How To Successfully Use Facebook Marketplace To Buy and Sell
Have you heard of Facebook marketplace? I hadn’t until quite recently, and was a bit confused about what it was – so I thought it would be good to clarify it here in case any of you are wondering the same.
If you go onto Facebook you will find a lot of selling pages already (I’m a member of quite a few!) and Facebook has picked up on this and decided to make a marketplace for their users to make the whole process easier and more appealing.
Within the Facebook app, at the bottom there is an icon named ‘Marketplace’. If you click onto that it will show you what is for sale locally to you (if your location is enabled within your settings).
Once you have clicked on this, you are in the Marketplace!
A massive plus with using Facebook Marketplace is that there are zero fees. If you want to sell on somewhere like eBay, you will have to pay listing fees, postage fees and Paypal fees. That is quite a lot to have to pay.
That’s why a lot of the time, I will personally sell on Facebook or Gumtree before I sell on eBay. I would much rather put it on there to sell, and pay no fees – so therefore get more profit from the sale.
How To Sell On Facebook Marketplace
If you want to sell an item, click on the box that says “What are you selling?”. It will then prompt you to upload a photo of the item that you wish to sell, and then to give it a description.
The next step is to give your item a price – I would recommend looking at what the item is currently going for second hand on sites like this, and also to try and find out how much it was originally (even if you did not buy it full price initially).
The next step after this is my favourite, because it can save you so much time. When you are finishing your post, it will ask you if you want to post it to more places – so instead of just posting it to the marketplace, you are also able to post the same thing in various selling pages that you are a member of.
This saves a lot of time, especially if you are selling many items! To find groups in your area, if you aren’t already a member, type in the search bar something like ‘buy, sell’ and it will bring up local groups.
How To Buy On Facebook Marketplace
Buying things on the marketplace is really easy as well. When you have opened up the app, there are icons across the top with various categories e.g. Musical Instruments, Tools, Jewellery etc. If you click on any of those, it will take you to the items for sale within those categories.
Additionally, if you just scroll down past the marketplace notifications that you can see, it will bring up all of the items that are for sale locally to you. I don’t advise this really because you will find a lot of things that tempt you, which could lead to you spending more money than you initially wanted!
When you click on a photo, it will take you to the description, with the price and also where the item is located. You can then message the seller or make an offer on their item.
The messages go through on Facebook messenger, which is a handy way of communicating with seller or buyer as you can both reply instantly if you are able to, which can speed the whole process up.
Tips To Sell Successfully on Facebook Marketplace
Clean your items as best as you can
Whether that just be a wipe over or if they need to have a wash in the machine. Not only does it look better for selling, but you will have a happy customer when they collect.
See if it would be worth bundling anything together.
Would the kettle and toaster sell better together than separately? Would the book and cuddly toy sell better together?
Take as many clear photos as you can.
Natural light is best, but if you cannot do outside try and do near a window so that the light comes through.
If not, put the light on and see if that’s any good – if you have a smart phone you can always download a free app to make the photo brighter if needed (but if it changes the colour of the item, make sure you mention this in your listing).
Give a detailed description
Make sure that you list any problems with it e.g. scratch, bits broken off. It is much better to be honest when selling something. When you write the title, or in the description, I always put in the RRP.
Us humans are much more likely to buy something if we think that it is a bargain, and we can see the clear difference in price between buying it brand new or second hand.
You may also want to put your location in the description too – not your street name – but your area and maybe what you are near to (e.g. near the shops, near the police station etc).
In my experience, even when it has the location on there, people still ask – so I would put it in the description to save them asking the question.
Price it appropriately.
When I am selling something, I will always do a Google search to see how much it could be bought for originally.
I can never usually remember that far back to what I bought it for, so it’s handy to have a quick look – or you could look for your receipt.
Look at how much your item is currently selling for on Facebook, or on other selling sites such as Gumtree or eBay. This will help you price it accordingly.
Sometimes with pricing, it may be a good idea to leave in some haggling room. It is likely that people will try and get it for less from you – and can you blame them?
It doesn’t have to be much as you don’t want to put people off in the first place with a high price – maybe an extra £5 depending on what it is that you’re selling.
When a buyer contacts you, ask them when they would like to collect.
I personally won’t hold any items for people as you will find that they will more than likely mess you around. I’ve had many people let me down when they have said that they are going to collect something and I never hear from them again.
When you have arranged a time for them to collect, give them your address and I personally give my mobile number in case they cannot find it. Do what you are comfortable with though.
Something I would recommend as well is asking them if they can bring the collect change with them as I do not have any on me. This saves you from having to change up a £20 for a £5 item, and also lets them know that you don’t carry cash on you (I get a bit paranoid about this kind of thing, but it will make it easier for you).
