How to Sell on Facebook Marketplace

Head to Facebook.com in your browser and log into your account. Look at the left-hand menu and find Marketplace. You may need to click See More to expand the menu before it shows up.

Click into Marketplace and you'll land on a feed of items for sale near you, sorted by location. The Marketplace tab also lives at the top of every Facebook page once you've used it the first time, so you can get back faster next time.

From the Marketplace home page, click the blue Create New Listing button on the left side. Facebook gives you a few options: Items for Sale, Multiple Listings, Vehicle, or Home for Sale or Rent.

For everyday household stuff - the spare items most of us are trying to clear out - pick Items for Sale. Vehicles and real estate have their own forms with extra fields like VIN numbers or square footage. If you have a bunch of similar items, Multiple Listings lets you post them in one batch.

Add at least one photo, but more is always better. Buyers scroll fast and good pictures stop the scroll. You can also add a short video if it helps show condition or scale. Facebook lets you add up to ten photos per listing.

For the title, lead with the words buyers actually type into the search box. "Vintage Microphone" beats "Cool old mic" every time. Be specific - include brand names, sizes, colors, model numbers. Look at the title like you're the buyer typing into the search bar.

Enter your asking price in the Price field. Then open the Category dropdown. Facebook has dozens of categories - Antiques and Collectibles, Electronics, Furniture, Home Goods, Cell Phones, Office Supplies, and many more.

Pick the one closest to your item. If a subcategory fits even better, drill down into it. Buyers browse by category as much as they search by keyword, so picking the right one puts your listing in front of the people most likely to buy.

Pick a condition: New, Used Like New, Used Good, or Used Fair. Be honest. The old rule applies - under-promise and over-deliver. If it's scratched, say so. Lower condition expectations mean fewer messy meet-ups where the buyer shows up, looks at the item, and walks away.

Then write a description that covers the details a buyer would ask about: size, age, what's included, what's missing, why you're selling. Good descriptions cut down on repetitive messages later. You can also add a SKU, personalization options, or a color or material - they're all optional but they help your listing show up in filtered searches.

Scroll down to Meetup Preferences. Choose how you want to hand the item over: Public Meetup, Door Pickup, or Door Dropoff. For anything that involves meeting a stranger, pick Public Meetup.

A busy parking lot in the middle of the day - Walmart, a grocery store, a bank - is the safest call. Never give out your home address in the listing itself. If the buyer asks for your address up front, that's a red flag. Stick to the meetup spot you chose and bring a friend if the item is expensive or you're meeting in the evening.

Click the blue Publish button at the bottom of the form. Facebook takes a few minutes to make your listing live. You can also toggle Boost Listing if you want to pay to put it in front of more buyers, or Hide From Friends if you'd rather your social circle didn't see what you're selling.

After that you'll see your listing under Your Listings, and the Seller Dashboard shows incoming chats, ratings, and how each listing is performing. If you keep getting the same question - "Does it come with the cord?" - edit the description so you stop having to answer it. Respond to messages fast; Facebook's algorithm rewards active sellers by pushing your listings higher in buyer feeds.