A Charlotte guide to buying and selling on Facebook
I’ve become mildly obsessed with buy and sell Facebook groups and Facebook Marketplace lately.
For me, it all started after having my second daughter nine months ago. We’re done having kids (two and through) and I realized I needed a more convenient way to unload the baby clothes that Nova was quickly growing out of than lugging them to a consignment shop knowing that I would be bringing the majority of them back home after they didn’t sell there. Moms don’t have time for all of that.
I started seeing all of these other moms successfully selling baby goods to each other through Facebook from the convenience of their own homes. And I also started seeing all of these really good deals!
There are tons of Facebook groups that are set up solely to be used to buy and sell items, but you have to find the good active groups, join them, and then sift through the items or post your own.
After seeing the success of buy and sell groups, Facebook introduced Marketplace in October of last year. It’s a public forum that allows you to buy and sell items to people in your community without having to be a member of a specific Facebook group. It’s pretty much Zuckerberg’s answer to eBay and Craigslist and it has the added bonus of being tied to someone’s Facebook profile, which lets you check out the person you’re dealing with, seeing if you have any mutual friends, etc.
Some popular local buy and sell Facebook groups:
Huntersville NO RULES Online Yard Sale
Charlotte, NC Online Yard Sales
Just Furniture and Home Decor for Ballantyne/Waxhaw/Southpark/Matthews
There are also several “secret” Facebook buy and sell groups that I’m a big fan of. Those you just have to hear about through the grapevine and get invited to by another Facebook friend who is already a member.
How to sell on Facebook:
Selling something is as easy as making a post in one of the buy and sell Facebook groups. You need a photo of the item, a product name, description, price, and you’re good to go. Make sure you check out the group’s rules before posting. They are usually pinned to the top of the group or in the group’s description. There might be some specifics about what you can and can’t post and the expectations for how to sell items in that group.
Once you post your item for sale in the Facebook group, Facebook will then give you the option to post it in more places on Facebook; whether that be in other Facebook groups you’re a member of or posting it to Facebook Marketplace. Posting it in Marketplace opens up the listing to be viewable by anyone on Facebook that lives in the same geographic area as you.
I will say that I’ve seen more success in items I’ve posted for sale when I’ve snazzed up the description.
How to buy on Facebook
Buying an item is super easy, too. You do so by being the first to comment or message the seller that you’re interested.
The most common ways to pay are either via PayPal, Venmo on your iPhone, or by cash.
Learn the lingo:
It took me a little while to get used to the language that people use.
“Int” or “interested”: You want to buy the item.
“N” or “next”: You say this when you’re interested in buying an item, but someone’s already beaten you and said “interested” before you. There’s still the chance that the sale to the person before you might fall through so you’re solidifying your place in line.
“PPU” or “porch pick up”: The item will be put out in front of the person’s home to pick up.
“Bump”: The seller will comment with this to move the post back to the top of the group.
“NWT” or “NWOT”: New with tags or new without tags.
“EUC”: Excellent used condition.
“GUC”: Good used condition.
“Cross-posted”: This means a person also posted this item in other groups.
“No cross-posting”: You’re not allowed to post something in that group and also post it elsewhere on Facebook.
“ISO”: In search of. Some will post this and include the description of a specific item they are looking for.
“Lot”: The seller is selling the group of items together. This typically means that they don’t want to split up the items and sell anything individually.
Happy deal hunting!
Photos: Katie McKiever
This story was originally published August 7, 2017 at 11:00 PM.