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Are you wondering how to sell your items in a Facebook Buy and Sell group? It is so straightforward, and when you follow this list of tips for successfully selling your items in a Facebook Buy and Sell group, you will increase your odds of selling your item quick and hassle-free.
Several friends had been sharing their success with selling in local Facebook buy and sell groups with me for quite some time but not until just a few weeks ago did I take the plunge.
I waited so long only because I have had great success simply selling to my friends using an album labeled “Virtual Yard Sale” on Facebook.
I sold what didn’t sell there on either Craigslist or eBay and seemed to get rid off 80 percent of our stuff that way. I figured why try something else when what I am doing is already working so well. At least until my friend told me she had made over $300 in one month by selling on Facebook buy and sell groups, then I thought “this is a sell what you already own income stream I have to try out and write about.”
Over the course of two days, I put around a dozen items on one of the local Facebook groups in my area and sold two large items for a total of $100 (a large air conditioner and a boys BMX bike). I was hoping to sell more but was pleased to sell what I did and found the whole process to be extremely simple.
10 Tips For Selling In Facebook Buy And Sell Groups
1. Facebook buy and sell groups will give you a smaller audience than eBay or Craigslist will
(Update with the introduction of Facebook Marketplace the reach of your items is much larger than it once was. I now think Facebook Buy And Sell Groups give you just as much exposure as Craigslist –if not more)
The group I joined had roughly 700 to 800 people in it. Which is larger than my personal Facebook page where I tend to sell a lot of my no longer needed items but still a lot smaller than the audience you will find on Craigslist or eBay. However, it takes very little time to load up a picture and type a few details about it in the status section, so I think the ease of listing outweighs the smaller audience.
If your item doesn’t sell, you can always go on to listing it elsewhere.
2. You need to have instant and constant access to Facebook
Before you list an item make sure that you have both the Facebook app and the Facebook messaging app downloaded to your Smartphone. Make sure you also go to your smartphone’s settings and allow notifications. You could also do this on a tablet if you for some reason don’t own a smartphone.
People want instant access to you to answer questions and set up pick up should they want the item. If you are the type of person who just gets on Facebook once in the evening and once at night, do not try and sell on a Facebook buy and sell page.
3. Take good pictures
I noticed that the items selling the best were those that had good clear photos with not a lot of background noise going on.
Make sure you clean-up your item before you take a picture of it. Here are my best tips for prepping an item for sale so that you get top dollar.
4. Put all the information you can in the status line
You don’t have to write a 1000 word essay about your item but do cover all the facts that a buyer would want to know such as size, how old it is, any damage you know of, the price you want for it, and anything else that applies to the item you are selling.
Having a detailed status line will save you from answering questions over and over again since people don’t seem to scroll up to read others questions and your answers to them.
5. Once it sells take the photo down as soon as possible
People get annoyed when you leave things up that have sold already and since some groups are people could remember you and just start ignoring your posts if you are known for not deleting after you sell, meaning you will soon not sell at all.
6. Read the rules of the group
I looked into three different groups and read all their rules before deciding on the one that suited me best. Knowing the rules will help keep you from being blacklisted and unable to sell or buy.
7. Always pick a public place for pick up
For safety reasons always pick a public place to meet the person. If the item you are selling is large have someone help you load it into your vehicle before you even post it and then suggest to the person buying it that they bring someone along to help unload it from your vehicle into theirs.
8. You can sell items both big and small
What I like about the Facebook buy and sell groups is that you can sell something as small as a toaster to something as large as a camper. Since people are local they are more willing to look at both small and large items since they are not going to spend a lot on gas to pick the items up.
9. Be flexible with pick up but not too flexible
If the person says they are going shopping in an hour and would you meet them outside of Walmart and you had an errand to do there anyways go ahead and meet them there. But if Walmart is the other side of town and you have no reason to go there today, and you are selling an item that is so small that driving to Walmart would eat half your profits, suggest perhaps you could meet them somewhere closer to your home (but still public).
10. Try more than one group
I had a lot of my items go unsold, but I tried just one local group in my area, and I know of three. The next time I have a few days with not much going on I am planning to try out the other groups and see if I can sell my unsold items there.
There is, of course, some overlap of people between the groups, but there is also different people in each group with different wants and needs.