I would also suggest that you do not post anything. This can result in scams – my brother got scammed on here with a fake Paypal email that looked legit.
Even if they do pay you on Paypal genuinely, they can also retract it – so I would suggest to deal with face-to-face and cash only.
Keep safe – don’t list your address on your item, but wait until the buyer is going to collect it.
I work from home so I’m always here, but if you only suggest evening times to collect, then they may realise that the house is empty during the day and this makes your house vulnerable (sadly, there are these kinds of people out there who do this).
Tips To Buy Successfully on Facebook Marketplace
Again, I would personally recommend only having a browse when there is something specific that you would like to buy, as it is incredibly tempting to scroll through and see loads of great items for sale.
I just had a look now and there are so many things that I could be tempted to buy if I didn’t have a highly trained frugal muscle! (It uses clever algorithms to show you what you would be interested in, hence why you will want to buy everything).
When you have spotted something that you wish to buy, contact the seller. Ask them if it is still available (as some people take a while to delete after something has been sold) and also let them know when you can collect it. This saves some to-ing and fro-ing with messages.
If you are planning on haggling, now is the time to do it. Don’t wait until you turn up on their doorstep to hit them with an offer – ask in the initial contact message if they are willing to sell it to you for less. Be polite, and be prepared to be told no.
NEVER EVER send them money. You need to pay in cash, when you collect the item. If they want money to secure the item, or to send to you, this is a scam. Do not do this.
I’ve never had a problem with this, but for both buying and selling, you may want to meet up at a public location to exchange item and money. I usually have people come to my house to pick up – although if I go to collect an item I always take someone with me.
Have a look at the various categories that are available – there are so many things for sale on there, including houses, cars, white goods, toys, jewellery and more – you can find a lot of stuff on there, and it can save you a lot of money. It won’t all be second hand either, as many people sell things that are brand new that they didn’t need or want.
Have you ever used Facebook Marketplace?
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Interesting and useful post, thanks for sharing it:D
No worries!
Please invite me to Facebook market place I want to join group.
If you have a Facebook account you automatically have access to Facebook Marketplace
I can’t find responses to my purchasing inquiries. Must I use messenger?
Yes
Great post, I didn’t really know what FB Market Place was until I saw your post. I have been selling via FB Groups local to me for a while, there always seems to be an option to click on Marketplace but I didn’t as I was unsure. So very helpful thanks!
No worries – it is really good!
Am not comfortable buyers coming to pick up from the house so as a 1st time fb seller can i arrange in a public place like the library or gas station or inside a gas station?
You can meet people wherever you prefer, it’s up to you 🙂
I’ve got really into Ebay lately as I’ve done a bit of a declutter while I’m packing ready to move out! It’s amazing how much they charge just to list something, then they also take a percentage. Facebook Marketplace seems like a really great alternative!
Yes definitely, it’s easy to forget about all of the fees as well. It is!
I’ve actually never heard of Facebook marketplace, so thanks for providing such a detailed guide!
I suppose the one downside is that eBay probably has a much bigger audience – but if you can really nail your adverts that could work to your advantage!
No worries. Yes, definitely! You’d be surprised how much interest you get when selling on there though!
This is something I really want to get into, I’m still guilty of using ebay for selling stuff on and it costs so much in fees!
Nothing wrong with using eBay! Sites like Facebook are great though if you have bulky things!
How do you post to the public in the market place?
It should just do it 🙂
A few years back we sold a TON of stuff on eBay and Craigslist. Now it is so much easier to just post something on Facebook. Earlier this year I sold my Series 1 Apple Watch in about 10 minutes just mentioning it on my timeline. We also sold my wife’s car in three days posting on Facebook. It’s a much easier solution than dealing with those older options.
Love that it has worked for you! I love using it.
Interesting article! Facebook has now become the universal platform for everything. We can do many things through Facebook. I’ve never thought about this idea, “Selling Items Using Facebook”. It’s really a nice idea. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! It’s certainly good for many things!
Great post Francesca, it was interesting, and I enjoyed reading it. I have just started to sell on E-bay after decluttering the house, so I think it would be a good time to try this out. Many thanks x
Thanks Pauline, hope it helps!
thanks for this. my main reticence is that I’m worried the posts will come up on my friends news feeds, which i find a bit embarrassing – do you know if they do?
No worries! I think they only come up if they are a member of the selling group themselves 🙂 if not you could always use something like Gumtree
I have a question if an item is listed as “free” on FB marketplace is it actually Free?
It should be! Double check with whoever is selling it though 🙂
Can you recommend a course for selling on Facebook? If one exists…
Thanks
Nick
Oo I’ve not heard of one before, but I can look into it for you. Are you stuck on a particular area?
Can I create something for ex: for Christmas and sell it on marketplace? or does it have to be used?
