(Completely OT): Any experience with Facebook Marketplace or Craiglist?

[Eleven]

I've got a bunch of furniture that I need to sell this weekend and I've never really done anything like this before.

[Zamboni]

I’ve personally never used Facebook marketplace… But I know plenty of friends who have… And they’ve had success. I have personally used craigslist… And I’ve had success.

If you have a smart phone there is also an app called OfferUp. That’s very easy and convenient to do… And I’ve had success selling things on there too.

Just do yourself a favor and no matter what you do don’t ever give out your phone number to anybody. And if The furniture is movable without too much difficulty… Meet somebody in a public area… like a store parking lot. Not your own home.

Or if worst case scenario… Put the furniture in your garage… So they are not walking in your home.

At least those are my experiences and Preferences.

 

i’m currently in the market for a used gas stove in very good condition… For my rental property. So I’ve been looking on Facebook marketplace and craigslist and offer up for that.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Zamboni

[Eleven]

Sound advice, @Zamboni; I can't follow all of it though--it's not easily portable stuff.

[TheAud]

I use FB Marketplace at times and have been unloading stuff left and right recently as we are moving. Used to use Craigslist in a similar manner. I prefer FB as it at least requires someone to have an account that you can look at and make a judgment as to whether you do or do not trust them relative to meeting when they say they will, or coming in your house, etc. for those large items where you can't just meet them in the driveway.  It's not perfect but if you look at a dude's FB account and he's posting about his little kids all the time and saying Happy Mother's Day and so forth, and lives 10 minutes from you, etc., how risky is it really? 

Just a heads-up that frequently people will message you saying "I am interested" or even "Would you take $X for it?" and you can reply, and then you never hear from them again. I don't understand that behavior but it happens a lot. 

Lastly, and perhaps it goes without saying...people are really looking for cheap stuff and good deals on FB Marketplace. It's not like eBay where you can name your price and wait it out with an international buying pool. Basically assume you'll get less than what you'd expect to pay at the Salvation Army store for most things.  But it's cash and you don't have to dispose of the item...

 

[Eleven]

Thank you @Sakman ; I think I'm going to skip Craigslist for the reason you mentioned.  Also I'm going to have a friend with me when people come to pick things up.

[Weave]

I’ve used Marketplace multiple times.  Never let a stranger into your house.  Do the deal outside.

My experiences have all been reasonably good

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I have no idea how any of this stuff works.

A friend put up our washer and dryer and it looks like it's sold and being picked up tomorrow after a test run.

One thing good about FB is that you can target your market for your area, so you will not get some yahoo from Tim Buck(ed) Two (that's in Canada, eh !!) calling like an idiot.

[Doohicksie]

3 hours ago, Eleven said:

I've got a bunch of furniture that I need to sell this weekend and I've never really done anything like this before.

I'd find some local groups on Facebook that have names like, "[Locality] Garage Sale".  Also, if you are on Nextdoor, post there.  I've head decent luck posting/selling stuff there.

[inkman]

I’ve done FB Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay and probably other things.  Shady people on every platform.  The majority of people, who I do end up doing business with, are solid.  It’s the communication that sucks the most.  Lost of back and forth, haggling and people with weird specific demands.  

[PromoTheRobot]

3 hours ago, Eleven said:

I've got a bunch of furniture that I need to sell this weekend and I've never really done anything like this before.

FB marketplace used to be great. I've sold tons of crap and bought crap with great success. But lately you get people who express interest and then either show up or try to pull some scam on you.

[Eleven]

Thank you all.  I'm gonna do it estate sale style.

[spndnchz]

Put it at the curb. Poof! Gone. 

[MattPie]

I've bought and sold a few things on FB and bought on CL. The advice above is sound, although I've always done portable items like motorcycle gear or bicycles.

General portable item tips:

For higher value items, what works well are police station parking lots, many have "Online Sale" areas for the purpose. For really high-value items, meet at the buyers bank if possible. That way you can show up with no cash, there's camera security all over the place, and if it's a deal you can go inside and withdraw cash so there's no personal check or other nonsense. The only possible issue there is if someone followed you to your next destination (hopefully your own bank) or something, I guess. A cashier's check may make sense too.

[LabattBlue]

I used FB Marketplace several times last summer. 
 

 

- Anything I sold was moved to the garage before seller arrived.  

- If any communication with potential seller seems odd, don’t bother even responding. 

