Getting the most from selling on Facebook

Selling on Facebook has changed everything when it comes to selling locally. Your unwanted items used to be such a pain and costly. eBay used to be the best place for this as you could sell your item to people all over the country, in fact the world, and until recently it was the only real place you could do this – well until Facebook introduced their new Marketplace.

The problem with eBay is, more than anything, the cost of selling your items. After you take fees into account you’re often left with a lot less than you planned. Then there is postage to think about as this pushes up the total price of the item forcing you to choose between losing out because you offer free postage or not selling because the total price is too high.

Over the last few years Facebook selling groups have popped up for every corner of the country, even international pages. From local postcode based sites to specific groups for selling things like make-up, shoes, baby items and games. These have been a huge blow to eBay with the fact there is no charge for listing something for sale on Facebook, no fees (unless the buyer decides to pay via PayPal’s Goods and Services) and it’s a much more personal experience – drop the seller a message to ask a question rather than having to wait for them to check their eBay account.

Thousands of items are listed daily across these groups, not that long-ago Facebook noticed and added “Sell Something” as an option, giving users the chance to create an ad in the group rather than a regular discussion post. At the start of October Facebook went one step further and introduced Facebook Marketplace which is available on the mobile app.

Facebook Marketplace allows members to list items that can be seen by anyone who uses it, they no longer need to be part of a specific group to purchase the item being sold. This means that rather than reaching the few thousand in a specific group, your unwanted items are now advertised to millions.

This is great news, but now you have millions of people posting in the same place so how do you make your advert stand out? Here are a few simple tips:

• Always post a clear picture of what you are selling, multiple pictures help because it gives a clear image to the potential buyer; meaning they will be drawn to it.
• A short but precise title will get the item noticed, good spelling and grammar too.

Eg. “Child’s 20” Pink Bike” is better than “kids bike”

• Give a price, there is nothing more annoying to a buyer than “offers” – especially when they reject your offer saying they want more. Tell the buyers how much you want, and if you’re willing to negotiate then say O.N.O (Or Nearest Offer).
• Full description of the product means you won’t be wasting anyone’s time. Tell them the colour, brand, what’s included, if there are any scratches, if something doesn’t work quote right.
• Tell them where you are, if you are willing to deliver (even if it’s an additional cost) and roughly how much the postage will be should they live further away – you can find prices on the Royal Mail website.

As buying and selling platforms evolve, I have no doubt that this is the last thing we’ll see from Facebook; as we speak they are probably already planning the next big thing. Have you given the new Marketplace a whirl or is eBay still your buying/selling place?