Also what if I want to sell to more than just by local area, can I still use marketplace with venmo or some other form of credit card payment?
You’ll have to look at the terms of each group, as some may state that nothing handmade is to be sold 🙂
I’ve been wanting to do some selling .This definitely sounds easier and I can keep up with things on my phone. My only concern is meeting someone to collect items or money. Is shipping an option or does that make a sell less attractive?
And how does PayPal come into play or work with a sell?
thank you .
If you wanted to post them then Paypal would be best for that. The only problem is that people can still cancel the transaction and you are out of pocket. If you wanted to ship therefore I would advise eBay as there is seller protection.
I’ve never had any problems with meeting people, but make sure you are careful of course!
Is there any other selling options out there with no fees?
Or very little?
thanks
Gumtree is a good one 🙂
Marketplace was ok up until October 2017 wen all of a sudden my items are only getting one view I was selling from 2016 December Without any problems and now October 2017 no views on my items I can post all day on MARKET PLACE but no one can see my items, iv e reported plenty times to Facebook but all they say is thanks for the feedback we are working on fixing technical problem
How strange, I wonder why that’s happening?
The use of social media channels like facebook to buy and sell things has increased. Facebook is a great tool to use for selling homes too. There are various groups you can join to buy and sell homes. Social media is great because you can reach out to thousands of people at once.
Very true!
I’ve just started selling in FB and have had one successful transaction. The thing that confuses me is what actually does the ‘I’m interested’ button mean? Does it mean they are just expressing an interest or does it mean they want the item. I don’t see the point of registering an interest and then not following it up with a message.
That confused me when I first started too! It’s just when they save the post for later, I just ignore them 🙂
How do you get your item to keep coming up on Facebook. I posted but then it was so far down the list in a couple hours I don’t think anyone really saw it.
I’ve had really old posts still do well so I wouldn’t worry about it too much 🙂 you can always delete it and re-post if not!
I have a problem with Marketplace, I need help to get my local area from Belleville Ill. to southern Illinois please. It has Robinson Ill. and wont let me change it. I love Marketplace but wont keep with Robinson Illinois on it. I tried to delete it all together and was unsuccessful. Please help
If you google how to change your location on Facebook marketplace it will show you 🙂
Great article, but I have a word of WARNING for anyone who plans to sell anything on facebook marketplace. They make it sound SO simple and invite you to list. And it IS simple. Just be aware that if you mess up you risk losing your ENTIRE account over it.
I’ve had a personal fb acct. for YEARS. I kept seeing that fb marketplace icon show up on my page so I thought I’d try my hand at it. It was really fun. But then one day I listed a Harley Davidson sign that my husband had bought. BIG mistake!
The next day I woke up to an email message from facebook telling me that they had taken my ad down because Harley had reported the listing as infringing on their trademarked logo. Turns out the business that made and SOLD my husband the sign was not licensed to use the Harley logo. It wasn’t a “counterfeit” Harley item. It was a big round iron sign welded together that spelled out the words “Harley Davidson” and in the center it had their logo.
So the email I got said they were removing the listing and I should make sure I didn’t have any other similar listings. When I saw that I realized that I’d better go delete that sign from the facebook groups I had CROSS POSTED the listing to. I immediately went to my facebook account only to discover they had DISABLED my entire account!
THAT was the first week of this month. I filed an appeal and got a rather robotic answer stating that I had my acct. disabled because of “REPEATED violations” (um…WHAT??) . Understand I have NEVER been in trouble with facebook or received any violations other than this one. But apparently the fact that I had that SAME ONE ad cross posted to the groups I was in somehow got me flagged as a “repeat offender”.
So make absolutely SURE that anything you list on marketplace is A) OK to list there and B) if you EVER list anything with any kind of logo on it make SURE whoever MADE it has permission from the company to use the logo, because while other sites will allow people the occasional mistake and just give you a warning or temporary suspension……facebook can and in my case DID simply kick you off the site! It’s been a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on ANYone. Ugh…
Oh gosh, that sounds like a nightmare – thanks for the warning!
You stated in your post above that a cool feature on Ebay Marketplace is that when your finishing your post it will ask you if you want to post it in more than one place. I can’t find this feature. When I create an ad it just only gives me the option of posting but not to more than just marketplace. ??? Do you have an answer for this??
Just to clarify that it’s for Facebook marketplace, not eBay. If you are a member of selling groups on Facebook then it will give you the option to share to them as well
Is there a way to bring your item to the top if it has been on for awhile. In local f.b. Groups you bump in the comments.