- No different than a garage sale.  I was selling a dining room set last summer, and when counting out the money he says “I’m $10 short” as he checks his pockets and wallet.  I wanted to tell him go to the ATM, and come back.  I wanted more to be rid of a dining room set.  

- This applies to anyone but more specifically for women selling something with no one else around.  Ask to meet seller for transaction in local police dept parking lot.

- No transactions conducted after dark. 

Edited May 26, 2022 by LabattBlue

[LabattBlue]

One other thing about FB. I was never shy about checking out someones FB activity prior to responding to them. 

[Pimlach]

If you can’t sell it donate it. 

[MattPie]

Oh, check out your local Buy Nothing group. The creators style it as a movement and it kind of is: people will ask for, give, or loan things out to each other. It's FB based, so there's at least some accountability and the moderators are supposed to make sure it's real people on there. We got and gave stuff all the time in PA, most of the time doing porch pickup and mostly free items. We lived in a townhouse though, so it was less risky than having randos over to your property. You can also do a traditional meet.

https://buynothingproject.org/

We don't do it now as there's no group where we live (and we don't want to start one).

[sabills]

9 minutes ago, MattPie said:

Oh, check out your local Buy Nothing group. The creators style it as a movement and it kind of is: people will ask for, give, or loan things out to each other. It's FB based, so there's at least some accountability and the moderators are supposed to make sure it's real people on there. We got and gave stuff all the time in PA, most of the time doing porch pickup and mostly free items. We lived in a townhouse though, so it was less risky than having randos over to your property. You can also do a traditional meet.

https://buynothingproject.org/

We don't do it now as there's no group where we live (and we don't want to start one).

Was just going to suggest this. My wife and I have been doing a lot of this after our move. Giving stuff away and getting a few things we need. People will take ANYthing, its amazing. 

[GoPuckYourself]

19 hours ago, Eleven said:

I've got a bunch of furniture that I need to sell this weekend and I've never really done anything like this before.

I use them both frequently. The only annoying thing so far is that you have people telling you they'll be there and they either never show or call and change their minds. I haven't had a bad experience yet but on Facebook marketplace you can check people's ratings to somewhat get a clue if they are serious or not.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Our washer and dryer just sold, so we are 100% success story with a very small sample size.

Again, it's our friend that did all the leg work on this.

[FogBat]

On 5/25/2022 at 3:50 PM, Weave said:

I’ve used Marketplace multiple times.  Never let a stranger into your house.  Do the deal outside.

My experiences have all been reasonably good

Spot on. I’ve done the same things.

11 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

One other thing about FB. I was never shy about checking out someones FB activity prior to responding to them. 

This too! We all known that FB stalking gets frowned upon, but it also helps to know who you’re dealing with.

[inkman]

Word of advice, don’t sell items when you are blackout drunk.  As it can lead to awkward interactions with future buyers thinking you still have the item when you don’t. Happened to me last summer. Spent the day at Music Fest here in Fairport.  Someone was really interested in an item, I had a couple hours to kill before going back to music fest, so I sold the item.  
 

The next day a woman contacted me asking about the item.  With no recollection of the previous days activity, I had the item sold again (thankfully I didn’t get any $&& yet).  So as I was rummaging through the garage, I realized the item was gonzo.  I thought someone stole it or my wife gave it to someone, only to realize I had sold it all schnockered without any recollection.  

[Weave]

#thingsthatonlyhappentoinkman

[SwampD]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

Word of advice, don’t sell items when you are blackout drunk.  As it can lead to awkward interactions with future buyers thinking you still have the item when you don’t. Happened to me last summer. Spent the day at Music Fest here in Fairport.  Someone was really interested in an item, I had a couple hours to kill before going back to music fest, so I sold the item.  
 

The next day a woman contacted me asking about the item.  With no recollection of the previous days activity, I had the item sold again (thankfully I didn’t get any $&& yet).  So as I was rummaging through the garage, I realized the item was gonzo.  I thought someone stole it or my wife gave it to someone, only to realize I had sold it all schnockered without any recollection.  

That’s pretty fantastic.

[inkman]

10 minutes ago, SwampD said:

That’s pretty fantastic.

It gets even better.  So we went a whole day thinking someone stole it out of my garage.  The buyer offered to have her cop husband get involved and my wife told her whole family it was stolen.  
 

Then I kinda had a holy ***** moment where some things started to come back to me.  I checked my FB Marketplace messages and sure enough, the entire sale conversation was right there.  
 

So I had to tell my wife I sold it already, she had to tell her family I was blackout drunk and forgot about it.  I don’t think anyone associated is ready to joke about it.