The Grapevine review [iPhone]

It's not at all unusual to see eBay listings that insist in "collect in person" in lieu of more convenient delivery options, or often alongside extortionate postage costs. But how often do you strike eBay oil, and actually find an item that's sighing reasonable fetching range? Not very often at all, if our auction bidding experience is anything to go by.

The system really isn't geared up for local shopping, but The Grapevine puts its primary focus on finding second hand good for you that really are local. Not that it's comparable to eBay in many other ways, but if you want to buy from someone nearby, this is a good place to begin bargain hunting.

The app begins with a default five kilometre radius for your shopping searches. This is a good figure, unless you've got very specific requirements, as it means you're very likely to know the exact area your item is currently residing in.

The official app blurb puts something of an emphasis on concert and gig tickets, and even has a section specifically dedicated to entertainment tickets. If someone winds up with a spare ticket they need to get rid of fast, this is indeed a great way to put the word out. And if you're in a pickle and need to get into a venue tonight, being able to pick the ticket up locally -- or even outside the venue's door -- it's never too late to scan your immediate area through The Grapevine.

But unless you live near a particularly popular venue, tickets aren't likely to be a strong commodity. Fortunately the app also caters for other stuff folk want to get shut if locally. A host of mobile phones are on there, as are other, similar electronic goods from iPads to TVs and computers. It also extends to items like clothing, and furniture, and even the occasional box of house clearance lucky dips.

Listings are very simple, with a subject, price, short description and some kind of contact so you can get in touch with the seller. Most importantly of all, The Grapevine hooks up with Google Maps to show you exactly where the item is. Should you need directions the app calls up the native Maps application and automatically enters a route.

Selling your own gear, or posting jobs or accommodation (two other very popular categories, it seems) is just as easy, and given that the app is GPS aware, your location is automatically added. It's an ungoverned system, so there's some degree of risk involved, but certainly no more than the classifieds section of the local paper.

Finding stuff to buy is slick and easy, with a great, simplistic interface that seems to be able to quickly pull up a decent list of postings during our tests (a bargain PS3 is tempting us, even as we type). But what it really lacks is imagery.

Considering this is a smartphone app, most anyone punting their wares has a camera phone, so snapping a picture of the gear, the tickets, the flat or the job location is effortless. Yet the listings lack any option to include a photo, which is both archaic and a massive oversight. Anyone would feel better about the journey if they could see the item before setting off, so this seems like a vast shortcoming.

Otherwise this would be a superb community app, and it does remain very functional despite its unfortunate lack of illustration. Bargain hunters and recovering hoarders are still recommended to give The Grapevine a lash, of course, and will definitely find it to be a worthwhile local shopping experience.