How to Navigate the Wild World of Facebook Marketplace

If there’s one reason to still have a Facebook account, it’s to use Facebook Marketplace. And after I spent hours figuring out how to get back into my long-dormant account, I was finally able to access the internet’s greatest online yard sale. Craigslist—once a beloved go-to for used anything, last minute concert tickets, cheap apartments and missed connections—is now overrun with spammers, clouding what good might remain beneath. And most of the posters have fled, anyway. They’ve fled to Facebook Marketplace.

Before I go over how great Marketplace is (and how to best use it), I want to be very clear that the worst part of Marketplace is that it’s on Facebook. You have to login, bypass the newsfeed (as quickly as possible, to make sure you avoid seeing whatever absolute garbage your second cousin or friend-from-middle-school happens to be posting) and navigate to the Marketplace.

Marketplace is not as easy to maneuver as it should be. (Sure, maybe for a regular Facebook user, but not for me.) What’s best about it—most importantly—is that it has a lot of stuff. People are actually using it! There are spammers like the rest of the internet, but they are heavily outnumbered by the real life people who actively populate the platform with their stuff. And if you zero in on the right price (even if that price happens to be "free"), someone will come take your stuff. And as anyone who has ever moved can tell you, this can sometimes be more rewarding than actually making money. I often struggle with wanting to up my aesthetic game without creating more garbage in the universe. The beauty of Marketplace is that there’s always someone who will want your stuff. If you’re even the slightest Greta-minded (Thunberg, natch), you’ll love Marketplace for this reason. Reduce, reuse, re-post-that-ugly-chair-you-always-hated-and-someone-will-come-get-it-and-maybe-even-really-really-love-it.

But it’s not just what you’re searching for on Facebook Marketplace that makes it useful, it’s that you can sell pretty much anything you’ve got. If you zero in on the "right price", stuff will be flying off your proverbial shelves— and then you can sell the shelves, too.

If you’re ready to sell all your stuff and get some new stuff, here’s what I’ve learned.

Load up some search terms and get ready to fave

What’s relatively revolutionary about Marketplace is the algorithm. Yes, it’s the same algorithm that powers Facebook in ways that might drive you crazy. Much like how TikTok’s incredibly accurate personalized content-seeking missile somehow measures your hearts, comments, shares, searches (the usual) but even how closely you watch each post (and how often you repeat it), the more you browse Marketplace, the more it seems to discover your taste. It’ll eventually start to serve you things you might actually want to buy, which saves you time scrolling, searching and engaging with this (in many ways) clunky platform.

Figure out your keywords

The most frustrating thing is when you know exactly what you’re looking for—you might even have a picture of it—but you don’t know what to call it. Squiggly? Bouclé? MCM? What is it? Here’s where keywords come in handy. If a reverse image search on Google won’t help, try architect and interior designer Mariella Tzakis’ TikTok series on keywords where she walks you through enviable homes and what search terms might find the furniture on Marketplace. For example, she points out in Dakota Johnson’s Architectural Digest tour that Johnson has a coffee table by Harvey Probber, but suggests if you wanted something similar you might search, "Bent wood," "Midcentury modern" or "Noguchi."

Selling? Buying? Notifications on!

The name of the game is first come, first serve. Don’t necessarily wait around for one person to come get your item, line up a few and tell them all whoever is around to come grab it first...wins!

Make sure when you reach out to buy an item you’re ready to grab it ASAP. Like, today. You want to be able to say, "Hey! I want this. Can I come get it this afternoon/this evening/tomorrow morning?" That’ll ensure you the top slot in the seller’s list of interested parties.

To succeed at Marketplace you also need to turn on notifications for your Facebook Messages. This is not ideal, to be clear, but you’ve gotta stay on the ball. Luckily, Facebook separates out your Marketplace messages from the rest, so go ahead and turn those cursed notifications ON.

Ask for (additional) measurements

Don’t take bad photos at face value. If something looks like it could be interesting, ask for measurements or better photos. This gets the conversation started and shows your interest. Don’t forget, Facebook auto-populates the starting message: "Hi [INSERT NAME], is this still available?" so that doesn’t really imply that much interest, despite what it reads. It’s always good to add something on there to show you’re a human and not a bot.

Have a car? Offer delivery. (Don’t have a car?  Offer money.)

You’d be shocked at how much people will pay to avoid having to deal with delivery or pick-up logistics. When I’m selling, I’ll add at the bottom of my listing (depending on the size of the item): "For X-amount and within a reasonable distance, I’ll deliver!" This really can sweeten the deal for most city-living people. If I’m buying, I’ll ask: "Can you deliver? I’ll give you an extra X-amount more." You never know, you might get lucky.

Just because you don’t have a car doesn’t mean you should lose out on bigger furniture steals on Marketplace. TaskRabbit offers delivery drivers for hire, but now there are even more specialized services for the person-to-person used furniture market. In NYC, we have Dolly, Lugg and GoShare. (Lugg and GoShare are available in other cities, too.) 

There’s also the ever-reliable method of sending an Uber XL to grab your item curbside. Easy!

...Or, make a small road trip out of it

One of my finest Marketplace finds is a gorgeous vintage 1970s KEBE Danish leather recliner that I found after days of searching for something similar to the Ekornes that was in my budget—vintage recliners aren’t cheap! I spotted the chair about two hours away in the Hamptons, living in the basement and ready for someone to come snatch it up. After a little haggling and some gas math, I realized that if I had the time to go pick it up, the deal was a no brainer. It’s a great chair and I am so happy I made the trip.

Watch out for scammers

You can easily check out someone’s Facebook profile to make sure it feels a bit legit—but even that won’t fully allow you to avoid scammers. Avoid giving anyone your phone number. Don’t give anyone any sort of money up front. There is a long list of scammy-type red flags, and most of them you’d probably notice immediately. (For example, don’t accept Cash App or Venmo unless you’re physically there, watching the person pay you and it go through! Avoid giving someone your actual phone number. Do not click any links anyone might send you over Messenger, especially if they are obscured.) I’ve seen sellers include a little CAPTCHA-esque prompt for interested parties to include in their messages to "prove" they’re real. I’m not sure if that works, but it’s certainly an interesting strategy.

Never price anything "free"

Even if you want to just get rid of something, don’t price it "free." Don’t ask me why, but "free" means that people are likely to flake on you. If you want to guarantee a solid pick-up, price your item low and then when someone comes to pick it up (and you’re feeling charitable) just say, "You know what? It’s yours for free." Imagine how good you’ll both feel.

Be flexible!

The name of the game is ease of purchase. If you’re buying, make the seller’s life as frictionless as you can. If you’re selling, look for the buyer who will do that for you. Always consider this on both sides to get the best deal. Does it make sense to offer $10 if the seller can deliver? Does it make more sense to take off $10 if the buyer can come pick up on the same day? Think about these things before you make your offer, and you’ll have gamed the system.

Illustration by Inma Hortas

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