How to Sell on Facebook Marketplace?

Facebook is the most popular social network on the web right now. It’s where people connect with each other. Recently, people have been using the social network for buying and selling with each other.

This buying/selling activity started in local Facebook groups, and it has grown exponentially.

To increase these connections, Facebook officially launched Marketplace, a simple destination where you can discover, buy, and sell items locally.

What is Facebook Marketplace?

Facebook marketplace is a platform within Facebook where the users can sell their items in a particular area.

This marketplace was introduced in October 2016, and within 7 months, 18+ million were listed to sell on the Facebook marketplace in the United States alone.

More than 800 million people from 70 countries access the Facebook marketplace every month.

It is great place to sell anything quickly within your area without any investment.

Facebook Marketplace is a great place where you can discover cool items you want to buy, and find people who are willing to buy your products.

Facebook has over 2 billion users on its platform, making it is the biggest social media platform in the world. It will open up opportunities to find a buyer for your product if you understand how to use Facebook marketplace.

Here is how Facebook marketplace works.

The selling process is very straightforward. You just need to sign in to your Facebook account and start listing the product you want to sell in your area.

1- Login to Facebook and click the marketplace on the left tab.

Or, you can directly access the marketplace with this link https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/.

2- On the marketplace page, click the “+ Sell Something” button on the left side.

After clicking the button, you will see a small window asking about your listing.

You can choose between three categories

• Items
• Property
• Vehicle

Choose the category that you think fits best for your item.

3- Enter your listing’s title, price, location, and category.

First, you need to select the category for your product.

Like here, I decided to sell my old headphones, so I select “item for sale.”

Now, you have to add the details of your item.

You can also add a description, although it is optional.

So, here is what it looks like after entering the category, price, location, description, and pictures (up to 10) of your product.

Once you provide all the information on your listing, then click the “next” button on the right bottom.

4- Publish your listing

Here you will also get the option that allows you to list the product on your profile.

Lastly, click the publish button to place your product in the Facebook marketplace.

• Use a secure payment gateway

Facebook does not offer any payment gateway to pay or receive the payments. The scammer might insist on cash on delivery, gift cards, or flawed payment methods. You must use a credit card or any secure payment service like PayPal.

• Evaluate the Buyer’s Profile

When a buyer shows interest in your product, do look into his/her profile. Check out if they belong to your area and have any mutuals. If they have any new profile, perform no activity on their Facebook page, or have few friends, then you should avoid that buyer.

• Meet the buyer in person

Pick a public spot such as a coffee shop and make any record of your exchange of goods like a video or any document. It will come handy in case of any dispute.

Facebook mentions a list of products that are prohibited from selling on Instagram and Facebook for commerce purposes.

Here is the list of products that you should avoid selling on the Facebook marketplace.

• Prescription drugs and supplements
• Ingestible Supplement (such as Protein powder & steroids)
• Weapons & ammunition
• Animals (pet toys and cages are allowed not animals)
• Adult products (contraceptives are allowed not sex toys and pleasure items)
• Alcohol
• Healthcare products
• Body part & fluids
• Gambling
• Offensive & misleading products

If you run an ecommerce store, then you can integrate your online shop and sell directly on the Facebook marketplace.

Here is the list of ecommerce platforms partnered with Facebook

1. Shopify
2. BigCommerce
3. Shipstation
4. Zentail
5. Feedonomics
6. CommerceHub
7. Channel Advisor
8. Quipt

Craigslist is a classifieds website where people post their ads for products and services. It’s available locally for multiple regions so locals can buy and sell products without any hassle.

However, Craigslist can be quite unsafe, if you are not careful about the people you are dealing with. There are so many scammers out there trying to rip off your hard earned money.

Facebook Marketplace is a social marketplace where people can connect with each other and hammer down the transaction details.

On Marketplace, you can not only see the product, you can also see the seller’s Facebook profile, your mutual friends (If any), and chat with them via Facebook Messenger.

All of this combined gives a more personal and safer feel to these transactions. However, you still need to do your due diligence to stay safe even on Facebook Marketplace.

If you are not impressed with how the Facebook marketplace works or think that it does not have any impact on growing an online business, then you are about to change your perception with this marketplace.

Here are some of the success stories of online businesses that have managed to gain a significant advantage for their companies by using the Facebook marketplace.

1. Succulents Box

Succulents box is a California-based company offers low-maintenance plants founded in 2015.

The Goal

They wanted to boost store sales by expanding their customer base.

Actions

Succulents box was selling from Shopify, where they learned about the Facebook marketplace.

Then, they list 150 products on the Facebook marketplace. The results were surprisingly well, and they immediately start receiving the order and gained thousands of dollar revenue in just 40 days.

Also, they discover new demographics for their products. At first, they were targeting women aged 25 – 34. However, after listing products on the Facebook marketplace, they gained a massive customer base of women aged 55 – 64.

The Results

Succulents box see a massive increase in the sales in just 3 months that includes

• 66% increase in monthly sales
• Facebook marketplace amounted 18% of total sales
• 19% increase in monthly revenue from the Facebook marketplace, month over month

2. Apartment List

Apartment List was founded in 2011 that helps people to find a home for rent according to their needs. The app includes the listing of different properties that a renter can choose based on their budget and preference.

The Goal

They wanted to increase the renter’s registration on their site.

Actions

Apartment List only used to run ads on the Facebook news feed. After discovering Facebook marketplace, they started to place ads there as well to attract the customers who were actively looking for properties online.

The Results

The Apartment lists conducting this experiment for 2 weeks and here is what they achieved,

• Cost per registration decreased by 16% after running ads on Facebook marketplace and news feed,
• 17.5% increase in post reach.

3. Tropical Breeze Décor

Tropical Breeze Décor is an online store that offers beach-themed home décor, apparel and accessories

The Goal

They wanted to boost their online store sales.

Actions

Tropical Breeze’s ecommerce service provider Bigcommerce introduced them with Facebook marketplace in 2018.

They instantly list their catalog to Facebook marketplace by integrating their ecommerce store.

In less than a half-hour, the team listed 4000 items and witnessed an instant growth the sales.

Results

After listing products for three months on Facebook marketplace, Tropical Breeze Décor saw unprecedented growth in their sales:

• Facebook marketplace amounted for 87% of total sales
• 3.5x boost in sales
• 72% of total revenue generated from Facebook marketplace

Related Article:
11 Facebook Audience Insights Hacks To Generate Sales

Wrapping Up

Facebook has an enormous database of consumers that helps the sellers to get the potential buyer without any hassle.

Also, Brands are not allowed to use the Facebook marketplace, which means the small businesses and individual sellers have massive opportunities to build their market by reaching millions of potential audiences.

So, if you are selling on your online shop and want more recognition for your brand or want to boost the sales of your business, then this is the platform you should look forward to achieve your goals.