For many people, Facebook is a platform to connect with people socially to have fun and have a good time. However, it can be used to sell or purchase goods via Facebook Marketplace which was launched in 2016. But it can be hard to close a deal on this place if you don’t know how to negotiate on Facebook Marketplace.
Keep in mind that your bargaining method shouldn’t be the same as the physical method. You should be careful while negotiating with the sellers on this platform. As a seller on Facebook Marketplace, I have seen many buyers getting confused as well as making excuses for making deals.
It is not a good sign when you are looking to get something at a lower price. With my experience, I will share a few tips that can help you as a buyer and close some deals to buy your required products at affordable pricing than the listing has demanded.
Overview of Facebook Marketplace
It is one unique facility of its kind among other social media platforms like WhatsApp, X, and Instagram. Facebook Marketplace is an online market where you can list your products, services, and anything you want to sell.
Ranging from vehicles to accessories, books to clothes, and many more, you can sell hundreds of products via this approach. It is active in more than 70 countries and around 800 million people access this section every month. These statistics show how big this market is to access and get your required products.
How to Negotiate on Facebook Marketplace?
So far, you have a brief overview of Facebook Marketplace. It is time to move to the major point of this blog which is how to negotiate on Facebook Marketplace. In the following section, I have discussed the 8 most effective tips to keep in mind while negotiating with some sellers over there.
Be Real
When it comes to closing a deal on Facebook Marketplace, the biggest mistake is to send an automated response. It is common to click on a message like “Is this item still available?” just after checking the product listed there.
The seller might take it as a non-serious act because you may have clicked on the message accidentally. Being a seller on Facebook Marketplace, I have faced this situation and often ignored such messages. It is highly recommended to be real while communicating over there.
You should pose a real question that comes to your mind while seeing a listing. For example, you can ask about the material, condition, and other things to proceed with the communication. It will help you get a strong base when you will be communicating for negotiation with the seller.
Make a Sensible Offer
Do you know what is the most irritating moment for a seller? It is the time when the buyer is making a useless offer to buy a specific product from them. For example, if a product has been listed for selling at $500 and you are making a deal of $30, you will never be able to close a deal.
Whenever I get such deals, I prefer not to respond back or even block the buyer because of their useless offers. It is right if I say that this is the must-have tip you should learn while reading how to negotiate on Facebook Marketplace.
While negotiating over there, you should make some sensible offers to continue communication with the sellers. In simple words, you should offer a price that seems to be good as per the product’s market value.
Show Interest to Buy Products
Undoubtedly, hundreds of buyers are out there just to make fun of the sellers and irritate them. It might be possible that the seller is already getting irritation from such buyers. So, you should show interest in buying products to get a response from the sellers and keep the deal open.
The best approach in this regard is to share a positive compliment on the product. For example, you can say that the product has a great color scheme. In reality, I have never ignored such messages that compliment my product.
It is really a positive gesture showing that buyers have looked at my products and interested to buy them. So, you should choose the same approach and try to engage the seller by showing some buying intent by sharing a compliment.
Offer Pick-up Facility
To get a strong base for closing a deal, it is recommended to offer a quick pick-up of the product. For example, if you are looking to buy a car, you should tell the seller that you are ready to pick it up within a few hours.
With this, you will be able to have a strong position and the seller might be interested in selling it at your given price. It might be possible that they are in need of money and when you offer them quick pick-up, they will be ready to close the deal.
It is the strongest approach to focus on while learning how to negotiate on Facebook Marketplace.
Be Respectful & Polite
Many buyers think that a seller must be available for communication whenever they leave a message. It is completely wrong to have such expectations because the seller might be busy with some other tasks. In turn, the buyers have been seen to misbehave with the sellers ruining their deal.
When you are negotiating with some sellers, you should be polite and respectful. It is not right to get angry just after a few messages or if the seller isn’t responding quickly as per your expectations. You should also wait for a few minutes even if the seller has seen your messages but hasn’t left a response.
It can increase your chances of closing the deal with the seller and getting your products at affordable pricing. You may see that the seller is ready to sell their goods at your requested prices even if they are much lower than their asked prices.
Don’t Wait for a Response a Long Time
I must say that many buyers lose the deal with me just because they don’t come back and follow up with the deal while negotiating with me. Honestly, every seller like me keeps on getting multiple messages and we may forget to connect back with the person whose chat has disappeared from the scene.
If you are looking to close a deal with sellers on Facebook Marketplace, it is highly recommended to follow up with them after a specific time. You shouldn’t wait for days or weeks to get a response from the sellers. It is suggested to connect with them to inquire if they are still interested in selling their products or if it is already sold out.
Share Related Listings Carefully
If nothing has worked for you from the above tips while learning how to negotiate on Facebook Marketplace, another solution you can try is sharing other sellers listing. It is a good approach to negotiate with the sellers because they will know that you are aware of the market pricing.
But you shouldn’t be rude or arrogant while sharing them. Also, it is suggested not to misbehave with the seller just because others are selling at lower prices. With this, you will be able to have a strong position and have better chances to close the deal.
Offer a Deposit
The last suggestion that I have for all buyers to quickly close the deal is to offer a deposit. It can help you get better communication ground with the seller and get a discounted price. But you should be careful while adopting this method as it can be harmful to your investment too.
So, you should carefully analyze the behavior of the seller and then offer a deposit after getting a positive vibe from their behavior. If you start sending deposit amounts randomly, you may lose your investment by getting scammed.
Precautions While Buying on Facebook Marketplace
As Facebook Marketplace is an online mode of buying something, it is compulsory to be proactive and think from a different point of view. You may get scammed if you have connected with the wrong seller. In this section, I have shared some precautions to help you be careful while purchasing something over there.
- Don’t be hurry while making a deal with the seller. They may get an idea of it and scam you by getting a deposit and then not delivering your products.
- Try to convince the sellers for a physical meeting to make a deal, especially when it is a matter of thousands of dollars.
- Always cross-check the listings by other sellers to get an idea about the actual pricing of the product.
- It is good to read the reviews of the seller if someone has shared over there to know the behavior and nature of the seller before buying a product or negotiating on the price.
Final Wrapping
So far, you have a clear idea of the tips to consider while learning how to negotiate on Facebook Marketplace. It is suggested to focus on these tips while negotiating and closing a deal. I hope these tricks will surely help you close deals at affordable prices instead of investing a lot of useless investment.