A rant about Facebook Marketplace

[@MsNaps-ri1sc]

Few months back, my husband drove about 45 minutes to an hour to pick up a piece of furniture. It was a bit of a drive but the thing was a good deal. The seller told him to meet at a particular store parking lot near her and she picked a time. My husband messaged the seller when he was on his way and gave an eta. He messaged her when he arrived, 15 minutes after and 30 minutes after then left a little while later. He got half way home and the lady finally responds saying she didn’t think he was actually coming to get the item so she didn’t check her phone. She offered it for free, but we didn’t want to waste any more time and gas in case she did it again.

[@OutfitRepeater]

Oh my gosh, that is is such nonsense 🙈

[@keric3730]

I forgot to check whether a lamp was from a smoke free home. I ended up letting the fabric shade sit outside in the sun for three days to lose its smell.

[@OutfitRepeater]

Oh no, that’s the worst!

[@not.taylorwrenmarie]

Definitely trust your instincts regarding safety concerns. Facebook marketplace is full of scammers and worse. There have been numerous stories about people getting murdered from Facebook marketplace meet ups, so I think your concerns, especially about giving out your address, are super valid.

[@OutfitRepeater]

When I lived by myself, I definitely did most things via public meetup!

[@mlletrouble]

It might fall under the 'too forthcoming' category but to cut to the chase my first message as a buyer is 'Hello, I'm interested in buying this item. I could pass by on X day if you're available?". I'm not a fan of small-talk so I feel it's not too invasive or rude. I usually give out my zip code to people so they know whereabout I live (I live in a big city) and when I confirm the day before I give them my address. I'm a woman living alone so it's more comfortable that way for me. If there is no plan there's no address. Two huge pet peeves of mine : people selling shoes or clothing and not writing the size in the listing. Seriously, like, why? How? And people giving me the 'yes it's available' reply when I ask a question or ask them when I could pass by. If I had to ask what the size was and they answer 'yes it's available' then I'm out cause I don't need that in my life lol

[@OutfitRepeater]

Your opening message sounds perfect to me! It’s efficient and to the point and let’s them know it’s a serious inquiry.

[@niamhtaylor8530]

I always have a bit of a laugh when you get the “send me your address, I’m coming” as the opener. Like woah buddy hold your horses you missed a step or two lol

[@OutfitRepeater]

hahaha omg same here, it kinda creeps me out honestly

[@brandihurd8374]

100% to everything you said!

[@gaaramookow]

The problem i find wifh Facebook marketplace is that it's less structured so it's more reliant on interpersonal interactions. People are not good at interpersonal interactions anymore.

[@Lilmeowchick555]

Selling clothes is a nightmare. Constantly spammed with gross messages from men? I had to delete all my listings because I was blocking people daily… insane

[@OutfitRepeater]

Ewwww I never even considered that 😩

[@oceanesdiary]

The first one “don’t ask if it’s available” is such an American thing I think 😅. You would never see this in the UK

[@BelindaTOV]

Have to put it on every item here in canada. Otherwise thats all i get… if it wasn’t “available”, it would be deleted or marked as sold. Not sure why you even get the option to leave sold items there..

[@OutfitRepeater]

Huh, never thought of it as a regional thing. Here in semi-rural east coast USA, people are constantly leaving listings up after they've sold!

[@zoonaferoza5595]

I’m based in uk. And have come across this some times. So it’s not just an American thing k assure you

[@pinkbenz8021]

I went to buy a coat , this lady said she could work out shipping for me. i give her my city and zip, told her to let me know when to send the payment and address. a few days later it says sold. I say sold? to me?? She sold it to someone else that did door pickup. I told her that i would have picked it up if shipping was an issue it was just inconvenient for me. she basically just tried to argue with me when i called out her lack of communication and crappy service

[@OutfitRepeater]

Ugh, that's so frustrating. There definitely aren't clear guidelines on how to prioritize requests when you get a lot of interest in an item, but bare minimum she should have communicated that change to you considering you already sent your address.

[@pinkbenz8021]

@@OutfitRepeater right. my loss is someone elses gain though. Sadly, It was exactly what I was looking for 😭😭

[@BelindaTOV]

Yes it adds your name in the “is this available”. If there was nothing in that message bar and sold items had to be removed, it would help a lot.

[@OutfitRepeater]

When I go to my app, it still doesn't have the name auto-populated for me (and it's up-to-date), so I'm still not convinced she wasn't lying lol

[@pinkbenz8021]

my brother and his friend got robbed , and bear maced for a watch (that they were selling on facebook marketplace)

[@OutfitRepeater]

holy crap, people are insane...

[@pinkbenz8021]

@@OutfitRepeater yeah. be careful selling anything that is high value and easy to steal. make sure you have other people with you for these types of exchanges and do the transaction in a safe area.

[@niamhtaylor8530]

Also completely agree with how you feel on people who insist you don’t ask if it’s available. People who put that in the listing turn me off from purchasing.

[@keric3730]

So, once a potential buyer makes contact, the seller needs to say " what days work with you" or " i have these 3 upcoming days / times available. Would any of them work with you to come look at the item? " It's very annoying when the seller does not move the sale along.

[@OutfitRepeater]

I don’t see that as the seller’s job to do; if I’m trying to buy something, I will ask the seller if a particular day/time works for them and go from there. I’ve never had a seller tell me when they were free, I’ve always made that move first. Same goes for the dozens of items I’ve sold myself.

[@AlexLouiseWest]

This stuff would drive me crazy too. It deserves a rant! 🪶

[@danika6586]

🪶

[@trulylexia]

🪶🪶