Facebook Marketplace: Expert Tips for Buying and Selling

Hide the clutter. Especially if you’re in the middle of a move, avoid including boxes, or piles of knick-knacks in the frame. 

Don’t over do it—you only need three to four photos. Quality over quantity! My strategy: One photo straight on; one from an angle (if an angle make sense for the piece); any additional close-ups of imperfections; and one photo of how I styled the piece in my home. 

Screenshots are okay! If you purchased a piece online and the item is still available for sale, it’s more than okay to include a screenshot of the listing in addition to your personal photos. Note: A screenshot should never replace your personal photos. 

Keep your description concise, and use a bullet-point format. 

No need for a paragraphs-long description of why you’re selling your item. Focus on key words, condition, color, and size. Put yourself in the shoes of a buyer, and imagine what they might be searching for. If you’re going to include decor style (“midcentury modern,” “Art Deco”), double-check your accuracy!

Please, please, please include the dimensions of the piece!

Nothing makes me want to tear my hair out more than coming across a listing that does not include the dimensions. Buy a tape measure if you have to, I’m begging.

Do your research before setting a price. 

Yes, you should absolutely consider how much you originally paid for the item when it was brand new, but that shouldn’t be your only point of reference. Do a quick search within the app to see how much similar items in your area are listed for, and make note of how long each item has been listed. (Has the post been up for several months? It could be priced too high.) There are very few pieces that will recoup their full retail value, so don’t be surprised to find that your item has significantly depreciated!

Personally, if I have a target selling price in mind, I list the piece for about 50% more than the lowest offer I would accept. For example, I recently sold a cabinet that I’d previously purchased on Marketplace for $100. I listed the piece at $175, and offers between $100 and $125 hit my inbox. I sold the piece for $125, and then took that profit and bought myself dinner.

Get real about how you plan to move the item.

Are you selling something large? Something that’s an awkward shape? Something you had trouble getting into your home in the first place? Don’t be shy! Advertise that you’ll need help moving it out of your space. If you can’t assist with the heavy lifting, share that information in your post so that buyers understand they should bring a plus-one to the pickup. 

And if someone messages you asking, “Will you be able to help me carry it to my car?” and your first thought is, “No judgment but this woman looks like she might blow away with the wind,” don’t answer “yes.” You will end up having to enlist in your upstairs neighbor to carry the item to the buyer’s car, and it will be awkward. Just trust me on that one. 

Tips for Buyers

Avoid scammers!

“If someone has marked a product as available locally, but they’re only able to ship it to you, they’re scamming or drop-shipping,” says Smith. “Reverse-search the images, and you’ll probably find the product way cheaper online. Same goes if someone has multiples of the same item.”

Search wealthy neighborhoods for high-end goods at a discount.

The mentality of the über-rich is summed up best by Arrested Development’s Lucille Bluth: “I mean, it’s one banana, Michael. How much could it cost? Ten dollars?” Point being, a well-to-do person who is selling something on Marketplace (of all places!) probably doesn’t know—or better yet, doesn’t care—what their item is worth. This is a jackpot scenario for a buyer.