Facebook Marketplace reached all-time highs with 1 billion users since its introduction in 2016. As a result, businesses and individuals leave behind archaic options such as Craigslist for better alternatives such as selling with Facebook Marketplace.
Available in 70 countries and with 800 million monthly users, Facebook Marketplace lets users sell almost anything such as furniture, cars, clothing, accessories, and plenty of baby items. More than one million shops joined the Facebook Marketplace craze and gained 250 million potential clients.
As of 2020, Facebook allows stores to add their product catalogs to their pages like virtual storefronts—window shopping just became virtual. Selling on Facebook Marketplace helps businesses reach even more buyers than ever before.
Who should sell on Facebook Marketplace
Anyone and everyone! Facebook Marketplace started with individuals who had more items than they knew what to do with—it was a way to declutter. For those on the prowl for a good bargain, it was the perfect place to buy for a lower price.
In truth, Facebook Marketplace is the perfect place to buy and sell for both individuals and businesses. Selling to a mass market has never been easier than through the millions of people using Facebook Marketplace and connects them to stores.
To sweeten the deal, Facebook Marketplace doesn’t charge any listing fees for items sold locally, and if a buyer chooses to ship the item, the charge is only 5% of the sale price. In addition, Facebook gives anyone the ability to sell items from various categories with almost no limits.
Facebook Marketplace made the process simpler, beating out its predecessors such as eBay and Craigslist in popularity. Nothing should stand in the way of businesses listing any item for sale in an effort to advance their revenue.
How to sell on Facebook Marketplace step-by-step
All it takes to access Facebook Marketplace is a current Facebook account—with one activated, there are no other steps. Desktop users will see the Marketplace option on the left-hand side of the screen, next to an icon of a little home. This is where the real work begins.
What to sell on Facebook?
Facebook Marketplace has many different categories starting from furniture, vehicles, apparel, electronics, hobbies, and more. There’s really no limit to the type of items Facebook allows—even realtors have joined the hype. But the first step to selling is doing some product research to confirm what people are willing to buy, then listing based on market changes.
Researching what items to sell means looking through current trends and popular trends. It also means researching the competition and what makes them tick. The idea of selling items on the Facebook marketplace is to catch the attention of a potential client. Finding out what works for the competition is the key to success.
Businesses that sell private label products, especially those that sell on Amazon, eBay, or Craigslist, likely do such research continuously.
How to list items on Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace made listing items to sell easy. The process is done either through the desktop or the phone version of Facebook, giving the same results. For the sake of this process, this guide will use the desktop version.
Start with finding the Facebook Marketplace button on the left-hand side—the one with the little home icon mentioned earlier. Once the new page loads with the Marketplace, a whole new world opens up. The front page lists “today’s picks,” which are local to the user. Then, another menu opens on the left, with an option for “create new listing.”
The new listing will ask to “choose your listing type” with four different options. The options to choose from are “item for sale”, “vehicle for sale”, “home for sale or rent”, or “job opening”. With these listing types, the sky is the limit for any business looking to expand.
To sell a product that doesn’t fit into the other three categories and likely makes sense for most companies selling a unique item, the best option to choose is “item for sale”.
Clicking on the option will bring up the item window where the information gets placed. Create a listing that is as thorough as possible, containing pictures, a catchy title, description, and of course, the price of the item. On the right-hand side of the screen, the listing preview will show a better idea of what potential buyers will see when they find the item on Facebook Marketplace.
SEO is the key to writing a title and description bound to attract the right buyer’s attention. Using various online tools and scouring the competition, the best practice is to use as many keywords as possible to describe the item. Depending on the product, Facebook Marketplace will give different optional pieces of information to fill out, and it never hurts to do so.
When the required information gets filled in, the “next” button will light up, opening an opportunity to show the location of the item and shipping options.
In addition, the marketplace made sharing the listed items on Facebook easier, giving the chance of sharing the listing across Facebook groups. Sharing with up to 20 groups is allowed to spread the word of a new item.
The last step in the process is hitting “publish”. Clicking this button will get the item out there for potential buyers to purchase.
What’s the next step in selling on Facebook Marketplace?
The answer is two-fold. First, wait for traction on the item and download Facebook Messenger. Potential buyers use this method of communicating with sellers when they’re interested in listings. Not missing any messages is important in the process to keep the attention of the buyers.
Keep in mind that constant communication with potential buyers is one of the keys to sell items on Facebook Marketplace successfully.
Selling on Facebook Marketplace is for everyone
Facebook became much more than a platform to share pictures, statuses and chat with friends. Instead, it became a tool individuals and businesses use to either make a few extra bucks or greatly expand revenue.
No matter the size of the business, from a small mom-and-pop store, to a multimillion-dollar company, Facebook Marketplace became the place to buy and sell.