How to Flip Items on Facebook Marketplace

Reselling 101

By RC Staff

30 March 2023

If you spend a lot of time on Facebook, why not start selling products through it as well? The Meta corporation’s gradual march towards world domination is a great opportunity for resellers. When you flip items on Facebook Marketplace, you can tap in to a lively base of local buyers. As we’ve covered before, local sales can be the easiest and most lucrative ways to make money as a reseller. Let’s dive in!

Why should you resell on Facebook Marketplace?

Facebook is more than a place to post embarrassing photos. Since 2016, Facebook Marketplace has rapidly grown into a premier platform for resellers. Compared to other platforms like eBay or StockX, Facebook Marketplace offers lower fees, and an emphasis on local sales.

The Pros of selling on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook has tons of users

• Facebook Marketplace is integrated within Facebook, meaning buyers are able to access Marketplace with their Facebook profile. Statista expects that over 240 million people will use Facebook in the United States alone in 2023. That’s a lot of buyers! More people seeing your listing also means more profit for you. There’s a better chance you’ll find someone willing to meet your price the more eyes you have on the listing.

Facebook marketplace is ideal for local sales

• If you prefer to resell local, look no further. While you can still show your Facebook Marketplace listings to buyers around the country, you can also set them to only show to local buyers. Selling local exclusively is generally the most lucrative way to resell your items.

The Cons of selling on Facebook Marketplace

Because its Facebook, your profile is public

• This is a double-edged sword. You can see potential buyers’ profiles, and get a sense if you’re dealing with a real person or a scammer. On the other hand, if people label you as a scalper, you may not appreciate the public attention

Buyers can be less serious

• Because Facebook Marketplace frequently deals in used or otherwise discounted goods, some buyers may try to waste your time with lowball offers. They may expect a deal or discount, or even be confused why you are selling over retail. Be prepared to ignore and block messages from unreasonable and obnoxious buyers.

The best things to flip on Facebook Marketplace

Because you’re likely going to focus on local sales, you’ll want to prioritize particular items. These are generally going to be either very hyped and popular, or difficult to ship. Check out our guide for a deeper dive into the best items to resell.

If you’re reselling locally, video game consoles remain some of the best options for quick and easy profits. PlayStations still resell for well over their retail price, and there are enough buyers that local sales are not an issue.

Large or heavy products like weights or exercise equipment tend to be very costly to ship. You can avoid this by reselling them locally, and still snag a good product.

Unlike StockX, Facebook Marketplace has no restrictions on reselling used shoes. If you have some old Jordans you won’t miss, you can list them for a decent profit.

Designer or vintage clothing is another possibility. Anything with a well-known brand name can be a good item to flip on Facebook Marketplace, as there will likely be a few local buyers interested in taking it off your hands.

What is SKU on Facebook Marketplace?

When listing an item to resell on Facebook Marketplace, you may have noticed an option for SKU. If you’re confused, SKU stands for “Stock Keeping Unit“, and it’s a handy way for sellers to keep track of their inventory.

The SKU on Facebook Marketplace is an optional feature; you don’t need to fill it out if you don’t want to. It can be a useful way to keep track of your sales though. For example, if you’re reselling consoles on Facebook Marketplace, you could give your PlayStations the SKU of 1, and your Xboxes the SKU of 2. That way you have a simple and easy way to track sales and create listings.

When using the SKU on Facebook Marketplace option, you do NOT need to match the manufacturer’s SKU number.

How to price reselling items on Facebook Marketplace

As a reseller, your first goal is profit. Without that, you’re just running a charity. So you’ll always need to keep track of how much you bought your goods for, and price them higher.

Of course, if all your sales are local, you won’t need to worry about shipping costs. Local sales also mean you can deal in cash, both of which are ideal for maximizing profit.

First, research the item you want to flip on Facebook Marketplace. Figure out how much other resellers are asking for the item, and go from there. List your item at a similar price, and start taking offers. For a complete guide on researching the price of items to flip on Facebook Marketplace, check out our article here.

Depending on how fast you want to make a sale, you can accept offers for a little less than your listed price. Or, you can simply hold onto the item for a little bit, and wait for the right buyer to come along. Holding an item for a extended period can be a great way to get the most profit, but also carries the risk of demand falling off.

In RC Elite, you may find another member will to “cash you out”, where they will buy items from you in bulk. You can still make profit this way, and don’t have to go through the hassle of finding a buyer.

