An Easy Guide to Using Facebook Marketplace

 

In 2007, Facebook’s Marketplace arrived. This one stop shop of sorts is a tool for merchants and vendors to peddle their wares online, and it’s where consumers congregate to buy said wares. It all began when Facebook noticed that millions of users were leveraging the Groups feature as an ersatz marketplace in which products were posted and deals were made. You might remember our recent post about Facebook’s Community Help Tool. Similarly, users made due with what the platform offered (the Groups feature) to access what they needed (help and supplies). In this case, buyers and sellers’ makeshift use of Groups was the necessity that inspired Facebook’s new tool all those years ago.

How do you use Facebook Marketplace?

Accessible from the Facebook app, the tool is pretty easy to use, whether you’re in search of a home, a pair of socks, or pretty much anything else you can imagine. It’s Etsy and Craigslist all rolled into one community hub.

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Buyers

Marketplace can be used to browse what people have to offer in your network, or if you already know what you want, you can list it for others in your network to see. What you may need extends past the typical concept of “buyer” to include other life necessities such as jobs and roommates.

To browse items for sale, simply sift through all the available photos sellers have posted. You can use the keyword search to enter an item you specifically have in mind, and further refine your search by location, price, and so forth. Much like Amazon, you can just modify the scope of your search by selecting a particular “category.” If for instance you’re into tech products and gadgets but don’t know what exactly you want, you can narrow the field to “Electronics.”

Sellers

You don’t have to be a serious merchant or vendor to sell your stuff. As mentioned, it’s a lot like Craigslist in the sense that, if you have random things like books you want to give away or a pet that needs a home, you can feel free to post it. Chances are, someone else is looking for it.

To post your product in Marketplace, upload a photo of what you’re selling and fill out information about it. You should enter the product’s name, a brief description, how much you want for it, and what category it falls into, among other important details, such as location. One important thing to note is that once interest in a transaction has been initiated, the payment and delivery of the item will be handled off the platform. Marketplace is only meant to be a convenient place for buyer and sellers to connect.