How to Make Money on Facebook Marketplace

Image source: Getty Images

I've used Facebook Marketplace, an online marketplace for used goods, to clean out my college dorm and sell things too delicate to ship. The marketplace connects sellers with millions of buyers through Facebook, and you can sell locally for zero fees. It's made me hundreds. My brother used it to make $10,000 in three months by reselling exercise equipment.

Using Facebook Marketplace is not passive income. It takes effort to get up and running, but it's one of the best places to quickly turn a profit.

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to make money on Facebook Marketplace, with specific examples of how to get a leg up on the competition.

1. Make a Facebook account

If you haven't created a Facebook account, that's step one. Part of that is creating a profile. Don't skip this; you want to make yourself look trustworthy. A big part of this is uploading a clear picture of your face. Don't worry if it's not dating-app quality.

The point is to let buyers know that you're a real, normal human being and not a bot or a creepy scammer. Since buyers may need to travel to your house to buy your products, this is extra important.

2. Choose items to sell

Some of the most popular items to sell are large items too expensive to ship. These include furniture, vehicles, and exercise equipment. Unlike eBay, Marketplace lets you sell locally, and it takes zero cut of local sales. But you can ship items for a 5% seller fee. You might ship clothes, collectibles, electronics, and more.

Some sellers recommend picking a niche and sticking to it. They claim it helps establish your reputation as a go-to seller for certain items (baseball cards, teacups, couches, whatever). But when you're first starting, it's probably more important to get a listing up. Your first positive reviews go a long way toward building your reputation as a trustworthy seller.

I've sold furniture through Marketplace because it was too big to sell through eBay. But my family members have sold exercise equipment, old china, and random electronics.

3. Research prices

Now that you know what you're selling, how much should you list your items for? This is actually one of the trickiest parts of selling. When you're setting an item's price on Marketplace, greed and fear can kick in. Do you price low to undercut the competition? Should you aim high in hopes of finding a willing buyer, or maybe someone who's willing to negotiate?

The most important thing to remember is that an item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. This is incredibly important. Nothing you sell has a "correct price." What people are willing to pay for your listing will change daily, based on supply and demand.

What that means for you: be flexible. Don't cling desperately to a price because it's what you would pay for an item. Others won't value your items like you do.

How to set prices:

1. Research how much similar items sell for on Facebook Marketplace.
2. Add 10% or so to that price and list it.
3. Be open to negotiating prices with buyers.

Chances are, some people will offer to buy your items at a discount. This is normal. Ultimately, it's up to you to determine what you're willing to sell an item for. The longer your listings go unsold, the more you should consider lowering your prices to attract buyers. On the flip side, if your items sell like hot cakes, consider bumping up their prices to earn a slight premium.

4. Take quality photos

Photos are among the most underrated ways to make more money on Facebook Marketplace. People decide what to buy based on two things: how it looks and the price. Good photos are the easiest way to draw more shoppers to your listings -- and the more views you get, the better your odds of making a sale.

How to take good photos:

• Take photos in good lighting.
• Take and upload multiple photos per listing.
• Be extra careful to take photos of flaws, even tiny ones.

If people discover flaws you didn't make obvious, they may leave terrible reviews or file complaints through Facebook. This could hurt your long-term sales quite a bit. Instead of covering up issues, it's best to be transparent and build trust.

Before I bought a light box to take photos for eBay, I used natural lighting for photos. Natural lighting can make your photos stand out. Even if said lighting comes through a window, it's often an improvement over flipping on the living room lights.

5. Create listings

Photos are important, but there's more to listing items. You typically want a short description of what you're selling. Include its official name, condition, and any specific flaws you know of.

You don't need to be too detailed here. For an idea of what information to include, check out listings of similar items. Facebook helps you classify the item depending on what you're selling. For example, if you're selling a pair of Levi's jeans, you might select "Category," then "Clothes, Shoes, and Accessories," then "Men's Clothing," and finally "Men's Jeans." Once you pick a category, Facebook would ask you a couple more category-specific questions, like jean size. (See image below.)

Image source: Author.

^{Creating a listing on Facebook Marketplace. Image source: Author.}

6. Prepare to ship

Once your items are listed, you should get ready to ship. Have the following items on hand:

• Shipping boxes, shipping tape, scissors
• Plastic bags and packing supplies (optional)
• Paper and a printer for labels

If you're selling all your items in person, you can skip this. Instead, be sure you have cash on hand you can give to buyers as change. If you only accept in-person payment through Venmo , Cash App, Zelle, or similar, make sure you tell buyers this on your listing.

7. Act professionally

Once your items are listed, you're not done. Interested buyers will typically message you with questions. It's up to you to respond within 24 hours. The better a communicator you are, the more likely someone will buy from you.

How to act professionally:

• Respond within 24 hours.
• Be specific as possible, especially when setting meeting times.
• Be firm but polite. It's okay to say no or make counteroffers, but keep your cool.

Acting professionally can juice your sales, but don't confuse this with letting people walk all over you. Truth is, some people are super polite, timely, and respectful, and some people will send you a million questions and then ghost you or make ridiculous requests. Most people fall somewhere in between. The trick is to be firm but polite at all times.

If someone is truly rude, you can report them to Facebook. Instead of wasting your time on people who are disrespectful, feel free to ignore them. Only you can decide when someone has crossed the line, in which case, it's time to block them and move on.

You can do better than average

You can do better than the average seller by following the above tips. Truth is, many folks don't care so much about maximizing sales and just want to sell things fast. And that's fine! But you can easily juice your sales by making your listings stand out from the crowd.

A quick recap:

1. Make a Facebook account
2. Pick items to sell
3. Research prices
4. Take photos
5. Create listings
6. Prepare to ship
7. Act professionally

You can get an item listed in 10 minutes by snapping photos with your phone. If you've already used Marketplace, you'll probably have an idea of how a listing should look. It's totally normal if your first try takes the longest -- the more you list, the easier it gets.

With some time and effort, you can quickly sell used items to pad your checking account balance. You've got options -- and Facebook has a huge network of buyers. Anything you want to sell, in person or remotely, you can do so through Marketplace.

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