Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace has been a feature of the popular social networking site since 2016. With the ability to buy, sell, and advertise items and services both to people local to you as well as anyone within shipping distance, this flexible service provides easy to use e-commerce tools for people selling just a few items or to businesses selling goods and services online either exclusively or in support of in-person commerce.

As Facebook itself was originally about person-to-person connections within a shared collegiate community, it seems fitting that the expansion to Facebook Marketplace allows for individuals to sell items to one another one to one. Similar to the For Sale section of a local Craigslist page, users can create sales that are intended to be conducted in person and simply facilitated or advertised by Facebook. These sales work well for items that are not easily shipped -- oversized items such as furniture and cars; delicate items such as dried flowers or glassware; items of primarily local interest such as resale of a gift certificate to a local restaurant, to name a few examples. They also work well for advertising services that cannot be shipped -- DJ services for weddings, landscaping services, and the like. There is even a category for listing apartments and real estate for rent or sale. Additionally, some sellers do not want to be bothered with trying to ship something even if it is feasible and are willing to limit their market to anyone local enough to bother to drive to their arranged meeting location in exchange for less work involved in the sale.

Items can also be listed as available for shipping. This opens up a much larger pool of potential buyers for these items, and even with the extra work involved in having to ship the item to the buyer, can still be worth it. These can be one-off items, such as the resale of clothing items or decor items, or can be used as an e-commerce advertising option for a business. Additionally, listings do not have to be exclusively for local pickup or shipped; sellers can make both available to buyers, ensuring maximum reach to potential buyers. This means that things that have a more limited pool of potential buyers, such as reselling wedding dresses, have a much better chance of being sold. People running small businesses can also expand their potential market reach by putting up listings on Facebook Marketplace. With minimal costs to list and the ability to link to their business page for interested potential buyers, Facebook Marketplace allows these small businesses to inexpensively advertise their services to new people, including those who may accidentally stumble upon their services through simple browsing activities or from a search for a related service.

Facebook Marketplace is a popular addition to the already expansive umbrella of services under the Facebook name. With the ability to shop and sell unneeded items or even to promote your business, it is no wonder why so many people choose to use this tool.