5 tips for selling on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook introduced the Facebook Marketplace in 2007, allowing users to post classified ads within sale, housing, and jobs categories. The feature was then eventually shut down in 2014. In October 2016, Facebook announced a new Marketplace, citing the growth of organized "buy and sell" Facebook Groups, and gave the new version a higher prominence in the main Facebook app, The new Facebook Marketplace lets you sell to anyone (anyone within 100 miles of you), rather than limiting you to friends or group members. It's a venue, not a facilitator, and the details of any sales (including price, shipping and other logistics) are between the buyer and the seller. Facebook doesn't take a cut of the profits, nor does it offer protection for either party. If you want to sell your stuff on this platform better here these tips your should follow:

5 tips for selling on Facebook Marketplace

1. Take awesome photos: Facebook Marketplace is a photo-stream of items for sale, so your first picture needs to be eye-catching or, at the very least, well-lit and in focus. Your pictures don't need to be professional it's a mobile app, after all but it's worth it to spend some time getting the right ones. Here are some tips:

• Keep background clutter to a minimum.
• If you don't have good lighting in your house, go outside and use natural lighting.
• Clean up your item before shooting; wipe fingerprints off screens or electronics.
• Try to get the entire item in the frame for the primary shot 
• Take at least three photos from different angles 
• Use your own photos, not stock photos; and your listing will should be authentic.

2. Price high, and prepare for negotiation: You want to get the most for your stuff, but you don't want to alienate people with outrageous prices. Price your item at the high end, but be open to negotiation. Nobody will pay you more than the listed price, but plenty of people will try to negotiate via Facebook Marketplace's Make Offer button or via private message.

3. List each item separately: Maybe you're moving and you have a lots of items to post. You might be tempted to combine them all in one mega-moving-sale listing, but if you can spare the extra minutes, you should list each item you're selling separately. Because Facebook Marketplace is primarily picture-based, you only get one picture to capture the heart of your potential buyers; they're not going to swipe through 10 photos just to see if you have the pieces they want.

4. Prep your profile: Facebook Marketplace is linked to your Facebook profile. This makes Facebook Marketplace a little more credible, because people can see your picture and learn your name and  other information, depending on what you choose to share instead of making a completely blind purchase.

5. Make the sale: Once you've listed your item and found a potential buyer, it's time to make the sale. Facebook lets you connect with the buyer via Facebook Messenger, and you should use this to hash out all the details the condition of the product, the price, the logistics of how the item is going to transfer from seller to buyer, etc. Because Facebook Marketplace does not offer protection for the seller or the buyer, it's important for both of you to be on the same page before any exchanges go down.