If you consider yourself the Queen Of Letting Crap You Don't Need Anymore Accumulate, then please #respect, because I am undoubtedly your Overlord. We're all guilty of it buying things we don't need or holding onto the things we don't need anymore without any reason for it. But now that Facebook is launching Facebook Marketplace as of Monday, Oct. 3, getting rid of all those precariously low-rise jeans from the early 2000s you still have laying around is as easy as snapping a picture and uploading it onto Facebook.
Facebook Marketplace is, essentially, an integration of Craigslist in Facebook form. It allows you not only to post merchandise for sale for people in your area to make offers on, but for you to search for items you're looking for that people are selling. But unlike Craigslist, there is an added layer of protection — you can see the established Facebook profiles of buyers and sellers, helping ensure that they are who they say they are and eliminating some of the ever-present ~ruh-roh~ feeling you have whenever you agree to meet a Craigslist seller for a used couch at a random parking lot. Go Team Not Getting Murdered By Strangers On The Internet!
So exactly what kinds of things can you buy and sell on Facebook Marketplace? The marketplace divides itself into different sections depending on what you're looking for, and is an awesome opportunity to sell things like furniture, electronics, toys, and clothes. Sellers have the ability to post multiple pictures of each item in question, write a description, set a price, and read messages from buyers making offers. Buyers have the ability to set search parameters within certain price windows and distance windows, and can also refine their search by using keywords. If a buyer sees an item that they like, they can message the seller with an offer, or "Save" it to come back to it later.
"Facebook is where friends connect, and in recent years more people have been using Facebook to connect in another way, too — buying and selling with each other," wrote Facebook Director of Product Management Mary Ku in a blog post. "This activity started in Facebook Groups and has grown substantially. More than 450 million people visit buy and sell groups each month to see what's available, whether from families in their neighborhood or collectors around the world. "
With the introduction of Facebook Marketplace, social media commerce just got easier than ever — especially for those of us with only a few items to sell that don't warrant launching a page, or users who weren't aware of the buy and sell pages in the first place. And important note, though, to both buyers and sellers: similar to Craigslist, Facebook does not facilitate the exchange of money through the platform. Once a buyer and seller begin messaging, they can come up with an agreement about how payment and the item will be exchanged.
To access Facebook Marketplace, hit the shop icon at the bottom of the Facebook app. As of Oct. 3, the new feature will be rolling out to users over the age of 18 in the US, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Time to keep all the promises you made to yourself in 1995 and turn your Beanie Babies into ~cash moneyyy~, y'all!
Images: Courtesy of Facebook
