How To Sell On Facebook Marketplace: Leverage Local Buying Power

With roughly 2.89 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2021, Facebook needs no further introduction. More than just the biggest social media platform, Facebook is a technology powerhouse for sellers that want to escalate their exposure and sell products or services to the targeted audience.

According to Facebook, the strongest revenue increase in 2020 of the tech giant, equal to 156% year-over-year, came from a segment that is significantly defined by Marketplace. Facebook Marketplace’s newfound growth was likely because of the coronavirus-induced e-commerce boom. With people browsing Facebook from home a lot more these days, it’s never too late to employ Facebook Marketplace as your weapon for success.

I. Introduction: Why Sell on Facebook Marketplace?

01. Overview of Facebook Marketplace

Facebook has been trying to grow its Marketplace program for years. Starting out as a peer-to-peer platform in 2016, Facebook Marketplace looked mostly like a friendlier Craigslist.

Brands now not only advertise their products on Facebook Marketplace but transact through it as well. People use the Marketplace each month to browse, buy, or sell items, giving retailers an opportunity to drive discovery and sales of key products in a place where their consumers are already shopping.

Facebook itself has a whopping 2.8 billion monthly active users of all ages, with an estimated 1 billion million Marketplace users each month. With users aged 25–34 accounting for the largest demographic, Facebook adds to its Marketplace a large customer base with high purchasing power, hence a very noteworthy competitive edge!

On Facebook Marketplace, people and brands may list items in the following categories: Classifieds, Clothing & Accessories, Deals, Electronics, Entertainment, Family, Hobbies, Home & Garden, Housing and Vehicles. Shoppers can view certain categories, view all categories, or search for a particular product.

02. Benefits of Selling on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is safer

Each buyer and seller is connected to a Facebook account, meaning an added layer of trust. Only by looking at the profiles, activity logs and reporting, you can identify seller authenticity better.

Facebook Marketplace doesn’t charge listing fees

It’s free to list an item on Facebook Marketplace. The platform doesn’t require non-refundable listing deposits, insertion fees or final value fees.

Facebook Marketplace allows for instant communication

Selling on Facebook lets customers and sellers communicate instantly with Messenger. It’s a genius inbound marketing tactic.

Remember to maintain frequent communications with your customers. You don’t want to risk losing the sale!

Facebook Marketplace comes with Facebook Ads

Thanks to Facebook algorithms, users will very likely see Marketplace ads in their timeline and in recently viewed items. This can help increase the chance of a sale.

From Facebook Marketplace to Facebook Groups

Facebook has a lot of “buy & sell” groups and allows you to post your Facebook Marketplace listings to relevant groups in your area.

By doing this, you can increase your organic reach with no ad budget. Make sure that you aren’t spammy or over-posting.

Facebook Marketplace offers personalization

“Today’s Picks” is a selection of items related to past searches, likes, and interactions on Facebook. It appears right when you land on the Marketplace site.

If your item comes up here, it means that the users are already interested in your offers, which helps boost your chance of a sale.

II. Selling on Facebook Marketplace: Cost and Fees

I said it once and I’ll say it again here! Unlike other marketplaces, Facebook Marketplace charges no listing fees. You just display your products and sell them to the buyers who contact you.

The selling fee is 5% per shipment or a flat fee of USD 0.40 for shipments of USD 8.00 or less. You keep the rest of your earnings.

Talk about fees, Amazon and Walmart go with a commission rate of 15% off the total sale. What do you say about the 5% selling fee of Facebook Marketplace?

III. 5 Steps To Sell On Facebook Marketplace

Setting up a listing on Facebook Marketplace is super easy.

Facebook Marketplace is built into Facebook’s desktop site and mobile app, and should take no more than a couple of minutes to figure out.

Follow these four easy steps to get your first Facebook Marketplace listing up on the platform.

Step 1: Go to Facebook Marketplace

Log onto Facebook via your desktop and select Marketplace on the left-hand side of the screen.

If you don’t see it on the menu, click the “See More” button, scroll down until you see the Marketplace icon.

Step 2: List your first product

On the left-hand side of the screen, click on the ‘Create New Listing” button.

A new screen will load, prompting you to choose a listing type from the following options: Item for sale, Vehicle for sale, Property for rent or sale and Job opening.

Step 3: Provide listing information

Next, fill out the following information about your listing. These information fields include:

• Add photos
• Create your listing title
• Add your price
• Choose a relevant listing category from the drop-down list
• Select the condition of the item you’re selling from the drop-down list
• Add relevant product tags
• Add your location
• Select the number of items available
• Delivery method (shipping or local pick up)
• Shipping rate (if applicable)

Click “Publish” when you’re done, and your first Facebook Marketplace listing is good to go!

Step 4: Close the sale

Once a potential buyer stumbles across your listing, you can discuss all the details through Messenger.

Step 5: Edit your listing or mark an item as sold

Go to ‘Your listings’ section and edit your listing status.

Do note that you can edit your product listing to Sold, Pending or Available. Read more HERE.

IV. Selling on Facebook Marketplace: Best Practices

Facebook has a guideline on how to buy and sell responsibly on Facebook Marketplace. This is a good starting point for new merchants to educate themselves on selling on Facebook Marketplace. Do check it out first!

Now that you have come to understand all the basics about selling on Facebook Marketplace, it’s time to step up the game with some following best practices.

