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How To Sell On Facebook In 2023: A Beginner’s Guide

how-to-sell-on-facebook-in-2023:-a-beginner’s-guide

When it comes to social media, few platforms have the reach of Facebook. Despite the rise of trendier social apps, Facebook users still easily outnumber users of other platforms, meaning that no matter what business you’re in, chances are you’ll have a lot of potential customers when selling on Facebook and Instagram.

Surveys have shown that a growing number of online shoppers make purchases via social commerce⁠—that is, directly on social media platforms—rather than through an ecommerce platform.

If you want to sell on Facebook but don’t know where to start, this step-by-step guide is for you.

How to sell on Facebook

Facebook offers a ton of tools to help merchants and users sell online. We’ll cover each in more detail below, but first, here’s a quick introduction to the ways to sell on Facebook: 

1. Facebook Shops

If you’re a small-business owner looking to build an audience, grow your brand, and boost your sales all at once, Facebook Shops is the best sales channel to start with.

With Facebook Shops, merchants can set up a fully functioning online store located directly on their Facebook Business page. The customer never has to leave Facebook to purchase your item. They can do it mid-scroll.

2. Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace was originally set up as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) sales tool meant to compete with Craigslist, with users posting classified ads and arranging direct in-person exchanges of product and payment.

While it’s still sometimes used in this way, Facebook has since added features like on-site checkout and shipping options meant to accommodate the needs of small businesses. 

Given that Facebook’s internal data in 2019 indicated a major B2C opportunity for retailers, don’t be surprised if Marketplace continues rolling out features that refocus it toward ecommerce businesses.

3. Facebook buy and sell groups

Part of the move to adapt Marketplace to retailers comes from the fact that C2C transactions are more commonly done through Facebook buy and sell groups. 

Facebook groups can enable the buy and sell feature, but more commonly, localized groups for specific towns and cities are used for buying and selling. Buy and sell groups are best for people looking to sell-off old items, garage-sale style. 

For merchants, buy and sell groups should not be the primary way of selling on Facebook, but there are ways retailers can use these groups to help build their brand, especially on a local level. 

How to sell on Facebook Shops

If you’re a small business or creator looking to sell directly on Facebook and through the Facebook app, you’ll want to start by creating a Facebook shop. It’s a must-have if you want to sell on Facebook.

1. Create a Facebook Business page

Your business may already have a Facebook page, but if not, you’ll have to create one.

You do not need to create an entirely separate Facebook account, as your business page will be managed separately from your personal Facebook profile and won’t be visibility tied to it (unless you choose to post from your store on to your personal page). 

In order to use Facebook Store and Marketplace integrations, your products must adhere to Facebook’s commerce policies and the terms outlined in the Facebook Seller Agreement

To create your Facebook Business page, log in to Facebook, select the Menu button (top right corner), then select Page from the Create menu:

creating a fb business page

From here, you’ll be able to add your cover photo, profile photo, and information about your business. Remember that filling out the information about your business in detail will look more professional to potential buyers, so make sure you don’t leave anything out.

IMPORTANT: In order to sell on Facebook, you’ll need to use the Shopping template for your business page. You can change your Facebook page template after adding basic information about your business.

2. Add a shop section

Go to the Create your shop page and click Next. If you’re already selling on Shopify, you can create your shop by syncing your products. Click the “Sync a partner platform” link and follow the prompts to complete set up. 

fb biz page setup

If you don’t have a Shopify store, you’ll want to start your free trial before proceeding. To sell on Facebook, you’ll need to make sure you remove password protection from your own website

3. Choose checkout method 

You have three options when it comes to customer checkout. 

Customers can check out with Facebook. In these cases, you can turn on Shop Pay, a convenient payment method already used by millions of shoppers. 

If you have customers check out directly on Facebook, there are a few things to consider: 

  • You won’t be able to use Shopify’s enhanced shipping options, such as flat shipping rates and carrier-calculated shipping rates. 
  • Products sold through Facebook checkout can’t have taxes included in the price.
  • Facebook began charging a selling fee to Shopify merchants on June 30, 2022. A 40¢ is now included on any order of less than $8, and 5% of the order’s total is charged on orders above $8.
  • Customers that check out on Facebook will still be able to use discounts and gift cards as their payment method.

pay on fb

Your other options include checkout through your ecommerce website or messaging, which means customers will contact you through Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, and you’ll need your own payment method. 

