Helping you get the most out of Selling On Facebook Marketplace and avoiding the pitfalls.
Facebook Marketplace has become one of the biggest marketplaces in the world for people looking to sell their new and used items quickly.
It’s similar to Ebay and Gumtree with one big difference, it’s completely free of charge.
There are no sellers fees on any of the items you sell.
The flatform is simple to use, anyone can do it.
All you need is a camera to takes of your items and a Facebook account to post the listing onto Facebook Marketplace.
There are plenty of tips and tricks you can use to sell your items quickly on Facebook Marketplace and we are going to cover them all in our complete guide to selling on Facebook Marketplace.
My Experience of Selling on Facebook Marketplace
You've got nothing to lose by testing out the Facebook Marketplace as it is completely free.
I sold my first item on Facebook marketplace on July 13 2018 and since then it has been a fast way to get cash for items lying around my house I am no longer using.
The last 11 items I’ve sold on Facebook Marketplace have made me $1,315.
There is more value lying around your house in items you don’t use than you realise.
Gary Vee sums it up well in on interview on the Joe Rogan podcast
That old camera, Gameboy, speakers, TV, gym equipment… basically anything you’re not using can be sold on Facebook marketplace to put some extra dollars back in your pocket.
Even though there is a lot of upside to Facebook Marketplace there is also some downside that would potentially keep people from using it.
Shipping items is not the norm it is typically pick up or a location meet.
There are a lot of tire kickers and a lot of questions you need to answer over messenger for each item you sell.
People try to low ball you with low offers constantly.
Throughout the guide we will teach you how to navigate the downside as much as possible and maximize the upside to give you the best selling experience on Facebook marketplace.
The Complete Guide To Selling On Facebook Marketplace
Getting Started on Facebook Marketplace
Head to Facebook Marketplace on a web browser or on your mobile device.
Or use the Marketplace Tab
Create A Facebook Marketplace Listing
Choose Listing Type
Create Your Listing
Facebook Marketplace Photos
Choose Up to 10 Photos.
If possible use as many of the 10 photos spots as you can, take photos from as many angles as possible and if the item has any defects make sure you include them in them in photos.
Product Listing Title
This is the most important part of your entire listing.
You need to be descriptive as possible and if it is pick up always put the suburb in the title it reduces the amount of enquiries you get from people who are unwilling to travel to where you’re located.
Let’s say you’re selling a microphone for your iPhone.
A bad listing would have 'iPhone Microphone'
An optimised listing would have the brand, model number and additional items, if it’s a new item put the recommended retail price (RRP) and if there is still room in the title put the pickup location.
How do you come up with good product titles?
Download a chrome extension called Ebay Popularity Sort and search Ebay for the product you're selling.
Hit the popularity sort button and it will show you the products with the most sales for that search.
Take the best parts of each listing with the most sales and create your own highly optimised product listing.
Having a good product title is going to help you show up in more search results and is going to help you sell your item quicker.
Imagine you have a bike for sale and you go on marketplace and put bike for sale.
It doesn’t give enough information to the buyer, they might be looking for kids bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes. Or they might be looking for a specific brand.
The more descriptive you get in your title the more items you’re going to sell because it will help the people that are looking for your exact item find it easier.
Price
Always start high to give yourself a little bit of room to negotiate or if you are firm on the price set the price and make it very clear in the description that the price is firm.
Starting high has worked well for us on many sales and on one two occasions we sold the item for more than what we purchased it for.
Be prepared for the low ball offers to come through and a lot of them will come through
Category
Choose the appropriate category for your product this will help people find what you’re selling in the search results. It will also open up Facebook Groups available to you to place your Marketplace Listing in.
Description
This the second most important text part of your listing behind the title. The title gets you the clicks for them to learn more and the description is where you need to sell your item with as much information as possible.
List in depth everything you can about the item including any defects.
If your item is pick up only in the very first line put
PICK UP FROM {YOUR SUBURB}
If you are struggling to write a good description, go on ebay and read the descriptions for the exact model of the item you’re trying to sell or go to the manufactures website and copy their description for the item.
Another selling method is telling a story about the item to get people emotionally invested in the sale.
Location
Even though we are located in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne the location defaults to Melbourne CBD a lot of the time so we always make sure to add the exact suburb we are selling the item from. It helps with getting interested buyers in a closer proximity to you and makes the selling process easier.
Availability
List as a single item or list as in stock
If you only have one of the item you’re selling but if you have more than one in stock you can list your item as in stock which allows you to sell it more than once on the same listing.
Before you click next take note of the Marketplace policy
Marketplace items are public and can be seen by anyone on or off Facebook. Items like animals, drugs, weapons, counterfeits, and other items that infringe intellectual property aren't allowed on Marketplace. You can view the full policies here
Add to Facebook Marketplace and Available Selling Groups in Your Area
Once you have submitted your product details and description the next page will give you the option to put the add in additional Facebook groups that allow marketplace item listings in you area. It’s a great way to get more eyes on your products.
