Buying secondhand items on Facebook Marketplace is one of my favorite things. In fact, about half of the furniture we own was purchased off of Facebook Marketplace. I love it for several reasons. One, I save money AND avoid contributing to waste. Two, it gives me a lot more flexibility. If I buy something and then realize later on that it’s not working for us, I can usually resell it for the same amount or more than what I bought it for. Three, because of the cost savings, I’m able to buy higher quality items than if I were to buy them brand new.
My first few times buying stuff from other people was a little nerve-wracking. By now I’ve done it dozens of times so I thought I’d share some tips! You can read my tips for selling on Facebook Marketplace here.
10 Tips for Buying Secondhand Goods on Facebook Marketplace
Have a loose idea of what you’re looking for
For example, it’s helpful to know if you want a black modern or mid-century modern dining table. Doing this will help you for several reasons! First, you’ll feel less rushed into buying something that’s not quite right and avoid the pitfall of looking for something so specific that you’ll never find it. Having a general idea of what you’re looking for will also save you a lot of time and energy in the long run. You won’t have to expend all that mental energy debating each table but instead can scroll right past all of the traditional or rustic dining tables. And perhaps the best befit: you’ll feel more confident in your choice when you do see something that you love!
Change your search radius
I quickly discovered that I needed to bring my search radius way down when we moved to the DC area. Driving 13 miles here is a whole different ball game than driving 13 miles in the midwest. Thankfully Facebook makes it easy to change your radius! Doing this might help you a lot in a search. It certainly helped me to not fall in love with items that were too far away for me to actually pick up.
Be sure to pay attention to the delivery options
Now that Facebook Marketplace also allows you to ship to people, you have to pay attention to the delivery options. When i’m looking for something on Facebook Marketplace, I first thing I always do is update the delivery options to be ‘Local Only.’ We have a great local market in our area with lots of options, and I’m usually buying things that are big enough I don’t want to pay to ship them.
Search a lot of different names
Google has us spoiled, y’all. You can search for the most random, misspelled things and usually get some decent results. Facebook Marketplace isn’t quite the same. For example, I’m looking for a day bed with a trundle to put in our office. I’ve searched things like “day bed” and “trundle” and “trundle bed” and “ikea daybed” and each search gets different results! You might want to try both “couch” and “sofa.”
Check frequently
If you are looking for something more specific, check back frequently. Earlier this year I had my heart set on an Article couch. I saw a few come up on the market but didn’t message them quick enough and lost out. Since I wasn’t really in a hurry, I started checking once or twice a day until I saw what I wanted. And now I have not one, but two Article couches living in my home.
You can use the search alerts built into Facebook Marketplace. In my experience, they’re not very effective. For some reason they don’t always work. I set search alerts for Article couches but usually found them on my own before Facebook notified me.
Make the message more personal
Beware the auto-responses from Facebook Marketplace. I used to have lots of people message me accidentally as they were scrolling, and I’ve done that a time or two as well. I can always tell if a buyer is serious if they personalize their message to me. Plus, when they seem friendly, I feel more inclined to give them a great deal.
Always negotiate, unless their post specifically says not to negotiate
I’ve discovered when selling things that 90% of the people using Facebook Marketplace have the expectation that negotiations will take place. This means that sellers are usually posting things for MORE than they actually want to sell them (I do this!). It’s always worth offering a lot less than they ask. Worse that could happen is they say no and counteroffer with something higher.
Be QUICK to respond
There’s a good chance that there will be lots of other people messaging the seller about the same thing, so if you really want it, make sure you’re quick to respond. In general I’m a fan of letting go of the expectation that people respond to messages ASAP, but this is one exception. If you’re not quick, you’ll lose out.
Snoop their profile
Before I take the time to go buy from someone, I check their profile to make sure they look like a legit person and are not just trying to scam me. I check for things like their profile photo, number of friends, time on Facebook, and seller history.
Ask the seller for preferred method of payment
If you want, you can ask the seller what their preferred method of payment is. This can be a great idea if they’re getting a lot of interest on an item and you want to show you’re serious. Most people use Venmo, then cash, and one time I used Paypal.
Did I miss anything?
Hopefully you feel more confident in buying secondhand on Facebook Marketplace now. Are there any questions you have that I missed? Or tips that you’d like to add? Please share in the comments!
Thinking about selling something on Facebook Marketplace? I wrote up some tips for that here.
