my experience- Facebook selling

soolin

I have always been dubious about selling on facebook as I don't want my friends spammed with my stuff for sale. However last week I joined a few local selling groups and placed some ads on there for low end items that I would normally car boot (weather so bad here you would need an aqua lung to go anywhere near an open field). I had two sales within 48 hours of listing.

Both sales low end, under £5 and yet to be paid for and collected- but hopefully sold without my facebook friends being spammed by my unwanted items.

Interestingly though most local sites to me seem to be more for baby items and fakes than normal household items- and my goods are neither of those.

headoutthesand

I've sold a few things on facebay. Admittedly mine have been bigger bulkier items that I didn't want the hassle of couriers etc.

From my local site, people are selling clothes but I don't think they really sell that well. It seems to be better for big toys, bulk books, home appliances. You'll also find that small businesses advertise too. Ours has mobile hairdressers and handymen advertising on it.

Crowqueen

From a buyer's perspective, a couple of questions:

- Can facebay enforce buyer protection, or is it up to me, e.g., to pay with Paypal and claim through them in the event of a problem (or by cash on pickup)?
- Are there any rules such as eBay's 'no unwashed clothing' to govern what the quality of items are or could be measured against in the event of a dispute, or is it a free-for-all?

I'm happier to buy things from a site that has established rules or is a legitimate business; I'm less happy to give money to a stranger for something sight unseen.

hermum

soolin, I started looking at Facebook for selling a few weeks ago & there are loads in my area,, I thought that there were just a few to start with but I looked at the original couple I found & their likes & found loads & loads more.
There's sites for general items, others for household, clothes, baby stuff etc.
I've sold several things on there.
One thing sold within about 5 minutes of posting it, I'd put in on ebay a few times with no takers.
I like it because it's more like a traditional classified selling platform. Someone likes something you're selling & because it's local they come round, have a look at it, if they like it hand over their dosh & off they trundle.
A lot of people post their items, I haven't offered postage yet.

soolin

Crowqueen wrote: »

From a buyer's perspective, a couple of questions:

- Can facebay enforce buyer protection, or is it up to me, e.g., to pay with Paypal and claim through them in the event of a problem (or by cash on pickup)?
- Are there any rules such as eBay's 'no unwashed clothing' to govern what the quality of items are or could be measured against in the event of a dispute, or is it a free-for-all?

I'm happier to buy things from a site that has established rules or is a legitimate business; I'm less happy to give money to a stranger for something sight unseen.

Mine are just local groups that some one has set up, so you log in via your normal facebook and request to be added to the selling group.

It is more like Gumtree really except facebook style, I add a photo with a price and collection post code and the first person who says 'yes please' to the post gets first refusal. It is all cash, although I note some people are saying they cna be contacted for postal rates at the buyrs own risk.

It seems to be a mix of business and private stuff and each group has a few basic rules like onlybumping once a day etc.

Ideally I still want a standalone facebook page for selling but I haven't worked that out yet.

Crowqueen

although I note some people are saying they cna be contacted for postal rates at the buyrs own risk.

Well...not sure I'll be buying then if it is mostly cash-on-collection.

As for postal sales, the risk does not (in law) belong to me when an item is posted, particularly from a business seller and when using Paypal or another electronic system (as I would do for most payments to an online trading partner). Having had a number of INRs over the past year - seems to have hot up from my side of things - where the seller was the one responsible for not posting on time, I don't want to shoulder the risk of this happening because someone is not directly held to it by the company involved.

They'd have to give me a better incentive to use FBay when other sites cover things more comprehensively .

