I have had some moderate success with selling items on Facebook Market which is Facebook's version of eBay. While I still sale items on eBay, I have had much more respond with Facebook Market. The downside is dealing with the dummies who respond - or don't respond.
The #1 thing which annoys me about Facebook Market are the no shows. You know who they are - they say they are interested in your item but they never show up or respond. Recently I had someone say they were coming after they get off from work at 5. I agreed. They didn't show or respond until the next day when they said they had to work over. I didn't respond and sold to the next person.
There are also those who want to make unreasonable deals. The last one I had was an item for $10 and someone offered me $8. No. Come on! That's not a deal. Then I had one that really low-balled me when I had already priced my item as long as I could go. I didn't accept the offer because I was going to have to ship it and I would have lost money on the deal.
Another pet peeve is when people come to pick up a heavy item and expect me to help them load. I always put in the listing that no one will help them load and the buyer must have help to load.
Then there are the scammers like the last person who wanted to use Zelle. Zelle is usually a red flag that it will be a scam. There was also the person who said they would include extra money for shipping on a wedding dress I was selling. I learned that this was going to be quite an involved scam. I called them out on it and they suddenly lost interest.
It's crazy dealing with the hassle sometimes but you have to be prepared for it if you are going to be successful in selling items.
I really don't understand why people can't just act like they would want to be treated. It doesn't take much effort to simply communicate and do what you say. Treat people with respect.
Here are some good tips for having success with Facebook Market:
- Check out the competition and price your item to compete
- Take good quality photos of the item you want to sell
- Provide as many details as you can about your item in the description including any measurements and any accessories you will include.
- Be open to offers and negotiations.
- Use tags to make your listings easier to find.
- Gently nudge the prospective buyer if they aren't responding
- If possible, only offer porch pickup and a place to leave cash
- Don't give out your address until they say they are on their way. I always give general location until they commit that they are coming.
- Don't stress. Someone will eventually buy your item. You might have to lower the price or re-list it.
- Sometimes the weirdest things sell. If you can sell it, try it and see what happens.