Your Listing Is Now Live On Facebook Marketplace. Now What?
Don’t be surprised if you get messages within the first 5 minutes of the listing going live.
It has happened on many of our listings and it always blows my mind each time it happens.
After the listing is posted is where your communication and negotiation skills come into play but you also need to be aware of some traps and pitfalls that could have a negative impact on your selling experience on Facebook Marketplace.
Tips for Dealing With Facebook Marketplace Buyers
The first thing to be aware of is you’re going to get a lot of messages that say
Is this available?
These messages come through a lot of the time accidently from people that hit the send button.
To make things as easy as possible for yourself just have a ready to go response for is this available.
We typically use
Hi {Name}. Yes this is still available. If you’re interested in purchasing let me know. The item is pick up from {Suburb} and cash on pick up.
Low Ball Offers
Another reply you’ll get a lot if a low ball offer on your item.
We were selling a microphone for $290 and had 6 messages offering between $200-$250. The item was brand new in the box and the RRP was $399
Our reply
Hi, sorry I am firm on price the item is brand new and the RRP is $399.
It took a couple of days to sell which isn’t long at all and it sold for the listed price so just be aware if you are getting low-ball offers don’t feel rushed to lower your price.
You can refresh you listing every week for up to 4 weeks so you have plenty of time.
If you need the money quickly you might be a little more open to negotiating.
Our negotiating message on a low-ball offer
Hi, thanks for the interest in the item, I’ve only just listed the item but I am willing to come down to {your amount} as my lowest price.
Don’t go much lower than your listed price, especially if you think your listed price is fair.
Holding the item.
More often than not if you hold the item you’ll get burned by a tire-kicker who never shows up or you just never hear from the person again who has asked for you to hold the item.
When we get asked if we can hold the item this is our response
Hi, unfortunately we don’t hold items due to a lot of no-shows, we’ll sell to whoever is first to come pick up the item with the money.
This has always worked well and magically people who couldn’t pick up the item until next week find time in there day to pick it up that day.
If you keep getting the same questions from buyers you need to update your description to answer those questions or update your photos if people are asking for other angles.
You have agreed on the price now what?
Tips for giving our your address to buyers
Our biggest tip is to NOT give your address out straight away if you are arranging them to pick it up from your house.
We only ever give out the address details on the day of organised pick up.
Do a little bit of research we only sell to Facebook profiles that are complete with a fullname and look like genuine people, not a cartoon character display picture with a first name only.
We have also had people messaging us at mid-night wanting to pick up the item. You say no to these request instantly and any buyers you don't feel comfortable with just block them on Facebook straight away.
The reason you should be careful with giving out your address on Facebook Marketplace, especially if the item is valuable is you are giving our your details to someone you don’t know.
If you are selling a lot of tools the last thing you want to be doing is giving out your address to someone dodgy making your household a target to be robbed.
This is a very extreme case but the main message is be careful and only give people your address that you feel comfortable with after talking to them on chat.
Is Facebook Marketplace Safe?
Base on everything thing that was mentioned above the Facebook Marketplace is generally a safe place but you just need to be careful who you’re giving your address out to and do a little bit of background research on the potential buyers.
If someone we have given our address to is a no-show and we don’t hear back from them after contacting them as a follow up we always block those people on Facebook just so our address isn’t stored anywhere on there Facebook messages. When you block someone those messages disappear.
Payment on Facebook Marketplace
There are many ways you can accept payment, unfortunately Facebook Marketplace doesn’t have a payment portal yet.
For pickups we typically ask for Cash on Pickup
Sometimes buyers will arrive knowing it was cash on pickup and ask if they can do a bank transfer.
We always say no and tell them where the closest ATM is.
The reason for saying no is if the transfer isn’t instant then I would not let the item leave my house especially if it was expensive. It’s just safer for you as the seller to get your money and not have to worry about any follow up or them ghosting you if you didn’t receive the transfer.
If you are shipping an item always make sure the money hits your account before send the item.
Always keep your safety at the forefront of your mind when making any decisions on Facebook Marketplace.
We have met some amazing people through Facebook Marketplace and most of our engagements with buyers have been good experiences
We sold a lot of tech items that creatives could use like microphones and podcasting studios and meeting the locals picking these up was a great networking experience.
You will find the same thing if you're selling locally.
For example if you are selling 4WD accessories there's a pretty high chance the person that comes to pick up that item is going to be interested in 4WDs.
Take all the tips and tricks in this guide and use them to sell your first item on Facebook Marketplace.
There is no better time at the moment to clean out your house and make some extra dollars from all the stuff you aren't use that someone else could put to use.
If you successfully use this guide to sell more things on Facebook Marketplace make sure you stop by our brand new Facebook Group and let us know all about it.