Facebook Marketplace is my absolute favorite way to sell unwanted items around our home.
My favorite thing about this process is the porch pick up. Quite frankly it is my dream come true. Leave unwanted items on the front step, someone then picks the item up leaving cash where you’ve designated it to tp be left. It’s an introverts dream. I’ve received so many questions on how I sell through Facebook Marketplace and use the porch pick up I thought I would write a quick blog post about it to get you started.
Note: For even more tips check out Erica Flock’ highlight reel on Instagram!
Protect Yourself
Before uploading anything to facebook marketplace please take a couple of minutes and do the following to help keep you safe:
Ensure that your facebook page is private. This blog post is fantastic and will walk you through how to make sure your page is only viewable to accepted friends and family.
Change your profile picture. I changed my Facebook profile picture when I started selling items on marketplace because I didn’t want potential buyers to see my face (or my families) and be recognizable in public.
Be honest with yourself and decide what you’re comfortable with. I primarily do porch pick ups (where buyers come to my house, pick up the item on our front step and leave cash under our mat). However, we’re in a safe and incredibly busy neighbourhood which makes me feel safe. We also have an amazing alarm system. If you’re nervous about porch pick up I recommend arranging to meet buyers in busy parking lots and bringing a spouse or friend with you.
Price to Sell
The one major mistake I see a lot of people make is listing their item for way more then it’s actually worth. I get it, and am guilty of the same thing. You think “hey, I bought this Thule baby bike carrier for $300.00. It’s probably worth about the same or a little less!”. Unfortunately, like cars, our physical possessions lose value as soon as we purchase them and take them home. Even though you (….I) paid $300.00 for something 3 years ago, that item has gone down significantly in value. This is just something to accept (unless we’re talking about antiques which is a whole other blog post!). When you’re looking at an item you’re considering selling, first do some research to see what it may be currently worth. I start by searching for that item within Facebook Marketplace itself, and I ask myself these questions:
Is anyone selling anything comparable in terms of brand and condition?
How much are people listing comparable products for?
Where are these items located in our area?
After I’ve answered those questions, I list my item either at the same amount as competitors or for slightly more, it all depends on the condition of my item. For an example, if we purchased that baby bike rack for $300.00 I would probably be selling it on the marketplace starting at $120.00 (more than 50% off the original price) and then reducing the price if necessary (see bellow).
Need some help with time management? Check out this post and take your time back!
Photos and Descriptions
Photos are incredibly important when you’re selling anything, not just on Facebook Marketplace, but anywhere on the internet. After you’ve decided what you do what to sell, I recommend finding a place in your home that meets the following criteria and using these guidelines to help shoot:
Great lighting. Natural is awesome but if you have a room that has wonderful lamp light try that.
Neutral background (either floor or wall color). For your item to really pop in the small pictures that Facebook provides you need to ensure there is little visual noise behind it. items that are pictured against a plain background will, in my experience, sell more quickly then items that are pictured in front of other objects.
Frame the object. When taking a picture of an object (well, of really anything) I like to ensure there is adequate blank space around it to act like a boarder. I want to pull the eye into the picture itself to focus on the image.
Utilize your camera’s ‘adjust’ settings. I have (and love) my Iphone. I also love its editing capability. After I’ve taken a picture of the object I’m selling I open it in ‘edit’ and do several things in the ‘adjust’ area. 1) Increase the exposure, 2) increase the brightness and 3) Slightly increase the saturation. These three settings gives the object a little bit more light and color which really pop on the facebook platform.
Bellow is an image of a puzzle I recently added to Facebook Marketplace that is a good example of my process, as well as a screen shot of other puzzles that it was pictured with.
When writing descriptions for your objects, in my experience short and sweet is the best. One or two sentences max to let people know briefly what you’re selling, why (optional) and your terms. You can put what types of payments you’re willing to accept (venmo, cash etc), where and how the exchange will take place (porch pick up, in a different location) and anything else you feel is important to let them. Be honest with potential buyers and let them know of any issues with your items to avoid future confrontations.
Updating Your Listing to Sell Faster
So, you’ve listed your item and it hasn’t sold in a couple days or you’re getting messages about it but nobody has been hooked? Time to reassess how much your selling your item for. If an item that I’m selling hasn’t sold in a week I tend to start taking $5-$10.00 off the asking price each week until it does sell. Ultimately my goal is to remove the item from our living space. Getting some cash to make that happen is just the cherry on top. So, if something hasn’t sold and I need to bring down the cost it’s not a massive deal to me.
If however I know an item will sell for more or I don’t want to budge from the asking price I ask myself why it’s not selling. Nine times out of ten it’s because the object is seasonal. It’s a bit harder to sell a bike rack in the middle of winter then at the beginning of spring and summer when everyone’s focus is on the outdoors! When faced with those situations I take the item off the marketplace and store in the basement until I feel it’s ready to be re-listed.
I hope you found some of these tips helpful and have found some inspiration to list some items around you rhome that are no longer serving a purpose for you or your family! If you do decide to jump on the Marketplace bandwagon, let me know so I can cheer you on!
Happy selling friends!
