How to make money on Facebook Marketplace
Many people are not aware that it is possible to make money selling products on Facebook Marketplace.
I used to be one of those people who only see Facebook as a social media platform for social interaction on the internet. I later found out Facebook is more than a social media platform but also a marketplace where both physical and digital products can be sold.
After successfully selling physical products on Amazon, eBay and Etsy. I found out about the Facebook marketplace and tried it out. It’s a surprise I didn’t know about it all this while. Not only can you sell your used items on Facebook, but you can also sell new products and create a profitable business selling physical products on the Facebook marketplace.
What is Facebook Marketplace?
Facebook marketplace is a section on Facebook created for people to sell a variety of products. There is no product you can’t sell, so far as it is legal.
In case you haven’t noticed, there is a shortcut for it on Facebook. The marketplace is on the left sidebar menu on desktop computers.
In other to sell on the marketplace, you must have a Facebook account. You must also input your location so you can sell and buy from people around you.
Are there restrictions on who can sell and what can be sold?
The only thing that can stop you from using the marketplace is if you don’t have a Facebook account. There is also no restriction to what you can sell but it must be legal. You are also prohibited from selling services and animals. You can check more on prohibited items here.
Now that you’ve been familiarized with the Facebook marketplace platform, here are my tips for selling products and making money on the Facebook marketplace.
Create a Facebook Account If You Don’t Have One
Facebook has 2.6 billion monthly users around the world. It is easy to jump to conclusion that everyone has a Facebook account. That might not be true because there are still a lot of people who do not have a Facebook account. If you are one of those people who do not have a Facebook account and you would like to sell on Facebook, you have to first create an account.
Start With The Unwanted Items in Your House
We all have items we no longer need or use. Check around your house and put such products for sale on the marketplace. It might be a book, children toys or even chairs. It might be anything. Most times we have stuff we no longer need and think nobody will ever want them. We are often wrong because something that is of no use in one person’s eye is valuable for another person.
I remember selling my son’s old bike on Facebook. He outgrew the bicycle and instead of keeping it in the garage and taking up space, I put it up for sale on Facebook and someone bought it.
Join a selling group in your area
This is by far the most important tip for selling successfully and making money on the Facebook marketplace.
You might have probably heard about Facebook selling groups. These are different from the general Facebook marketplace. The good thing about Facebook selling groups is the fact that you can reach thousands of people free in one post.
Most towns and cities have Facebook selling groups that someone created. Depending on how big the town or city is, some towns or cities have multiple Facebook selling groups.
Join as many as possible selling groups in your area. Whenever you want to list a product for sale, Facebook usually gives you options to either list only on the Facebook marketplace or to also list in the selling groups you already joined. I joined a lot of Facebook selling groups in my area so I usually post in all the Facebook selling groups I joined. This enables me to reach a lot of people.
This image below shows how Facebook was giving me suggestions to list the product I want to sell in multiple Facebook groups I already joined.
How to join Facebook selling groups
In the search bar on Facebook, type the name of your city or town. For example, let me assume you live in Gloucester.
As shown in the image below, you can type ‘Gloucester buy and sell group’. Lists of existing buy and sell groups will come up.
Top tip: join groups that have a lot of members in them.
After selecting one of the groups, you can click on the join button in blue as shown in the image below.
You will be notified in your Facebook account if you have been accepted into the group by the group administrator.
Some groups accept you very quickly while some take a few days. Some will make you answer some basic questions before accepting you to the group.
Once the moderator of the group accepts you, you can start posting products for sale in the group
Create a Selling Group For Your Area
If you can play the long-term game and really interested in selling products on Facebook, you can create your own Facebook Selling Group which you will be the main administrator of. It does take some time before the group will rank.
If you are consistent in posting valuable information in the group, Facebook will start suggesting your group to people they think will be interested in joining.
It will not be an overnight success but if you are consistent your group can become big and you can monetise the group properly by giving people in the group valuable information.
How To Put Up a Product For Sale on Facebook Marketplace
As of the time of writing, it is free for anyone with a Facebook account to list a product for sale on Facebook.
You can follow the process below to list a product for sale on the Facebook marketplace.
- Click on Facebook Marketplace icon
2. Click on sell
4. Depending on what type of product you want to sell, click on either items, vehicles or properties for sale or rent.
3. Fill in the important information about the product you want to sell. The most important information are description, photos, and price.
After that, click on next and you will have a screen where you can select as many selling groups as possible where you want your product to be available for sale. Marketplace would have been automatically selected for you.
The final step will be to click on publish and your product will be available for sale on Facebook.
Your product will be available for sale as long as your product is not a product prohibited on the Facebook marketplace.
The described steps above are if you are using a mobile device to create the listing. However, it is a very similar process if you are creating it on a desktop.
Final Thought
You can put your used or new products for sale on Facebook. People are earning a living by selling products on Facebook.
It is free to create a Facebook account if you don’t have one. Selling on Facebook is free for anyone with a Facebook account.
Facebook is trying hard to compete with established marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, and Etsy. Now is the right time to use the opportunity available on Facebook to earn some extra income.
