Buying and Selling on Facebook

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Have you ever gone through a phase where you want to purge, purge, purge everything you own? I can’t stand clutter and I love to organize, so when my home becomes too crowded, I am ready to get rid of things.

Sometimes, when purging more expensive items or things that I didn’t get much use out of, I feel guilty about the wasted money and choose to sell them. Quite frankly, Craigslist scares me! There have been too many stories in recent years about deals gone bad. I have tried Ebay in the past but it’s time consuming and bringing a toddler to the post office to ship packages is not worth the frustration to me.

When we moved back to Mt Pleasant this year, a friend of mine introduced me to the world of Facebook exchange groups. Was I living under a rock before? I had no idea these existed and I recently have become obsessed! These sites have become hugely popular in recent years and they offer a quick solution to selling items that you no longer want, or buying gently used items at a fraction of the retail price.

Whether you’re moving, your kids have grown up or outgrown their things, trying to downsize, or looking to make some extra money- selling on Facebook can be so beneficial. There are groups for a variety of categories- baby and children’s items, adult clothing and accessories, home goods, designer clothing and accessories, furniture and more. I’m going to give you some tips to keep in mind when navigating these groups!

How do I find an exchange group?

  • Do a search on Facebook for exchange group, buy/sell/trade, or garage sale, along with your part of town. The Charleston area is full of these groups! A quick search will produce a number of results.
  • To join, some groups require new members to be added by someone already in the group. This is usually done for safety reasons.
  • The most important tip is to read and understand the rules of each group! Many groups require you to “agree” to the rules before joining.
  • The best part about these groups is that all communicating can be done so through Facebook Messenger. No need to exchange phone numbers or email addresses like you would have to do on Craigslist.

Buying:

  • Check the groups often! Items can be listed at any time of day, but in my experience, the most action happens in the evenings. {Probably after little ones are in bed and mama has some free time!}
  • If you are not first to comment on an item, comment “Next.” If the sale falls through with the first buyer, it transfers to the next in line.
  • Ask questions. If you’d like a better look at an item before making a decision, ask for more pictures or details.
  • Porch pick-up. Many times, a seller will leave the item on their porch for the buyer to pick up. In this situation, the buyer will take the item and leave their payment under a rug or in a mailbox. This should all be discussed prior to the exchange.
  • If you are looking for a particular item, post ISO {in search of} along with what it is you’re looking for. You may luck out and find that someone has that item and is looking to get rid of it!

Selling:

  • Include any and all important information about the item- price, location, size, and condition.
  • Photos are key! Take pictures of the items to show as much detail as possible, including any flaws.
  • Price to sell! Consider how much use you’ve gotten out of the item and it’s condition when setting a price.
  • If you’re not seeing any action on your post, comment with “bump” to move it to the top of the page. It could have been overlooked or gotten lost in the flood of other posts.

Learn the Lingo:

There are a surprising number of terms and acronyms associated with these exchange groups! I had to google many of them to keep from looking like a complete novice.

  • ISO- In search of
  • DISO- desperately in search of
  • PPU- Pending pick up or porch pick up.
  • EUC- Excellent Used Condition
  • OBO- Or Best Offer. The price isn’t firm, make an offer!
  • NIP- New in package
  • NWT- New with tags
  • NWOT- New without tags
  • PM- Private message
  • Cross Posted- The item for sale has been shared on multiple groups.

Safety First:

  • As with any situation where you are meeting a stranger, do so in public and be aware of your surroundings!
Cozy Coupe
My latest Mommy Exchange find!

Happy shopping!