Facebook Marketplace Monthly Challenge

*This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my small business…at no extra cost to yourself!

SHARE THIS POST OR PIN IT FOR LATER!

Do you find yourself needing more money each month than you are currently bringing in? Have you ever thought about selling on FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE to make a little (or a lot) of extra cash? Whether you're trying to make ends meet, pay an outstanding bill, budget for vacation, or just have some fun money, I think you'd be surprised with what you can make from selling on Marketplace.

I started selling on Facebook over a decade ago, when the community garage sale pages were just emerging. I don't love hosting actual garage sales, but somehow, posting unused items from around the house didn't seem like such a bad idea. Those were the days when people were more civilized, negotiations on items were given a 24 hour grace period to play out, and you'd often meet complete strangers in a parking lot to exchange your item for some cash. Now, it's every man for themselves, first come first serve, lots of ghosted messages, and payment can be anything from Apple Pay to Venmo to Zelle. While the rules of the game have changed, selling on Facebook Marketplace is still a highly successful way to make extra money.

Something about me is that I love to resell. As established above, however, I don't love to have garage sales. At the end of the day, I don't feel like the amount of effort in having one usually yields enough return. When I started my business years ago, it was with reselling vintage that I was thrifting. I was working fulltime and would come home on my lunch hour to pack orders and get them to the post office. I will fully admit that I would ride the high of selling and then crash when it came to the shipping part. That facet of my business needed to shift because it was not enough of a passion to keep me going with that shipping hustle. Since I sell a lot of bigger and breakable items, shipping in general (eBay, Etsy, Chairish...) is just not for me. If I sold clothing, I would definitely have a different mindset, since you don't have to wrap anything. However...listing clothing is equally as terrible to me as shipping breakables, so we're at an impasse there as well.

Without having a brick and mortar location for reselling, either my own shop or a booth, I am limited by how I can resell and meet the criteria of what I actually enjoy doing. That's why I am so thankful that FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE exists! I have a fairly large audience, looking for all sorts of items, whom I can sell to from the comfort of my home. There are people who choose to open their audience up even more and ship, but I don't do that (unless it's a really lucrative item). Even without shipping, I'm still able to sell quite a bit of stuff and make extra cash!

I've been selling in the background for several years. I share here and there on social media about it, but it's not the focus of the content I post. I started thinking this year, though, that the economy isn't the best and that my audience loves to thrift and find deals like I do, but that we cannot keep all the treasures that we find. I realized that I should be encouraging people to take a chance on Facebook Marketplace and see what kind of extra cash they could make. So, I set out to create the Facebook Marketplace Challenge!

Each month, I share a blank calendar in stories on INSTAGRAM and encourage my followers to screenshot it and use it as a daily log for their listings. Instead of trying to explain all that here, I will point you to the HIGHLIGHT I have saved with all the instructions for the Challenge. When I first started sharing about the FBMP Challenge, I think I was the only one participating. Now that I've done it a few times, though, people could see what I was doing and that I was making sales! At the end of the month, I always share what I've made from selling. I always point out that this isn't to brag, but instead to encourage others to join in the fun. I also pop into stories most days sharing my updated calendar with that day's listing and reminding followers to get their item up for the day.

Part of the success of selling on FBMP is being consistent. I'm quick to point out to those doing the Challenge that just because they are listing every day, doesn't mean they're going to make a ton of sales right out of the gate. I believe the success of the Challenge overall is by getting a bank of listings up that can then help your standing in the algorithm and be seen for days, weeks, and months in the future. At the time that you're listing something, the right person may not see it. If you leave it up for a while, however, there will be someone who comes along who just simply must have that item. Now that I've been doing the Challenge personally for several months, I tend to see more sales because I have consistent postings live and I allow them to stay up for sometimes months at a time.

How long you leave things up really depends on a few things.

1. How badly you need the cash. If you really need to make some money, you can post something and then quickly drop the price to make the sale, instead of holding out for your original asking price.

2. How much storage space you have. Some folks don't have room to keep things hanging around, so they will list and if the item doesn't sell quickly, they donate.

3. How badly you need to clear out. Whether you're moving or just need to clear the clutter because it's causing you stress, the time limit for listings staying live can be very short.

Honestly, I could go on for days about the caveats for listing. I get asked questions all the time that are ultimately very subjective. Each person is going to have their own set of rules for how they price, how long they keep items up, and what to do with things if they don't sell. I'm just here to get you excited to list things you're not using or have found to resell and encourage you along the way!

That being said...I know you want some tips and tricks, so I will share what I can!

‍

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SELLING DURING THE FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE CHALLENGE

‍

-List anything and everything! Someone asked me recently if I ever donate anything. Sure! I will likely throw those items up on Marketplace first to see if I can sell them. You never know what people need or want, so why not give it a try?