01. Research, research and research

Take a closer look at Facebook Marketplace and try to learn what items are popular in your niche. You can do this by browsing categories to see the best-sellers and visiting business pages.

From there you can develop a better understanding of supply and demand, price points, and your unique selling points.

That also means you must pick the right category to target the right people with the right intent.  Don’t list your camera in the appliances section. It might get your account flagged and possibly blocked from Facebook entirely.

02. Boost Facebook ads

When you feel that your products are getting attention, it’s great to start considering Facebook ads. Using ads also allows you to retarget people who have bought from you in the past and follow your page.

When you create a Facebook ad in Ads Manager, you can have your ad appear in Marketplace to reach more people. Click HERE to view Facebook suggestions on creating ads for Facebook Marketplace.

Learn more: How To Optimize Your Facebook Ads Landing Page (+ Examples and Analysis)

03. Optimize keywords

SEO also applies to Facebook Marketplace. If you want your listing to rank on the search results and get found by your ideal customer, you need to make sure you’re using the right keywords.

This could be done from the title or product’s description. For instance, you might want to include in the copies to sell a laptop some information about its model, capacity, color, and current condition.

04. Work on the photos

Make sure that your product photos feel true to the eye first. When taking photos of your products, make sure to show any defects and warranty information, and avoid stock photos.

You don’t want to put something on display and then deliver something else – that’s being misleading right there!

Each product should be coupled with a set of different photos to showcase its different angles.

05. Work towards reliable seller records

Make it a goal to pursue these two badges to prove your reputation, trust, and sales:

• Very Responsive Badge: Awarded to sellers who respond quickly on Messenger to potential buyers.
• Community Recommended Badge: Awarded to sellers with a high rating on Marketplace

V. The Best From Both World: Building Your Own eCommerce Brand

At the end of the day, Facebook is a social network at its core.

A Facebook Store or listings on the Facebook Marketplace cannot be the whole of your business strategy if you are looking to create a Name, Brand and ensure Consistent Growth overtime. It is only one of the many means to achieving leads, sales and profit.

This leads many merchants to pose a big question: What If You Can Build Your Own eCommerce Brand, and sell on Facebook Marketplace at the same time? 

This is the part where Shopify jumps in.

Shopify is an all-in-one solution, requiring you no tech background to set up a fully functional store. The platform makes it easy for merchants of all sizes to sell their products online, providing them not just with an online storefront but payments, fulfillment, and customer engagement tools as well.

Click HERE to learn in detail why Shopify is the best place to start for your small & medium-sized business.

While Facebook is a third-party website with certain terms, rules and regulations, a dedicated eCommerce website hosted on Shopify allows you the freedom to control your entire brand. This translates into a number of benefits, including but not limited to pricing & inventory management, statistics measurement and Google search ranking

Shopify demo store: Beyond

With that said, Facebook Marketplace is still a lucrative opportunity for anyone to pass. Read on and we’ll show you how to incorporate your Facebook Marketplace tactic into your eCommerce strategy on Shopify.

Read more: Best Shopify Facebook Store Examples To Learn From

VI. How To Sell on Facebook Marketplace With Shopify

Shopify has a variety of supporting apps on its Shopify App Store to help you sell across several platforms from Shopify. In this case, you can link your Shopify products on Facebook Marketplace through Facebook & Instagram Shopping. This combination will ease your work and save your time to sell effortlessly on the platform.

To list your Shopify products to Facebook Marketplace:

• Step 1: Download the Facebook & Instagram Shopping from the Shopify App Store

• Step 2: Connect the app with your Facebook account

• Step 3: Choose the Facebook Page on which you wish to set up your Shop.

• Step 4: Configure Commerce Manager on your Facebook Shop.

• Step 5: Set up Default Mapping and import your products on the App.
• Step 6: Showcase the product on Facebook Marketplace: Upload products in bulk or create profiles to showcase the products on Facebook Marketplace.
• Step 7: Wait for approval

After your products are uploaded, you need to get approval from Facebook. Once verified, you can showcase your products across Facebook surfaces and sell hassle-free.

Facebook & Instagram Shopping assists you in establishing your business on Facebook Marketplace, reducing your workload and providing hassle-free selling on Facebook. It helps you

• Manage your orders from Facebook Marketplace through Shopify on a centralized dashboard.
• Bulk Upload your product listings from the Shopify store to Facebook Marketplace in a single click.
• Synchronize your inventory across both platforms and keep your shop updated with the latest orders and sales.
• Assist and help in getting Marketplace approvals, handle errors and simplify support from Facebook

Conclusion

The evolving merchant-focused side of Facebook has allowed Facebook Marketplace to maintain its prosperity over the past years. With Facebook Marketplace, brands can quickly promote their products to a much broader audience, scale their commercial enterprise, and boost their social commerce.

This is arguably one of the greatest sales channels for you to tap into while you are developing your online store on a high-performing eCommerce platform such as Shopify. Wait no more! Head to Shopify App Store, look up Facebook & Instagram Shopping and connect your Shopify store to Facebook Marketplace.

For more in-depth guides like this:

• How To Sell on Walmart Marketplace (Successfully) In 08 Easy Steps
• Sell On Rakuten: How It Works and Where To Start
• How To Sell On Wayfair: Actionable Steps and Tips
• Sell on Wish: Your Go-To Sellers’ Guide