Launching an ecommerce business cannot occur without getting set up with online payment processing. And it goes without saying that you also need to develop an entire infrastructure of goals, financial underpinnings, products, sales solutions, and much more. 

As you work to design your first marketing strategy, you may be wondering if it makes sense to incorporate Facebook marketplace into your plans.

What is Facebook marketplace?

Facebook marketplace is a peer-to-peer platform where individual sellers can advertise new and used items and get in contact with interested buyers. Since all transactions take place outside of the Facebook app, Facebook is not responsible for them in any way.

With Facebook marketplace, users can search for items and browse for sale items using parameters such as category and location. 

Additionally, they can create listings for items to be sold, view previous transactions, set custom bids, and send messages to other buyers or sellers to make arrangements for purchase.

The pros of using Facebook marketplace.

Because this tool is built right into the Facebook app, there is nothing extra that you need to download. Its intuitive interface makes posting items, browsing, and messaging others very easy.

Especially if you are selling goods for your business, you will be glad to hear that Facebook marketplace allows you to add multiple items on a single screen. To refine your audience, it lets you sell to specific locations without even needing to join community groups.

What’s more, Facebook marketplace is absolutely free. You pay nothing to post an item, sell it, or buy a product. They don’t even take a percentage of your sale, which is a marked departure from eBay and other marketplace competitors.

The platform’s huge user base is also an advantage. You can rest assured that your products will be available for many eyes to see, increasing the chances of a quick sale. 

If you need to amp it up a bit, you can even boost your marketplace presence through paid ads.

The cons of using Facebook marketplace.

This platform does have some downsides. For one thing, money-back protection is only available for some items. In other words, if a bad payment comes in, you may never have legitimate funds deposited into the account furnished by your merchant provider.

Specifically, gemstones, vehicles, and face-to-face transactions are not covered under Facebook’s purchase protection policy. Even for merchandise that is shielded, you are at the platform’s mercy as to whether you ever get your money back. 

This limited protection situation leaves the field wide open for scammers. For you as a business seller, this may make it difficult to gain customer trust.

Additionally, Facebook marketplace lacks advanced features such as built-in analytics. This makes it hard to track outcomes. What’s more, seller profiles are flimsy at best, limiting your knowledge of your customers before completing a sale.

Although the platform lets you list your goods by category, many niche classifications are not included. This shortcoming may affect your ability to attract specialized buyers.

Finally, there is no customer support. Should issues arise during or after a sale, you are pretty much on your own.

The bottom line.

Only you can make the marketing decisions that are right for your unique business and its customers. Take time to examine the advantages and disadvantages of this sales tool, perhaps mounting a small test run. 

If your experience is a positive one, you can expand your offerings on this free and widely accessible forum.