“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” I heard this phrase a lot growing up. I’m not suggesting you literally sell your trash on Facebook Marketplace. That would be gross. But if you’re looking for some extra cheddar to jumpstart your savings and investing, doing a spring cleaning binge and selling off what you no longer use, or what doesn’t “spark joy”, can be a great way to declutter your home while padding your bank account. I’ve tried several sites for selling our old belongings. One has been much more successful than others. Below is one tired introvert’s guide on how to sell on Facebook Marketplace without losing your sanity.
- List every item separately.
- Make sure the time you spend coordinating, negotiating, and meeting for pickups/drop offs ROIs versus what you’re selling an item for.
- Be prompt in replies and courteous, but beware of spammers.
- Don’t share your phone number or bank account information and consider meeting up in a public place for the transaction.
The problem with selling on Facebook Marketplace
As we push through this grand adventure of a cross-country move, I recently told my husband that I bought and sold this house. Next time, it was his turn.
I was so done. Exhausted by poor communication from our real estate agent, several missed closing dates, and multiple improper documents from the title company, I wanted to borrow the remote control from Click and fast forward through the next month.
My husband commented he was pulling his weight. He loaded and unloaded the storage unit to stage the house. He flew to Colorado to look at apartments.
Yes, I agreed. But he wasn’t the one who had to deal with all the dumb dumbs day in and day out to get the house sale across the finish line. And he wasn’t the one dealing with the dip dips from Facebook Marketplace that didn’t respond, didn’t show up, or showed up and clearly thought they would never need math so slept through geometry.
He was quick with his response. “You just don’t like dealing with people.”
I channeled my inner Benoit Blanc and clarified, “I’m really bad at dealing with dumb people.”
If you’re like me, selling items on Facebook Marketplace is going to be a side hustle. There are going to be days when you want to call out sick or just straight up f*** this job, b**** I quit, f*** this job, cause I don’t really need this s****. (IYKYK)
So I’ll remind you ahead of time, it’s only for a season. If the lobotomy inducing experiences come early, I promise not all buyers on Facebook Marketplace are bad. There’s a distribution.
40% are amazing. They show up on time, communicate clearly, and are genuinely nice. They make it worth the time and effort.
30% are scammers and fake accounts. I’ve got red flags to help spot these below.
30% I’m amazed can tie their shoelaces and leave the house. They won’t look at the item or the dimensions and show up in a compact, shocked that you can’t Mary Poppins the furniture into the car for them.
Now that we know what we’re up against, here is my battle plan from the trenches to help you successfully navigate the minefields of Facebook Marketplace. (Does anyone else want to play Minesweeper right now? No, just me? Fine. Let’s move along.)
How to sell your stuff on Facebook Marketplace
Make separate listings
I thought it would be a great idea to make a moving sale group post listing and pricing out everything I had. Virtual garage sale for the win. I took my mad Canva skills I’ve been perfecting at work and put together a collage of photos of all the items, organized by category. Yes, I know I’m a nerd.
I thought for sure this was the most efficient way to move the multiple items we cannot cost effectively ship across the country.
WRONG.
I got a whooping total of one inquiry on that moving sale listing, and it was from someone who didn’t read it correctly and then wasn’t interested.
Colossal waste of time.
I waited a few days, then caved and made separate listings for each item, taking the time to add the color, the manufacturer, material, description, and category.
My Messenger started popping bottles in the ice, like a blizzard. I was feeling so fly like a G6.
Lesson learned: don’t waste your time with multiple item sales.
Prioritize the higher cost items
We had so much to list that I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know where to start. Taking pictures of and creating a listing for a $5 mini Crockpot just to deal with a bunch of no shows and scammers made me want to stab my eyeballs out with a pencil. When I forecasted how much time it was likely going to take to sell them, it didn’t seem worth the effort.
In truth, for lower priced items, it very well might not be. For these, consider a traditional garage sale or community sale. Or donate them to a friend, family member, or charity who will use them. It won’t bring in additional income for the month, but it can help declutter. Decluttering can help you find other items you would use if you remembered you owned them. Having a clean and organized home also reduces stress. That’s priceless.
You know the value of your time better than I do, so assess your breakeven point when considering what to list. Normally, I set a minimum of $25 for an item or I don’t mess with it, especially since I know most people are going to haggle. Not that I blame them. I love a good negotiation for a deal. David did the Chandler dance on top of the coffee table after he negotiated our Lazboys.
If you spend an hour over three days answering inquiries and scheduling pickups and dealing with no shows for $10, you’re better off picking up a side hustle and donating the item instead.
For our large moving sale, I’ve got my eye on some upgraded furniture. Next year, we’ll be upsizing our living situation when we buy our next house, so I want to pad that moving fund as much as possible. I dropped my threshold price point to $15.
Jury’s still out on if that was worth it or not. It definitely wasn’t for the plywood people, but at least it saved me a trip to the dump to drop off the water sealer. #SilverLining.
If you have a lot of items to list, prioritize the most expensive ones. Those will bring in the highest cash flow. Get to the smaller ones when you have more time later.
How do I know what to list my stuff for?
A good rule of thumb is to target around half the price of what the item costs new.
What if it is new?
Doesn’t mean you can list it near new cost. People come to the Marketplace looking for a deal. Most don’t care if it’s still in its original packaging. You will, however, be able to sell gently used items in good condition for more than you can expect to get for the shoes your Schnauzer used as a chew toy.
