We Made $8,000 Selling 100+ Household Items on Facebook Marketplace. Here’s How We Did It
It's easier (and sometimes more annoying) than you think...
When my wife and I decided to rent our house and travel full time, we had to tackle the literal elephant in the room: What do we do with all of our furniture and stuff???!!! Sell it? Store it? Donate it?
We knew that being full time travelers was something we were committed to doing for 5+ years, so the idea of spending thousands of dollars to store bulky furniture and personal items was a non-starter.
No doubt, you too are considering selling some belongings and wondering if Facebook Marketplace (FBMP) is a good option. Let’s get to it.
Is FBMP Right for You?
You have plenty of ways to offload your belongings and make some money in the process, including:
Specialty/focused Facebook groups
Craigslist
eBay
Professional auction
Professional estate sale
Garage/moving sale
Consignment shops
Pawn shops
Specialty apps/sites
Family and friends
And more….
Of these, Facebook Marketplace may be a good option if you have:
Time - You should have at least a few months before you plan to depart
Patience - To list all of your items and respond to insipid inquiries from people who only look at the photo and headline and don’t read the description.
If you have neither, stop reading and consider other options.
What I Sold on Facebook Marketplace
By American standards, our house in Austin was not large at 1,465 sf (136 m2). We had no garage and no basement so (fortunately) we did not accumulate a huge amount of stuff over the 24 years we lived there. Nonetheless we had plenty to purge!
I considered the options above and decided to use Facebook and eBay to sell many of our belongings due to the long runway of time before we needed to move out of our home. Ultimately, we sold 106 items on Facebook which included everything from armoires to vases and everything in between.
Lest you need proof that ANYTHING can be sold on Facebook, behold the 35 year old black toilet that someone gladly paid $20 to take off my hands.
How Much We Made and How Much Time It Took to Sell Our Belongings
We made $8,000+ selling 100+ household items and furniture on Facebook. If you add the older car we also sold on FBMP, the total is north of $12,500. All told, I estimate that it took me an average of 30 minutes per item to sell. This includes the time to list an item, take photos and video, respond to inquiries, and schedule a time for the buyer to stop by. Excluding the car, selling those 100 items took about 50 hours and netted $8,000. That’s $160/hour. Worth the “hassle” to you? That’s for you to decide. I did this mostly in the evenings and weekends over a 9-12 month period.
How to Get Started Selling Your Stuff on Facebook Marketplace!
If selling on Facebook Marketplace seems like a time consuming hassle, it’s really pretty easy. My suggestion is to get started selling a few items and see how you like it. Here are the steps to list an item on FBMP. I have not used Facebook’s new “Seller” app so it may differ. This is how to do it natively within the Facebook app.
Tip: When creating a new listing, you’ll have an option to hide the listing (screenshot 6 above) from your Facebook friends and family. If you have not already told them of your plans, you might want to do this!
What to Expect Next
Once you have listed your first item, Facebook will review it and it will be active soon thereafter. Assuming you have listed something people want, priced it appropriately and added a video and good photos, the inquiries will come!
1. The majority of inquiries will happen in the first few days. Facebook prioritizes new content in their feed and that’s why you may get several new non-serious inquiries initially. That’s also why many of those inquiries are garbage. You want people who are actively searching for your item, not inquiries from impulsive shoppers.
2. Expect some impulsive “window shoppers” with hair-trigger thumbs. These people will send Facebook’s canned inquiry of “Is this still available?” My experience has been that even if you reply immediately, less than half of people will follow up. Don’t bother trying to follow up twice.
3. You may get some lowball offers. If you are asking $100, the occasional low baller may reply with “$30.” These people are often resellers who go through listings and make absurdly low offers, a few of which will be accepted by people in a time crunch. Resist the urge to post snarky replies. Delete and move on.
4. Lazy people will drive you bonkers. Even if you put “YES IT’S AVAILABLE” (which I recommend) at the beginning of each listing, someone (several people) will ask “Is this still available?” because this response is the default initial reply and they are too lazy to actually read and ask a specific question. Deep breaths, happy thoughts…
Pros and Cons of Using Facebook Marketplace to Downsize
FBMP is definitely not for everyone! Again if you have little time, patience or need for extra money, consider donating your belongings to various charities. For every item I sold, we gave away at least 2-3 items which translated into carloads of clothing and smaller household items.
Pros:
You end up meeting lots of wonderful human beings who are excited to obtain the item you are selling and give it a new home!
No commissions! You keep 100% of the proceeds
No hassles associated with shipping
Easy to list items for sale
You can hide your listings from friends (if desired)
Large local audience
Often easy to search for comparable items to price appropriately
Cons:
People come to your house (read safety tips below)
Low ballers are annoying!
People don’t read your description and can be flaky
Majority of people will not follow up on initial inquiry
Can take time to sell more expensive items
That’s not going to fit in our carry on bag! We did not sell any clothing on Facebook and this is just a sample of what we donated to Austin Pets Alive and other worthy charities.
Tips for Success Selling Your Belongings on Facebook Marketplace
Facebook will allow you to add up to 10 photos and one video. Use both to your advantage because most people don’t. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen someone trying to sell a nice piece of furniture but only post 3 crappy photos and no video. The video is especially important. Here are some other tips.
DO:
Make sure to take good photos and always, always add a short video!
Be patient! If you are in a hurry to unload your stuff, FBMP will add more stress than the money you make.
Be realistic about pricing. If you think you are going to sell that “almost brand new” sofa for 75% of what you paid for it 1 year ago, think again.
Set up a Venmo account. This is the preferred payment method.
Accept only cash and Venmo.
Mark your listing as Sold immediately after sale but NOT before the buyer shows up and pays for it.
DO NOT:
List anything for free. You will be inundated with hoarders who have no “skin in the game” and no urgency or real motivation to show up. Donate it instead.
Accept Zelle unless you know the person - Venmo is widely used and preferred.
Deal with people that seem to be in a huge hurry to buy items that have no urgency.
List anything way below market value. You may think this would help you get rid of it faster but you will be inundated with inquiries and then stuck hoping the first one you agreed to sell to actually shows up quickly.
Offer to hold something for more than 24 hours without a small Venmo deposit (unless it’s been sitting forever).
Provide your address until the buyer has committed to a pickup time. I usually added the general location in the listing.
Allow someone inside your house when you are alone unless you feel good about it or must do so (furniture and large pieces).
Mark your listing as Pending until the person is on their way to pick up as this effectively stops any future inquiries.
Would I Do It Again?
Yes, with caveats. Overall, if I had a do over, I would use Facebook to sell items that I deemed to be worth $40+ and donate the rest. For me, half of the 106 items I sold were $40 and up, half less. The 53 items under $40 netted us less than $1,200. The 50+ items priced at $40 and up netted $6,900. Same amount of work. However, as my wife says, it’s nice to know that our stuff - regardless of value - went to a good home with someone who will love and cherish it. Ok, maybe…
Have you tried - or are considering - selling some personal items on Facebook Marketplace? Share your insights with others.