If you’re shipping your items to nonlocal buyers, keep in mind you’ll need to deal with both shipping costs, and Facebook Marketplace fees.

Facebook Marketplace fees 2023

When you ship a sold item through Facebook Marketplace, you’ll need to pay a fee per item, not per order.

For items that sold under $8, this fee is a flat $0.40. Items over $8 will be charged at %5 of the total sale, regardless of category. This is generally lower than eBay or Amazon’s fees, so Facebook Marketplace can be ideal even if you’re not selling online.

Even better, Facebook is temporarily waiving their fees during 2023. From now until June 30, 2023, all seller fees are waived for sales on Facebook marketplace. Now’s the perfect time to flip items on Facebook Marketplace!

Should you promote Facebook Marketplace listings?

Here’s where things get fun. Because Facebook Marketplace is integrated directly into Facebook, you have a lot of tools at hand to promote your items. Under the account tab on Marketplace, navigate to your listings, and choose the listing you want to promote.

From there, you can choose from pre-made campaigns, or create your own. Setting your promotion to local will restrict it adult users within 40 miles of your location. You can target specific buyers, cities, or even postal codes, and the listing will show up on their Facebook timeline. You can see why this can be such a powerful tool

Promoting your Facebook Marketplace listing can be ideal in a few scenarios:

If you have a niche but still highly valuable item like a collectible vinyl, or vintage item that you would prefer to sell local, you may want to promote the listing. This way you can get the item in front of the right buyer, but still make a local sale.

Alternatively, you may choose to promote a highly competitive item. In these cases, buying ad space will bring you to the front of the line, and buyers will see your listing first.

Prices for Facebook Marketplace ads are variable. You can see how much the promotion will cost after you select your campaign parameters. Most campaigns will be between $10-$100

Facebook Marketplace ads are generally unnecessary, but can be very powerful for certain items.

How to sell your items on Facebook Marketplace

Okay, the hard part’s done. You’ve listed your item, set a price, and found a buyer. Once you and the buyer have confirmed the price, it’s time to make the sale.

For local sales, prioritize cash in hand sales, from the closest buyer you can find. Always meet in a public place, with plenty of other people close by. A parking lot after dark is not ideal, instead, go to a fast food spot or Starbucks, and make the sale inside.

The lobby of a police station is the safest place to make a sale. This is quite common in most precincts, and you can check the website of your local police station for their advice on making in person sales.

Additionally, OfferUp sponsors the Safe Trade Spots program, which publishes a list of ideal meeting locations around the country. Simply enter your location and you will receive options for vetted spots to make your sale safely.

How to see hidden information on Facebook Marketplace

Occasionally, you may see a notification that a buyer or seller’s information has been hidden. This is done by Facebook to stop malicious agents from scraping personal information like phone numbers or email addresses from users.

This information is only hidden on the desktop version. To see hidden information on Facebook Marketplace, simply use the mobile app. If you want to see it on desktop, add an “m” prefix to the URL (https://m.facebook.com/) to open the mobile version, which will not hide any personal information.

Shipping items on Facebook Marketplace

If you’re not selling local, you should familiarize yourself with Facebook’s online shipping policy:

Once you have received a sale confirmation from your buyer, you will have 3 days to ship the item directly to the buyer’s listed address (which is received after the sale).

You will get your payment either 15-20 days after the item is shipped, or 5 days after delivery is confirmed by the buyer, whichever comes first.

Always prioritize your safety

Hopefully you have a good grasp on how to flip items on Facebook Marketplace. As you can see, it’s a great way to move items locally, and you can save tons of time, money, and effort by making local sales. There’s nothing stopping you from listing your items on multiple platforms, so by having the option to sell local, you’ll be able to score a little extra cash every now and then.

Selling local is also a way to connect with your local community. You even have the opportunity to establish repeat business with buyers if they like the way you do business.

Local sales are very safe if you take the appropriate precautions. Remember to always meet in public places with people around. Check your buyer’s profile to see if they are a real person, and if they have bought items through Facebook Marketplace. Always trust your gut. If you get a bad feeling about a sale or buyer, there’s nothing wrong with canceling.

Deal in cash whenever possible. You can buy a pack of counterfeit money-detecting pens on Amazon for under $20 if fake bills are a concern as well.

As always, have fun, stay safe, and make money!