Sorry to put a dampener on it but it sounds great for sellers, not so good for buyers.

zoesmummy_2006

ive sold a fair few bits on facebook selling pages recently, my kids wooden playhouse being a biggie!!! Just this morning I sold a dress that I bought a few weeks ago on ebay and the style was unsuitable for me unfortunately, a lass I know asked to buy it, collected after school run this morning and was very happy!! Have also sold bundles of my kids clothes on there for MORE than they were listed on ebay for-and that didnt sell on ebay!

soolin

hermum wrote: »

soolin, I started looking at Facebook for selling a few weeks ago & there are loads in my area,, I thought that there were just a few to start with but I looked at the original couple I found & their likes & found loads & loads more.
There's sites for general items, others for household, clothes, baby stuff etc.
I've sold several things on there.
One thing sold within about 5 minutes of posting it, I'd put in on ebay a few times with no takers.
I like it because it's more like a traditional classified selling platform. Someone likes something you're selling & because it's local they come round, have a look at it, if they like it hand over their dosh & off they trundle.
A lot of people post their items, I haven't offered postage yet.

I found a few of my selling pages by seeing what other people had on their lists.

I'm just off to list some more stuff now!

soolin

Crowqueen wrote: »

although I note some people are saying they cna be contacted for postal rates at the buyrs own risk.

Well...not sure I'll be buying then if it is mostly cash-on-collection.

As for postal sales, the risk does not (in law) belong to me when an item is posted, particularly from a business seller and when using Paypal or another electronic system (as I would do for most payments to an online trading partner). Having had a number of INRs over the past year - seems to have hot up from my side of things - where the seller was the one responsible for not posting on time, I don't want to shoulder the risk of this happening because someone is not directly held to it by the company involved.

They'd have to give me a better incentive to use FBay when other sites cover things more comprehensively .

Sorry to put a dampener on it but it sounds great for sellers, not so good for buyers.

The sites I am using don't appear to be 'official' selling pages and I have no idea what 'facebay' is (i'll go and look it up). It is really just a very local area, one of mine covers no more than a couple of Parish boundaries although some are wider afield.

I have found one for just a single area fo rinstance, literally just local mums from two or three schools within walking distance of each other, that has 37 members only - so I have joined but not listed anything as I am probabyl out of their district for collection.

This is by no means an ebay model selling platform, it is really just local small ads. I have not offered postage on any of my items as that defeats the object, I am using more as an online car boot sale.

hermum

soolin at the bottom of the page there's create a page. You then fill in all your details etc.
If I were you I'd dig around & find as many local groups as you can & join them, then when you set your page up post a link to your page, some will let you just post a link, others may want you to post something for sale on their page.
I think that it's a great place to sell, especially while there's no fees, I don't know how long that will last for though.
crowqueen, it obviously isn't the place for you to buy, for others it's ideal. Adults deciding they want to buy something & doing it, like the good old days, when people could make their own decisions but with the technology to reach more people.

Crowqueen

OK - sounds reasonable enough.

Sorry - someone above mentioned 'facebay'. Thought that was its official name - was a bit surprised actually, eBay would have a field day with the litigation involved.

I suspect it works better if you live somewhere central - e.g. in a town or city - where public transport is good and people are within walking distance.

Out here in the sticks with a mile or two between villages and no car it's easier to get things posted - but that's just me and the market I'm buying in. Even in a fairly spread out place like Basingstoke a car/bus is necessary to get from township to township.

I buy online because it's convenient to get things posted to me - so unless there was a secure, protected postage option I'd not bother. However, if people are prepared to post, then the burden of risk falls on them - the attractiveness diminishes in my eyes.

crowqueen, it obviously isn't the place for you to buy, for others it's ideal. Adults deciding they want to buy something & doing it, like the good old days, when people could make their own decisions but with the technology to reach more people.

Horses for courses, evidently. Sorry to express a bit of scepticism, but I am an adult - I can make my own decisions - it's just sensible to explore where my money is best protected if I want to pay for something sight unseen that someone else has to post. Perhaps I'm playing devil's advocate a bit since this thread is very one-sided - but there's really no need to imply that I'm not a grown-up for wanting to get the best deal as a buyer/consumer.

There are places where I'm better protected on postal items, tbh.