In March, we moved across the country — and although we have always given away our unused items, we felt it was the right decision to sell some of our things to cover the costs associated with our move.
Facebook Marketplace seemed to be gaining popularity. We tried it out and were very successful with selling on the platform.
Here’s how we used Facebook Marketplace for our moving sale:
1. How to Post Your Listings On Facebook Marketplace
You can either use your cell phone or computer to post your listings on the marketplace.
On your phone you will:
- Click the marketplace icon
- Select “My items”
- Post the sale item on the “Selling” tab
- Take a picture of the item
- Write a description
- Determine a price
- Update your status
On the computer you will:
- Find the Marketplace on the lefthand sidebar
- Select “+Sell Something”
- Write a description
- Select a category
- Add pictures
- Post the listing
Once you have posted the listing, people will contact you through Facebook messenger if they are interested. This is where you will do all negotiations with the buyer. In these exchanges, you will settle on a price and arrange to pick up the item.
2. Tips to Keep You Safe
Some people are concerned about having strangers come to their house to purchase items. We met many buyers in the parking lot at a grocery store near our house. The furniture we sold was too large to deliver, so those individuals had to come to our house.
I suggest that if you are going to bring people to your home, that you set a time when you and your spouse will be there. Don’t be afraid to work out a time that is best for you, even if that means losing the sale.
3. What to Sell On The Marketplace
You can pretty much sell anything on this platform. The only thing I wasn’t able to sell was formal wear. Pretty much everything else we listed was sold within a few days of posting.
Here’s a few of the types of items we were able to sell:
- Furniture
- Kid’s toys
- Home decor
- Bedding
- Piano
- CD’s
- DVD’s
- Homeschool curriculum
- Kids and adult books
- Grill
- Lawn equipment
- Bundles of clothing
I was more than surprised at how easy it was to sell all of these things. It was like having a yard sale where just about everything sold.
4. Ideas of Other Things To Sell
Since the marketplace has become more popular, I’ve seen a lot of people getting really creative with their listings. Not only are people selling their used things, but they are using the platform to gain awareness for their home-based businesses. If you sell handmade crafts, bakery items, or things like that, this is a good place to find buyers.
You could easily make a business model out of selling on the marketplace by finding inexpensive items and reselling at a higher cost. Consider selling thrift store treasures or some of your coupon stockpile.
5. The Benefits of Selling on The Marketplace
I’ve sold items on several other platforms, but the Marketplace has been my favorite. Here’s a few reasons I like it better than other places I’ve sold:
No Selling Fees
Right now, listing things on Facebook is completely free. You don’t pay a listing fee or a percentage of the sale to Facebook. Whatever you and the buyer agree upon is 100% yours.
There’s No Need to Re-List
Once you list the item, it will stay active until you take it down. You may consider updating the listing to reduce the price of what you are selling if you aren’t getting any inquiries. Other than that, you don’t have to worry about it expiring.
You Get Close to What You Ask For
We were able to get pretty close to our asking price for most of the items we listed. Of course, some buyers talked us down a bit, but not by much. Some of them paid exactly what we asked.
Since you are selling to locals, you don’t have to package up the items to ship. It also means that you are able to put things up for sale that are too large to mail.
You Sell Quickly
There are so many users on Facebook that your items are going to get a lot of exposure. Most of our things sold within a day or two of the listing. In fact, we would get messages within hours of posting something.
Just as a note, we have lived in a big city and a small town when we sold on that platform. It has been successful in both.
It’s Easy to Communicate With Potential Buyers
Since messenger is how the buyer will communicate with you, it allows for easy communication. If you have messenger on your phone, it is the same as receiving a text message. This feature makes negotiations very simple.
Overall, I was really surprised at our experience with selling on this platform. We had to considerably downsize and do it quickly. We were able to sell almost everything that needed to find a new home within three weeks. At the end of it all, we made around $400 from all of our sales.