Local businesses, pay attention! Facebook Marketplace is a new tab in the Facebook mobile app that allows individuals to buy and sell items to each other. Think of it as Facebook’s version of Craigslist or eBay.
You can find Facebook Marketplace right in the middle of the bottom bar on the Facebook app. Click the icon and you’ll see a wide range of products that are for sale near you. You can browse the items, filter them by category, and even change the location and distance of products to display (up to 100 miles away).
There are some limitations right now.
- It’s limited to the Facebook app only. You won’t see it on the desktop web version. It’s designed for peer-to-peer selling within local areas.
- It’s not open to businesses yet.
- There is no direct purchase method within Facebook Marketplace itself. Individuals have to meet personally and arrange payment on their own.
You can read more about Facebook Marketplace on TechCrunch.
What You Should Do
First, realize that this is completely different from the shop tab that you can put on your own business Facebook page. Next be sure to check out the new Marketplace section on the Facebook app and get familiar with it. You can post items for sale using your own personal profile, but not from your business page. That’s not always desirable, so you might want to hold off until Facebook officially opens it up to local businesses. When they do, we’ll definitely let you know how to take advantage of it!