Have your tired a local buy and sell Facebook group? Got any tips for a still newbie like me?
Raise extra cash and toss clutter by using this checklist to find items to sell in your home
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Cathy says
July 6, 2013 at 5:32 pmI’ve had a lot of luck selling on a Facebook yard sale and I would agree with all you observations except the first one. My Facebook group has 11,000 people in it so my audience is huge. Of course that can cause problems because my posting is only up there very briefly before its replaced by a hundred others, so I would also say timing it important. I always post early on weekday evenings and never on the weekend. I find that keeps my posts up there longer.
Victoria says
July 7, 2013 at 6:40 pmWow! that is huge. I am going to guess you live in a way larger area than I do.
Abdallah says
November 26, 2013 at 5:16 amYou can pin your post, i have group of 8k+ i always pin my ios applications.
Ruth @ Living Well Spending Less says
July 12, 2013 at 12:57 pmSelling in Facebook groups is quickly becoming the next big thing and I think these tips are great and everyone needs to read them! Thanks for linking up to the Thrifty Thursday link party!
Victoria says
July 13, 2013 at 9:31 amThey are and I think the rising cost of gas has a lot to do with it. People just don’t want to travel far for an item,nor pay the increased shipping fees caused by increasing fuel costs. It is also so much simpler to do. It takes seconds to snap a picture get it on the site and write a sentence or two about the item. Love your link up by the way, lots of great inspiration.
Michael Wagner says
March 17, 2017 at 10:31 pmI have about 30-50 items for sale at any point in about 20 different buy / sell groups. I run a small home business. What I have learned is to have clear set days and times where people can come over to look and purchase items. By having set hours people come and go; you avoid the repetitive messaging “I’m almost there, on my way” NONSENSE stuff. You also don’t worry about the no-shows. About 50% of people who “say” they’ll be over never show. Even if you have a handful of items run your sale like a store or you’ll go nuts with the no-shows and interested people who just disappear. People also rarely read the ads so you get lots of of “where do you live?” “how much is that?” “when can I see it?” Spell it out in the ad and refer people back nicely to the ad. Also people will low ball on the price all the time so get used to that.
Wendy Broyles says
April 7, 2014 at 9:50 pmI created a FB sale group in August 2012 as a forum to sell the remaining inventory I had left over when I closed my bead/craft and jewelry boutique in my city of about 125,000. I built it on the auction format, added about ten of my friends that either did craft shows, had booths at antique malls or were just collectors and within a month, we have over 2,000 members! As of today, we are at 5,396 members and as such, we’ve had to add more clearly defined rules, narrowed down the people we allowed in the group because of trouble makers and just this month, I’ve changed to group to a Secret Referral Only group and it’s going extraordinarily well!! In fact, I netted over $13,300 last year alone (all of which I collected via Paypal and all reported to the IRS) so it’s actually turned into a very profitable business for me….so much so that I’ve semi-retired and am now doing what I LOVE to do which is scour estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, etc.! I have 7 admins that help me manage three groups now, two of which are offshoots of our original group but with different formats so between the three groups, we have over 7,200 members, all within 20 miles of me! I wish I had thought of this sooner, lol!
Wendy Broyles says
April 7, 2014 at 9:54 pmI also do what’s called Porch Pick Up. Upon an agreement from a bidder, I send them a Paypal invoice which I require them to pay within a set time frame, once it’s paid, I bag the item with their name on the front, put it on a nice shelf on my porch, and they pick up at their convenience once they pay the invoice. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m running a crack house with all of the traffic that comes and goes throughout the day! I’ve also been able to clean out my house of 12 years of accumulated JUNK which as you know is another man’s treasure 😉
Crystal says
August 4, 2014 at 9:11 pmI about spit my drink out laughing! I have a small business where I make personalized items and pet treats…I have a storage tote box that I leave out in front of my house for people to pick up their items. I’ve always wondered what the neighbors thought-lol!!
Victoria says
April 8, 2014 at 5:45 amWow! Great job. What a way to think out of the box and earn an income.