-If you're buying to resell, make sure you can make enough margin so that your effort is worth it. I will catch slack for this, but the minimum I want to make on an item is 3x what I paid for it. I have often gotten upwards of 7x what I bought an item for, if it's highly sought after or a quality piece. Some folks get very upset about "resellers", but the reality is that there is so much waste and throw away in the world...if resellers weren't out finding this stuff, the items would very likely end up in a landfill somewhere. Resellers are out there doing the hard work of sourcing, cleaning, and listing...the price should reflect that. That being said, you will want to do a search of similar items on Marketplace, so you can be sure to be competitive. If I see something similar to what I want to list, but it's priced a lot lower than I want to sell for, I will wait to list my item until the other one sells. I also tend to price a little high to leave room for negotiations and haggling.

-Stage your pieces. You don't have to get crazy with things, but it's good to have a nice spot in your home where you always take pictures of your things. People on Marketplace will start to recognize your posts and give them more attention. Also, I have come to realize that people don't always have imagination when it comes to seeing an item and knowing how they could use it in their home. Always provide a nice visual if you can, including quality pictures.

-Create detailed descriptions. Include any of the information you think a person will be looking for, including measurements and any flaws. You also want to use keywords that buyers will be using to search.

-Organize your listed items. The worst feeling in the world is when someone wants to buy something you have posted, but you can't find it. If you buy and sell a lot of items, it's good to have a spot you keep everything so you can easily find them. There have been lots of times I've had someone message when I'm not home and I've been able to point Jason in just the right direction to find something so he can set it out and make the sale! 

-Figure out how you're going to take payment. I take cash or Venmo (or Paypal if that's all they have). I prefer people pay with Venmo, especially to hold, but cash is king. I don't fret about getting the money first, unless it's a high ticket piece, in which case, I would likely require Venmo before I set it out or I would meet them at the door to take payment before giving them the item. I have never had anyone not pay me in over 10 years of selling on Marketplace.

-Decide if you're going to meet or do contactless porch pick-up. I do not meet anyone anymore. That being said...if it were a big sale, I would make an exception. I have also had people pay me extra and I will deliver. On the whole, however, I have people come to our house to pick up. I'm not worried about people having our address...they can find that on the internet with just my name. They're not coming in, so I don't have to fear for my safety. I almost always look at people's profiles to make sure they're a real person or that they seem on the up and up. Usually we have at least one friend in common...that always makes me feel better.

-Create a note or image with your payment info and address for pick up so you don't have to type that out every listing. If someone wants to buy something, you can simply copy and paste or share them image!

-Encourage people to check out your other listings or to follow your Marketplace Profile. I've sold many additional items that way.

-Share similar listings with buyers. If you have multiple items that are similar listed and someone buys one, see if they're interested in the others...possibly offering a deal if they bundle several things.

-Renew listings. I believe it's every 7 days (don't quote me on that) that you can go in and renew your post. That will refresh it in the Marketplace feed so new people can see it.

-Delete and relist. Once you've reached your limit of renewing your listing, there is an option to delete and relist items. Similar to renewing, this will refresh your listings without you having to create the listing again.

-Drop prices. I'm not too proud. If my items aren't selling, I go in and drop the prices. I normally wait about a month to do this, but it just depends on how much money I have into it and how badly I want to sell it. There are a few things I won't adjust the price on...as I would rather keep them than sell for less, but they're very few and far between.

-Be friendly and as accommodating as you can with buyers as you can. Ultimately, you want to make the sale, so make it as easy and appealing as possible when negotiating pricing, pickup, and any other details with them.

-When a listing has sold (or it hasn't and you decide it's time to donate), be sure to delete the listing so you don't confuse any potential buyers out there. This will help to keep your ratings up!

CREATE LISTINGS, MAKE MONEY, AND HAVE FUN!

Whether you choose to join me on INSTAGRAM for the FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE MONTHLY CHALLENGE or you want to go it on your own, I wish you all the success! The more you post, the more you will sell...it really is that easy! I wanted to mention that if items I have listed haven't sold, I will pull them down and take what I can to a local consignment shop. I take a load of things once a month, so I know that I always have one more opportunity to make some money on those items. If I don't think an item will sell there, then it's time to donate. Considering these things, I always have a rotation of items leaving the house in some capacity. This is a great way to make sure we're not holding onto unused items and we're doing our part to support a circular economy.

I can't wait to hear how you do with your FBMP Challenge and would love if you'd share the experience in stories on Instagram! Be sure to tag me so I can see - @hilaryprall!

SHOP MORE OF MY FAVORITES

‍