I think it's an alternative to second-hand and thrift shops, and the biggest advantage is that it is available even in areas without thrift shops.

The second advantage is that you don't have to pay, so it is more likely that items will find a good home instead of being discarded.

The third advantage is non-participation in the money system, if you're into that sort of thing, and also the elimination of overhead for store and inventory upkeep.

One downside, of course, is that most people aren't willing to keep their "stock" around for too long, so there's limited inventory at any given time that you can browse.

It’s typically just a Facebook group of your neighbors, so “platform” might be a bit strong for what it is. Besides everything being free, I’ve found it helps build a bit of a sense of community for those who participate.

This is what their website [1] says:

> The most direct way to participate in this amazing experiment with us is to join the BuyNothing App.

[1] https://buynothingproject.org/find-a-group/

Ah gotcha, I heard about that, the founders sort of stepped back from the FB groups version and started trying to push a standalone app version. I'm guessing the FB groups version is still more popular/useful.

Oh, also, there're a lot of plants and things that get exchanged, another difference from second hand shops.