Cynthia says
April 25, 2014 at 5:38 amHi! This is great stuff! In fact, I run a group near Houston, Texas with over 12,000. It’s a love hate job for sure. 🙂 My group is called The Woodlands Bazaar and we use Tradono to place buy & sell ads. It works with any group you are a member of on Facebook. So cool! Come check it out and see if you like it. If you do, Tradono can become available in your area too.tradono.com. Got questions? [email protected]. You’ll LOVE it!
Michelle L. says
January 9, 2015 at 9:37 pmI was just viewing the website you mentioned in your comments: http://www.tradono.com and it opens up to a page in another language and I’m just wondering if that is the right page/link? TIA
Cherice says
February 22, 2015 at 12:17 pmI’m curious about something. I was talking to someone at a recent conference and became aware of this type of FB group for the first time. She said that she charges members a fee to list items for sale. Do you know anything about how this works?
Victoria says
February 22, 2015 at 1:22 pmI have never heard of a group that charges a fee to list items.
Pam says
January 14, 2018 at 10:33 amIt says It’s no available to Canadians. Do you know of a Canadian one.
SissyVoss says
July 6, 2014 at 7:08 pmI have been reading your post and I thank you for all the good info.I take care of my disabled mother-in-law and husband and we have been raiseing our 2 nieces.I have been looking for some way to make extra money at home.
Victoria says
July 7, 2014 at 8:21 amI hope these tips help you make a bit of extra money at home. I would suggest you check out my Reselling page under the “earn$” tab in the menu at the top of the blog as well as the “point programs” tab also found under “earn$”. Those are where all my tips for creating a bit of at home income are. I hope they help.
Sherry says
August 24, 2014 at 7:39 amI don’t know if where you are from has varagesale.com but those of you who already have Facebook buy/sell pages should check out converting them to Varagesale – so much easier than Facebook Buy Sell pages and I make 3 times the $$ I did on Facebook. Check out the one in my area: https://www.varagesale.com/griffin-ga-buy-sell-trade/about
Victoria says
August 24, 2014 at 11:33 amThanks for the tip. The site looks pretty neat, I had not heard of it before.
Jen says
September 12, 2014 at 7:35 pmI find that if you group items together that have a similar theme, i.e. Sports team, toddler clothes, you tend to have a lot better luck selling on Facebook.
Victoria says
September 13, 2014 at 11:14 amGreat tip! Thanks for sharing it.
Donna says
November 11, 2014 at 5:07 pmI like your idea very much of reading the rules to each buy sell and trade group. I run a rather large buy sell page (almost 11,000 people). I don’t have many rules at all, but the ones I do have, I really think are there to help make the page run smooth. I don’t like having to tell another adult they are breaking the rules. It’s sort of embarrassing. Nor do I like having to ban people from my page. But I do not allow bashing or foul language. So those are just banned immediately. So, it’s really a good idea to read the rules to EVERY page you try to buy or sell on. Each group has their own rules made up by the admin.
Victoria says
November 11, 2014 at 5:40 pmAgree 100% .
Barbara says
November 12, 2014 at 12:07 pmI arrived at your blog through a link on Money Saving Mom. How do you find a Facebook buy and sell group? I entered “buy and sell” but didn’t’ get anything relevant.
I have a lot of things from my mother’s estate that I have to sell. I was thinking about a big yard sale next year, when we’ve settled into a new home, but I’d love to get started now on Facebook.
Victoria says
November 12, 2014 at 4:41 pmThe best way to find a good Facebook buy and sell group in your area is to ask your Facebook friends, chances are someone will know of one and invite you to it. That is how I found the 2 I am in.
Trisha says
September 28, 2015 at 5:37 amWhy do you think people like an item if they are not going to buy it? Should you try and contact the person that likes it and see if they want to buy it?
Victoria says
September 28, 2015 at 7:35 amI think people like an item for various reasons, one being that they do indeed like the item, but for some reasons don’t want to buy it right now. Personally I wouldn’t contact them, those that really truly want an item will do more than like the item they will comment or contact you.
Trevor says
February 23, 2016 at 2:35 pmMy wife and I have a side business where we do most of our selling on Facebook yard sale sites. We bump our posts every day. Tip: Create your own Group page where you list all of your items (if you have a bunch), and post your site to the yard sale pages that allow business ads. We have close to a thousand members now.
