Here’s How I Made $360 Selling Stuff on Facebook Marketplace

Some individuals flip objects on Fb for revenue, however I don’t have time to color an armoire. I’m a 40-something with a full-time job and little children.

I take advantage of Fb Market to promote stuff round the home so I can clear the litter and get again a few of what I paid on previous purchases. It is my sustainable facet hustle.

I promote domestically to keep away from transport prices and Fb’s promoting charges. Success could be hit and miss.

Might was a fairly good month. I had three objects listed on Fb Market, offered two of them and made a strong $360.

I do know from earlier expertise that child/child stuff can do properly on Market, so I listed our like-new Halo bassinet and a well-used Melissa & Doug artwork easel. I had additionally listed my traditional Vox guitar amp greater than a month in the past.

I believed the bassinet would promote shortly, nevertheless it was the amp and the easel that went in the identical week. I offered the Vox for $340 and the easel for $20. I cleared the litter and made money.

The bassinet continues to be up, however I’m assured it’ll promote in time.

In case you have a Fb account, it’s straightforward to listing and promote on Market. With greater than 3 billion energetic customers in keeping with Statista, Fb is a simple technique to get eyes in your stuff.

Faucet the Market icon within the app and get began.

Whereas it’s easy to listing objects, Fb Market is just not a fast money play. It pays to be affected person and value your stuff competitively. I’ve a easy course of to extend the possibilities of a sale.

As a consumer, I roll my eyes at listings with just one pic. You’ll be able to add as much as 10, and even embody a brief video. Why wouldn’t you if you wish to promote the factor?

The bassinet I’m promoting is awkward to {photograph}, so I staged it in entrance of a window for good lighting. I shoved all of the stuff that was on the ground out of the body and shot it from all angles. I made certain to additionally add a pic of the plushier mattress we’re together with with it.

The easel is sturdy, however type of a multitude. I wiped down either side and cleaned the child scribbles as finest I may earlier than snapping some pics. It seemed ok to go for affordable.

Folks trying to find the guitar amp I’m promoting know what they need, so my picture objective was merely to convey how pristine I stored it. In hindsight, I ought to have added a video with sound to promote it faster.

A great value will get individuals’s consideration (i.e., make it low cost). You are able to do your market analysis proper on Fb Market. Search for a similar or related objects and filter by “offered” to get a way for the going fee.

Construct room for negotiation into your value, however don’t attempt to get prime greenback. A part of the enjoyable of buying used stuff is to haggle on value and get a deal.

We paid $299 for the Halo bassinet (referred to as a BassiNest) when new and acquired an upgraded Halo mattress for round $80.

I went with $175 for my gently used value — most likely approach too excessive because it hasn’t offered. I priced the easel at $40. It goes for round $70 new. It offered as quickly as I lowered it to $20.

I wished $400 for the couple-year-old amp, which retails at $599, however settled for $340 after it sat for greater than a month.

It could possibly take time for the precise purchaser to return throughout a distinct segment merchandise. I prefer to listing my objects in native purchase, promote and commerce group teams to extend the probabilities. You’ll be able to be part of native and neighborhood teams related to what you’re promoting and use the “listing in additional locations” choice for a wider attain.

Hold your title easy. I went backwards and forwards between “Like-new Halo Bassinest” and simply “Halo bassinet.” I attempted together with the worth within the title, too.

Concise-but-clear descriptions appeal to consumers. I all the time compose a pair sentences concerning the merchandise and use good grammar and punctuation.

I harp on the situation (if it’s good), put any potential points on the market and finish with a catch phrase of types. Right here’s how I described the easel:

If writing isn’t your factor, you may ask AI for help.

Don’t set it and overlook it. Fb exhibits me my Halo bassinet has 31 clicks and 5 itemizing saves, nevertheless it hasn’t offered. I attempted a brand new title on a Tuesday and had the primary message from an purchaser the subsequent day. Nonetheless, no sale.

My subsequent transfer is to take and publish new pictures, and ultimately decrease the worth. If that doesn’t work, I’m going to publish it from my spouse’s account in case the difficulty is that potential ladies consumers would somewhat talk with a girl. Fortunately, I’m in no hurry.

Being overeager to promote could make you extra vulnerable to scams, says Ian Bednowitz, normal supervisor of LifeLock.

Take the time to learn messages and search for indicators of sketchiness earlier than agreeing to a sale.

Bednowitz says overpayment scams are frequent and could be laborious to identify. It’s a state of affairs the place a supposed purchaser makes it appear like they’ve despatched you cash on-line.

“They are saying, ‘I despatched you a fee on Zelle, Money App or Venmo and I overpaid you. Are you able to refund me the distinction,’” he says. “When the truth is, it’s only a pretend e-mail they usually haven’t paid something.”

They might even make an actual fee after which reverse it after you’ve refunded the portion overpaid, he says.

“Scammers prey on shortage and urgency,” he says

His recommendation is to breathe, take a detailed have a look at the provide, and take note of how persons are behaving of their communication.

“By no means be too trusting straight away with somebody you simply met on-line,” Ryan Wilbur, a spokesperson for the Stafford County, Virginia Sheriff’s Workplace, mentioned in an e-mail interview.

“If a deal appears too good to be true, it usually is,” he mentioned.

I inform consumers I desire money and recommend we meet in a public place.

I actually wished to shut the deal on my guitar amp, however the purchaser was pressed for time. I took a little bit of a danger by agreeing to deliver it to his work. It turned out effective, however I had a pit in my abdomen as I drove down a rural backroad.

Wilbur recommends utilizing a “protected alternate zone” for transactions. That may be a busy retail space frequented by the general public and even the car parking zone of the native sheriff’s workplace or police headquarters, which is what his division suggests.

I’ll try this subsequent time as a result of I need my sensible facet hustle to be a protected one.