You can do the same 🙂
I use Marketplace through Facebook, not the Marketplace app. No problems until a couple of days ago. I’ve always had my location set to within 40 miles of where I live now northeast Tn, but lately I’ve been seeing a lot of posts from out of state. Arkansas ,Fl, Texas, etc. I keep updating my location, but I’m still having trouble. 9 times out of 10 when I click on an item to look at, it’s out of state
How strange!
I have two items listed in fb marketplace. They both show up in my for sale items but are not showing up in Marketplace why is this? No one can view them for some reason. Please let me know why. Thanks. I’ve used Marketplace many times and have never had this problem.
I would delete it, and start again but manually type in your location!
Thank you for this informative article!! I recently added items to Facebook Marketplace a few days ago and I am really excited!! I have quite a few views on my items and 2 potential buyers so far, however, I am need of a few tips being that I have no reviews or items sold yet. I think maybe viewers are reluctant to buy because of this. If you have any additional tips please reach out if you can.
Sounds good! And don’t worry, you don’t need reviews for Facebook Marketplace
I was wondering if you’ve seen this before. I am a member of my neighbor hood Facebook page. I see constantly neighbors selling and giving items away. I sell on line eBay, etc. I wanted to ask my neighbor s if they have used clothes that they want to get rid of. IMy goal would be to sale the clothes online. Do you think that’s a bad idea to ask neighbors for their used clothes so I can sell them for myself? I thought it would be a service to them to pick up items so they don’t have to do something with it? What are your thoughts?
I don’t think you have anything to lose by asking them and letting them know what you wish to do with it after 🙂
How do you place a wanted advert on marketplace?
looked every where & no success.
You can set it as for free/£0 and just say wanted and what you are looking for, there’s nothing for it specifically I don’t think
hi, i have1 question how to Declutter your news feed to avoid a deluge of for-sale spam?
You can go to notifications within the group and select how often you want them 🙂
Hi when i try to share to other selling sites the description under each photo don’t transfer across too. I tried deleting and ‘re posting but it still didn’t…any advice as to how I can transfer description too? Thanks
Not sure sorry Denise, I haven’t had this problem before! Maybe try clearing your cache?
I have had 4 different items rejected by Marketplace and have deleted them ’cause I don’t want to get into trouble w/ Marketplace. In each case, I have repeatedly tried to fill out their appeal form – it will not let me get past “Missing Required Field”. I need to know what the problem is w/ these four items. I have posted many other items on Marketplace that have gone thru just fine. All I want to do is get thru to Marketplace – their appeal form doesn’t work!
That’s so strange – I’ve never heard of that happen before! Could you sell them through a friends account instead?
I have a few listings on facebook Marketplace that I want to lower the price. I have seen other listings have a line throw the original price and the new lower price next to it. I have search on google and facebook to figure out how to do this? When you go to edit it does not give you that option. Thank you.
If you change the price after it strikes it through automatically 🙂
I recently inquired about something for sale on Marketplace, and the seller could tell that I lived across the street from her parents. I don’t mind showing the area of the city I live in, but is there a way to stop people from seeing exactly where I live?
I don’t think it shows your full address! Maybe they just recognised you?
She didn’t know who I was, she just knew that I lived across the street from her parents. Weird! Thanks for responding!
No worries!
Hi looking for some help on Wirral bhy and sell on fb , I am small sewing alterations and dressmaking bussiness , I tried to put a flyer up to advertise to get more customers. but it wouldn’t let me put it up . and yet there are lots of sewing alteration small bussiness on there ?. or are only allowed to put post up for alterations ?. would really appreciate some help thank you.
I would advise reaching out to the admin that runs the page in question 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this. I think this really puts things into a different light. I mean, I have read about this stuff before but the way you write just makes it clearer, if that makes sense
Thank you so much!
Francesca,
What does ‘chat’ at the bottom of the Marketplace screen mean? Is that a potential buyer contacting me about my item for sale or does that have anything at all to do with Marketplace.
Thank you!
Blessings!
That’s nothing to do with Marketplace, that’s related to your Facebook account and you can chat to the people in your friends list who are online 🙂
Why is the contact information on some fb Marketplace ads not shown? Example: “please email at (hidden information) or call (hidden information) if interested” (I do not get a reply by sending a msg thru Facebook) How can I view the email & phone number?
Not sure on this one sorry! Facebook is probably hiding it for their security but they don’t know about it on their end. I’d suggest commenting on the photo if it gives you that option
Until recently, I could see how many people had viewed by posting on FM. This feature is no longer there. Is there a setting a need to adjust? This information was very helpful when determining the interest there was for a certain item – allowing me to adjust the price if needed.
I’m not sure sorry!
When i send a message to a seller on facebook marketplace, when they respond it only shows a picture of the item i have enquired about and not the listing description.
It looks like when i respond to a seller it automatically sets up a private group for me and the seller. Not sure how to rectify this.
It’s the same for everyone 🙂