Here’s How I Made $360 Selling Stuff on Facebook Marketplace

Some people flip items on Facebook for profit, but I don’t have time to paint an armoir. I’m a 40-something with a full-time job and little kids.

I use Facebook Marketplace to sell stuff around the house so I can clear the clutter and get back some of what I paid on past purchases. It’s my sustainable side hustle.

I sell locally to avoid shipping costs and Facebook’s selling fees. Success can be hit or miss.

May was a pretty good month. I had three items listed on Facebook Marketplace, sold two of them and made a solid $360.

I know from previous experience that baby/kid stuff can do well on Marketplace, so I listed our like-new Halo bassinet and a well-used Melissa & Doug art easel. I had also listed my classic Vox guitar amp more than a month ago.

I thought the bassinet would sell quickly, but it was the amp and the easel that went in the same week. I sold the Vox for $340 and the easel for $20. I cleared the clutter and made cash.

The bassinet is still up, but I’m confident it’ll sell in time.

If you have a Facebook account, it’s easy to list and sell on Marketplace. With more than 3 billion active users according to Statista, Facebook is an easy way to get eyes on your stuff.

Tap the Marketplace icon in the app and get started.

While it’s simple to list items, Facebook Marketplace is not a quick cash play. It pays to be patient and price your stuff competitively. I have a simple process to increase the chances of a sale.

As a shopper, I roll my eyes at listings with only one pic. You can add up to 10, and even include a short video. Why wouldn’t you if you want to sell the thing?

The bassinet I’m selling is awkward to photograph, so I staged it in front of a window for good lighting. I shoved all the stuff that was on the floor out of the frame and shot it from all angles. I made sure to also add a pic of the plushier mattress we’re including with it.

The easel is sturdy, but kind of a mess. I wiped down both sides and cleaned the kid scribbles as best I could before snapping some pics. It looked good enough to go for cheap.

People searching for the guitar amp I’m selling know what they want, so my photo goal was simply to convey how pristine I kept it. In hindsight, I should have added a video with sound to sell it quicker.

A good price gets people’s attention (i.e., make it cheap). You can do your market research right on Facebook Marketplace. Search for the same or similar items and filter by “sold” to get a sense for the going rate.

Build room for negotiation into your price, but don’t try to get top dollar. Part of the fun of shopping for used stuff is to haggle on price and get a deal.

We paid $299 for the Halo bassinet (called a BassiNest) when new and bought an upgraded Halo mattress for around $80.

I went with $175 for my gently used price — probably way too high since it hasn’t sold. I priced the easel at $40. It goes for around $70 new. It sold as soon as I lowered it to $20.

I wanted $400 for the couple-year-old amp, which retails at $599, but settled for $340 after it sat for more than a month.

It can take time for the right buyer to come across a niche item. I like to list my items in local buy, sell and trade community groups to increase the chances. You can join local and neighborhood groups relevant to what you’re selling and use the “list in more places” option for a wider reach.

Keep your title simple. I went back and forth between “Like-new Halo Bassinest” and just “Halo bassinet.” I tried including the price in the title, too.

Concise-but-clear descriptions attract buyers. I always compose a couple sentences about the item and use good grammar and punctuation.

I harp on the condition (if it’s good), put any potential issues out there and end with a catch phrase of sorts. Here’s how I described the easel:

If writing isn’t your thing, you can ask AI for assistance.

Don’t set it and forget it. Facebook shows me my Halo bassinet has 31 clicks and five listing saves, but it hasn’t sold. I tried a new title on a Tuesday and had the first message from an interested buyer the next day. Still, no sale.

My next move is to take and post new photos, and eventually lower the price. If that doesn’t work, I’m going to post it from my wife’s account in case the issue is that potential women buyers would rather communicate with a woman. Luckily, I’m in no hurry.

Being overeager to sell can make you more susceptible to scams, says Ian Bednowitz, general manager of LifeLock.

Take the time to read messages and look for signs of sketchiness before agreeing to a sale.

Bednowitz says overpayment scams are common and can be hard to spot. It’s a situation where a supposed buyer makes it look like they’ve sent you money online.

“They say, ‘I sent you a payment on Zelle, Cash App or Venmo and I overpaid you. Can you refund me the difference,’” he says. “When in fact, it’s just a fake email and they haven’t paid anything.”

They may even make a real payment and then reverse it after you’ve refunded the portion overpaid, he says.

“Scammers prey on scarcity and urgency,” he says

His advice is to breathe, take a close look at the offer, and pay attention to how people are behaving in their communication.

“Never be too trusting right away with someone you just met online,” Ryan Wilbur, a spokesperson for the Stafford County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office, said in an email interview.

“If a deal seems too good to be true, it normally is,” he said.

I tell buyers I prefer cash and suggest we meet in a public place.

I really wanted to close the deal on my guitar amp, but the buyer was pressed for time. I took a bit of a risk by agreeing to bring it to his work. It turned out fine, but I had a pit in my stomach as I drove down a rural backroad.

Wilbur recommends using a “safe exchange zone” for transactions. That can be a busy retail area frequented by the public or even the parking lot of the local sheriff’s office or police headquarters, which is what his department suggests.

I’ll do that next time because I want my practical side hustle to be a safe one.