is easy to use, and you can get started immediately by scrolling through its Pinterest-style front page of cascading pictures. The app automatically bases for-sale offers on your general location, which you can tweak with various filters and a distance slider.

(Photo: Screenshot - Robert Schoon)

You can also go to "browse" in the settings menu, which gives you options to search everything for sale, find popular deals near you, or scroll through deals by category. Just like a standard social network, you can also follow any particular seller and get notifications when new deals are posted.

Buying and Selling Made Safe and Quick

Buying on OfferUp is simple. It's just a matter clicking on the item, hitting "Buy" and making an offer.

But there's much more behind this process than is immediately apparent. For one, if you have questions about the item for sale -- and in secondhand shopping, getting all the information you need is always a good idea -- you can hit the "Ask" button, right next to "Buy."

(Photo: Screenshot - Robert Schoon)

This is where the immediacy of OfferUp's mobile-native platform shines. The seller will get a push notification through OfferUp, just like any other SMS or messaging platform, and getting your answer is likely to happen much faster than going through email on Craigslist or eBay.

Interacting with the seller is also much likely to make you feel confident about your purchase, because unlike Craigslist, OfferUp emphasizes the opposite of anonymity.

Put simply, you'll know who you're buying from and won't have to be anxious meeting a stranger you've never even seen a picture of in a parking lot somewhere, as seems to be standard procedure with Craigslist.

The way OfferUp creates this safety net is a system called "TruYou," which combines a Facebook login with real-world credential verification (using drivers licenses as the standard), so that you know you're not dealing with a fraudster -- or a maniac.

Selling is nearly as easy as buying on OfferUp, with a simple "snap and tap" system that uses your smartphone's camera, your Facebook network, OfferUp's location-based marketplace platform, and one or two screens' worth of input to cast your offer out to the widest local network of buyers possible. And it takes less than five minutes.

Tap That App

If you ever avoided eBay or Craigslist because the process seemed too time-consuming or dangerous (respectively), the fact that OfferUp is native to smartphones, and is intelligently designed to take advantage of that fact, eliminates both concerns right off the bat. Definitely tap that app.