How to list on Facebook Marketplace for local cash and shipped second-hand

Create the listing

1. Open the form. In the Facebook app open Marketplace → Create new listing → Item for sale; on the web go to Marketplace and use Create new listing.
2. Photos. Cover shot first — it is the one that appears in the grid — then back, label, detail, flaws. Fill every slot the form gives you; more honest photos means fewer questions.
3. Title. Product type first, then the searchable detail: Nike Air Force 1 White Mens Size 10. Facebook does not publish a hard character count; keep it under about 100 characters so it does not truncate on a phone.
4. Price. Price to your area, not to national comps. Search Marketplace for the same item and set your radius, then land inside that range with room to negotiate — local buyers message with an offer more often than they tap Buy.
5. Category and condition. Pick the category Facebook suggests from, and set the structured condition (new, used like new, used good, used fair). Both drive browse and the filters buyers scroll.
6. Description. Measurements, material, brand, what is included, the flaws with a photo each, and why you are selling. Also state pickup availability and whether you can ship — that is the first thing a buyer wants to know.
7. Location. Check the location Facebook picked. Distance is the ranking signal for local buyers, and a wrong pin puts you outside their radius entirely.
8. Delivery method. Choose Local pickup, Shipping, or Both. Offering both reaches the most buyers and changes what fee you pay — see the table below.
9. Publish, then answer. Marketplace ranks responsive sellers up. A message left for six hours is a sale that walked.

Title, and how Marketplace search reads a listing

Because there is no published character limit, the discipline is clarity rather than squeezing: the first few words should name the object. Ikea Kallax shelf unit white 2x4 beats moving sale, must go!! in every search.

What Facebook Marketplace charges

Fee and protection travel together: a sale settled outside Marketplace's checkout has no Marketplace fee — and no Marketplace purchase protection for you either. Decide which you want before you list, not after someone has paid. This page's model is the approximate one this repo publishes at /api/marketplaces; confirm the current rule in your own Marketplace seller settings.

Photos on Facebook Marketplace

• Cover: the item alone, centred, filling the frame, plain background, daylight. The grid crops to a small card.
• Then: back, label or brand tag, detail, every flaw with its own photo, and a size or measurement shot.
• For furniture and large items, one shot with something for scale — buyers message asking "how big is it?" otherwise.
• Photograph the actual wear. Marketplace buyers collect in person and see exactly what you hid.
• Shoot in daylight, no filters, no text overlays, no stock images on a used item.

Local pickup versus shipping

1. Local pickup (0% fee). Agree a time and a public place, take payment in person, and mark it sold. Cheapest option for you and instant for the buyer.
2. Offer both when you can. Listing with shipping and local pickup reaches both audiences instead of one — the fee only applies to the ones that actually ship.
3. Shipping through Marketplace checkout (10% fee). You get an address, a label workflow and tracking, and the platform's protection comes with it.
4. Pack to the parcel, not the product. Weigh the packed box on a kitchen scale, choose the service that covers it with room to spare, and cover every old barcode before attaching the label.
5. Meet safely for pickup. A police-station or busy-store meetup, daylight, someone aware you are going. Do not hand an item over before payment clears.
6. Reply inside Marketplace. Use the platform's messages so the conversation is on record if a dispute arrives later.

Packing materials, weight checks and drop-off options: the shipping guide.

Common Facebook Marketplace mistakes

• Local pickup only on an item that would sell for more if it could ship — and shipping only on something nobody nearby wanted.
• Title that says "must go" instead of naming the object, so keyword search never finds it.
• Price set from what you paid rather than from the same item listed within your own radius.
• Wrong location or too-small radius, putting you outside the distance buyers will travel.
• Messages unanswered for hours. Marketplace rewards the seller who replies first.
• Reposting the same item as several listings — duplicates get removed and split the interest that one fresh listing would gather.
• Stock photos or an over-filtered cover shot on a used item; buyers notice when the real thing arrives looking different.
• Leaving condition vague, then negotiating downwards in person when the buyer sees the wear.

One-tap copy: paste into Facebook Marketplace

Edit in place, tap Copy, paste into the Marketplace listing form. The title counter shows characters only — Facebook does not publish a limit — so treat 100 as this guide's rule of thumb. Worked example for a shelf unit; swap in your item.

These links go to Facebook's own web form — this guide does not claim a Facebook app deep-link scheme it has not verified. The copy buttons work either way: copy, then paste into the app or the web form.