Victoria says
February 23, 2016 at 3:24 pmThanks for the tips!
cathi103 says
November 2, 2016 at 10:09 amI read a comment a while back about “settings”. If I want to sell on the Facebook groups but don’t want these items to show in my “personal” feed, is there a way to do this?
Victoria says
November 2, 2016 at 12:04 pmI really don’t know. I would suggest asking in the group you belong to itself. Or searching around in the settings area of Facebook.
Cammy says
November 13, 2016 at 11:22 amIt depends on your group. Your posts on “public” groups will appear on your timeline for others to see. “Secret” and “closed” groups do not appear on your timeline.
For your personal newsfeed (what you see but others don’t”, you can stop items from showing by clicking the arrow in the upper right corner of a post and selecting “unfollow”. You’re still a member of the group but the posts don’t show up in your newsfeed.
As to this tips list, my favorite is the one about reading the rules of the group. As an admin of a group of ~10,000, I beg you to follow this tip. 🙂
Victoria says
November 14, 2016 at 8:47 amThanks for leaving these tips!
Kelly says
June 26, 2017 at 6:02 pmIs it wrong for me to buy items on for sale sites that I know are good deals and then turn around and resell them for a profit. I had a guy get upset at me for doing this.
Victoria says
June 27, 2017 at 11:01 amNo it isn’t wrong. People buy things at yard sales and such all the time to resell for profit.
Wayne says
November 19, 2017 at 6:12 pmThere’s nothing wrong with that. It’s called free enterprise, and it’s just smart business. Why on earth would he get upset with you for doing that? He’s free to shop elsewhere! Good grief.
Melissa says
November 27, 2017 at 3:14 pmI know several moms in the “mommy” swap sites that get upset with this tactic, simply because of two specific scenarios. One, they attempted to list something at a low price to help out another family in need, then see it as being taken advantage of when their item is immediately resold for a higher price. Or two, people go to special sale events (“Black Friday” for example) to buy all the hot item toys on sale, then relist on swap sites and amazon for a much higher sale price than what retail marked as. The toys are difficult to purchase since they are limited.
Darbi says
July 10, 2017 at 11:08 pmHi was wondering if you know of a software that will list on multiple sites with out re-entering the info everytime?
Victoria says
July 11, 2017 at 12:16 pmNo, I do not. Sorry, but it would be really cool if a software like that existed.
Wayne says
November 19, 2017 at 6:06 pmSuch software exists, but (for some reason) many groups don’t allow posts made in that manner.
Wayne says
November 19, 2017 at 6:03 pmI don’t use Facebook buy & sell groups to sell specific items, but to promote a small printing business I run from home. So, deleting old posts of sold items doesn’t apply in my case. Generally, it’s only when I update the ad’s text and image, that I delete old posts.
Results have been mixed. The ad is posted in over 60 groups (yeah, there’s a simple way around the silly 21 group limit in which to submit any one post) but sometimes I get no response, and other times there are quite a few inquires.
Philip says
June 6, 2018 at 2:06 amI’ve just started using some of these groups and have sold a few things. But I want to also be able to post certain items on my personal page and on a college friend group page. Do you know if I am able to do that without literally re-writing the post?
Victoria says
June 6, 2018 at 12:32 pmYou could copy and paste the information into other areas and then just upload the picture.
Patricia Bernard says
July 6, 2018 at 1:13 pmI read the comment that says you need to be available at all times if you want to sell to facebook. You said that you need to answer questions…… Why? If I offer something for a great price that people want why do I have to be available…….wouldn’t they wait if they were really interested?
Victoria says
July 9, 2018 at 10:21 amProbably but if you want a quick sale it is best to be as available as you can be to answer questions and arrange pick up.
Lesly says
March 15, 2019 at 8:34 pmlots of great tips! I have sold a lot on facebook sell groups and marketplace. several months ago i was blocked on marketplace then later on sell groups. after a few months I was able to get back on the sell groups but still blocked from marketplace it says i’ve violated their policies i’ve read through them and can’t see what I would have violated. I mostly sell household items, clothing, toys and instructional items. when I click on marketplace it says you can have them review your case which I have and simply get the same response and it doesn’t say which post it was that violated policy. there is no way to contact anyone and I cannot find a solution to this anyone have any insight or answers
thanks