You can list high and expect to come down during the negotiating process, but if you price too high, people won’t think it’s worth inquiring as most people will only negotiate so much.
Search Marketplace for your item. Check what others list similar items for. Look at how long those listings have been active, too. If they’ve been there for several weeks, demand is low for your specific item and/or that listing is priced too high.
Share your listings to local buy and sell groups
Once you’ve taken pictures and have your listing ready with pricing, considering joining some local buy and sell groups. Facebook Marketplace will recommend some based on your set location. As a member of these groups, you can share your listing to increase exposure locally.
Unless you’re selling off all your Christmas or birthday presents, consider sharing your listing to your Facebook profile as well, in case local friends are interested.
You can offer shipping for items, but I hate going to the post office almost as much as I hate going to the Social Security Administration or DMV. By the time I find a box, pack it, coordinate the shipping, etc. etc. etc. I’ve already lost interest in selling the item in question.
Beware of Spammers and Scammers
I have one particular local group I belong to that seems to be full of spammers and scammers.
How do you tell? Look out for these warning signs:
- The made their account in the last year
- They don’t have a profile picture
- They immediately ask you for your address
- They ask if an item is available and then ask if it’s okay to call you
- Then ask if an item is available and then give you their number to call them
Call me sensitive to the sus, but I do all my Facebook Marketplace communications through Messenger. You could create a separate account for your Facebook Marketplace dealings to try to make your Marketplace dealings more private, but this will make you look like a fake account to others.
I’m also not about to go giving my home address out to every rando that reaches out through the internet. Instead, I provide an approximate location and let them know if they are interested, we can schedule a final pickup location once we finalize details. Most people completely understand this as they’re in a similar situation of stranger danger. If someone gives you a hard time, danger Will Robinson.
If I’m selling an expensive item that is easy to transport, I will often meet the buyer in a public place. Have you ever seen some pip-squeak exchanging a pair of Oakleys for a wad of cash in the library parking lot? That was me! I like not having people know where I live, especially if I’m selling something that might make them think I have other nice stuff ripe for the picking instead. I also prefer witnesses around, in case things get weird.
Don’t share your bank account information
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but please don’t share any banking information. I don’t even accept electronic payments like Venmo. These accounts link to your phone number, email, etc. that I don’t want people to have as it makes it easier to pull up public information. I’m also suspect of the security around those. Please bring cold, hard cash. Again, most buyers completely understand when you communicate this ahead of time. I have yet to have a sale fall through because I refused to accept Venmo.
Ron Swanson would be proud of this anti-tech stance.
Limit exposure to your house and other stuff
If you can’t meet up in a public space, I like to meet people in the driveway when they arrive and bring the item out to them. If it’s heavy and/or difficult to move, I make my wonderful husband haul it into the garage and then meet them through the garage. I also tell people ahead of time to provide me an ETA so that I can open the gate. If I’m selling an outdoor item, I will meet them at the gate to open it when they arrive so nothing happens to walk off. I also tell them to message me when they arrive so that I can meet them outside to avoid the dog.
Let them be on full display of the security cameras outside while I warn them about the additional layers of security we have.
I may sound paranoid, but I trust people. It only takes one bad interaction for things to go really south, though. Better plan for the worst and hope for the best.
Keep your listings up to date
Do you have a pickup or meet up scheduled for an item? Mark it as pending.
If you’ve sold something, mark it as sold.
This will keep you from having to field a million questions about it when you’ve already got your money and want to move along with your day.
If the person is a no show (and this happens a lot in my experience), you can easily toggle it back to active. Similarly, you can take something you marked sold and make it active again.
Be prompt and courteous
Another phrase I heard a lot growing up was, “Do unto others as you want done unto you.”
When dealing with potential buyers, be prompt in your responses. If you take a day or two to respond, they’ve likely moved onto another option with another seller.
Be courteous as well. I know this one can be hard. #SameTeam
People can be downright rude and disrespectful of your time. They can completely no show without a message and then when you follow up, want to schedule a new pickup with no apology. Others won’t always be courteous to you, but you are essentially a business here. Put your best customer service face on, not your “My name is Peggy. What is problem please?” or your inner Veronica from Betted Off Ted: “I can’t hear you, I’m going through a tunnel! I’ll call you back.”
Be prepared for everything
One of the fun aspects of selling things on Facebook Marketplace is that you meet some really interesting people. Some of my favorite highlights include:
- The lady who took apart our futon in our driveway to fit it into her SUV
- The couple who showed up in an SUV for 4’x8′ sheets of plywood and asked if we could be a doll and cut it for them
- The lady who parked all the way at the end of our 4 car deep driveway then asked for help carrying the clunky 2×2 cube organizers out because she had a bad wrist. Did I mention she showed up in a tiny hatchback with a baby in a car seat? She folded down one seat, then asked if we could try to turn it sideways when it was clear there was 0% either one would fit, let alone both.
- The no shows
- The last-minute hagglers. Stand your ground, my friends! That ship has sailed.
That’s it, my friend! You are ready to take on Facebook Marketplace.
Is this all seems like too much effort and you’re thinking maybe you ought to cut expenses instead of trying to increase you income, visit our budgeting station for money saving tricks and tips.