Facebook is the biggest social media platform by far that lets you contact hundreds of millions of users worldwide. Hence, Facebook Marketplace is a good place for digital entrepreneurs to make more money online.
Launched in 2016, Facebook Marketplace is growing, and it can help you expand your customer base and engage with your audience for better brand promotion.
Here is what beginners need to know about selling on Facebook Marketplace.
How Facebook Marketplace Works
Facebook Marketplace employs the same basic steps as other internet marketplaces for buying and selling online.
- Sellers first need to make their account and profile. You will need a Facebook profile for this. Plus, you will need inventory for selling and make it available for buying on your seller account.
- Buyers navigating the marketplace will be able to see the products that you are offering for sale.
- Buyers search for products of their choice by using the search bar. Shoppers can narrow down to relevant options using search filters. For example, they can view products offered for sale in their locality and set the price range they can afford.
- When buyers locate your products and are happy with the prices you are offering, they can send you a message to express their intent to buy.
- Buyers have the choice of sending a custom message on Messenger or the default message “Is this available?”
You can then communicate with your buyers to seal the deal.
Allowed Products
Here is the list of product categories that you are allowed to deal in at Facebook Marketplace.
- Clothing and Accessories
- Classifieds
- Entertainment
- Electronics
- Home and Garden
- Hobbies
- Family
- Housing
- Vehicles
Restricted Products
Here are the product categories that you are not allowed to offer for sale at Facebook Marketplace.
- Adult services and products
- Animals
- Alcohol
- Digital Media
- Healthcare items
- Gift Cards
- Event tickets
- Weapons and ammunition
- Unsafe supplements
- Tobacco products
- Recreational, prescription and illegal drugs
Facebook Marketplace Fee
Besides the immense audience that you can sell to, the low cost of doing business on Facebook Marketplace is a key factor why retailers use this platform for online selling.
Facebook does not charge fees on item listings. Even when someone buys from you, Facebook will not take a commission or fee. This is very different from other online marketplaces.
You only have to pay a 5% commission if you opt to use Facebook for shipping and fulfilment.
Selling on Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace can integrate easily with major eCommerce platforms. So if you happen to be using one of the platforms listed below, you will have no problems listing your items for sale on the marketplace.
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- Zentail
- Quipt
- DataCaciques
- Salsify
- Channeladvisor
If you are not running an eCommerce platform that can integrate seamlessly with Facebook Marketplace, you will have to list products manually in the seller account.
Using your profile on Facebook, you can list items that are available for buying.
- First, go to the News Feed. In the menu on the left, you will find the marketplace.
- Here, you can click on “Create New Listing” and then select “Item for Sale”.
- You can click “Add Photos” for uploading product images.
- Be sure to include product descriptions and full details for all items you are selling.
- Once the list is prepared, you can select “Publish” to be visible to buyers in Facebook Marketplace.
Communication
Communicating effectively on time is essential for selling at Facebook Marketplace. Once your list is visible to buyers, shoppers may start sending your inquiries.
You can communicate with all of them using Facebook Messenger.
If you and a buyer agree on the price but the purchase is not yet complete, you can show the listing as pending.
This way, the list will remain active and at the same time notify other customers that purchase is underway.
In case you are selling locally, then you may likely have to meet your customers in person.
Before agreeing to meet someone outside in person, make sure that you take proper safety precautions.
You should visit the Facebook profile of the buyer who wants to meet you. The meeting should be arranged in public where there will be a lot of other people.
Make it clear that you will only accept cash when selling the item in the meeting. Fake checks are too easy to make, and they are hard to distinguish from the original. Use a counterfeit money pen to verify that you are receiving genuine dollar bills.
Once the transaction is done, you should mark the item as sold. New customers will not be able to see sold items marked thus. If someone else inquired about the sold item, they would receive a message that it is now out of stock.
Make sure that you sell good quality items since buyers can leave ratings. To maximize your chances of success on this marketplace, you want a rating that is as close to 5 as possible.
Also, take note that customers can leave ratings even if they did not buy anything from you. So make sure that your customer service is top class. You will want to maintain a professional and courteous demeanour at all times to get higher ratings.
You can use the following tips and tricks for selling more on Facebook Marketplaces.
Research
Research products that you want to sell. They should have a good demand and sell for a price that will leave enough profits for you.
Facebook Ads
With Facebook Ads, your products have a better chance of appearing on top of user searches and the News Feed.
Quality Photos
High-quality visuals will help build confidence and nurture trust. Good images can give people the visual information they need to finalize the purchase.
Bottom Line
Since the interface is user-friendly, it does not take long for beginners to start Selling on Facebook Marketplace. However, you need experience and research to become a top seller on the platform.