4. Choose your sales channel and Business Manager account

Next, choose the page you want to sell from, or create a new one. If you plan to sell on Instagram, choose your Instagram business account and click Next. 

On the next page, choose your Business Manager account, or create a new one. Then click Next. 

5. Select a catalog 

Choose the catalog you wish to apply to your store and click Next. In order to use a catalog, it must fulfill the eligibility criteria for stores.

6. Set your shipping and returns 

Decide how you’ll ship orders, and provide information on how you’ll handle returns. Fill in your shipping options like:

  • The places you ship to (i.e.,US only)
  • Handling time
  • Cart minimum for free shipping
  • Delivery times
  • Return window

Add a customer service email so you can answer questions and provide support. You can also let shoppers subscribe to your email list at checkout or on your shop’s homepage.

shipping on fb

7. Submit your shop and finish setup

Review your shop details, read and agree to the seller agreement and click Finish set up.

Now that you’ve created your shop, next you’ll want to:

  • Manage your catalog. Add any products you want to sell. If you’ve synced your Shopify store with Facebook, Shopify will automatically add products to your Facebook store. 
  • Create a collection. Organize your products into collections to make it easier for customers to browse your shop. Collections can be based on product categories, seasons, or any other grouping that makes sense for your business.
  • Customize the look of your shop. Change button colors, arrange featured collections and promotions, and choose featured collections to highlight at the top of your shop. 

Start selling your products on Facebook

Shopify comes with powerful tools that help you list, promote, and sell products on Facebook and Instagram. Create product collections, showcase your brand and products, and make sales on Facebook and Instagram from one place.

Start selling on Facebook

Selling on Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace has long been used as an alternative to garage sales, connecting casual sellers of used items with local buyers. It’s even become more popular than other online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. 

But recently, Facebook has been rolling out features meant to refocus Marketplace as a B2C sales tool for online stores. 

Currently, the platform serves both purposes, so if you’re looking to sell on Facebook Marketplace, you likely fall into one of two categories: 

  1. A casual seller, looking for local buyers for one or more used items. 
  2. A creator or business owner looking to grow their customer base by boosting their store’s visibility among the more than one billion people who log into Marketplace each month

Here’s how both groups can sell on Facebook Marketplace. 

How to list on Facebook Marketplace

1. Log in to Facebook

2. Click the Marketplace button on the left side menu

3. Click Create New Listing

new listing

4. Select ’Item For Sale’

item for sale

4. Fill in all listing information.

Add a high-quality photo of your product, an engaging product description, and the price, condition, and any additional details (like SKU numbers and product tags), if you need them. 

Once you’ve added all your product info, click Next.

5. Consider joining local Facebook groups.

On the next page, you’ll be shown a preview of your Marketplace listing, with a list of local groups that you can join. Joining these groups is not mandatory, but doing so will allow you to post Marketplace listings to local buyers in those groups. 

For more info, check out How to sell through buy and sell groups.

buy and sell groups

6. Tap publish and start selling on Facebook Marketplace.

Sell on Facebook Marketplace as a business

Facebook is still in the process of developing ecommerce tools to help merchants leverage audiences on Marketplace, so while there are some limits to selling for businesses, this could change very quickly. 

Selling through the Marketplace sales channel

The Marketplace sales channel is a feature for businesses where Facebook will make their shop products visible on Facebook Marketplace and allow buyers to check out directly on Facebook. Currently, this option is only available to US businesses, but this could change in the future.

Before you start, you’ll want to confirm a couple of things: 

  • You’ll need to have a Facebook shop set up, so if you haven’t already, go through the steps above under How to Sell on Facebook Shops and set up your ecommerce store. 
  • Your Facebook shop must have Checkout on Facebook enabled. 
  • You must complete all of the steps required to connect your Shopify and Facebook accounts, including connecting a Facebook Commerce Manager account to your Shopify store

Once this is confirmed, follow these steps to sell through the Facebook Marketplace Sales Channel: 

  1. Log in to your Facebook Commerce Manager account.
  2. Select your Facebook shop. 
  3. Select Settings on the left-hand menu.
  4. Click Business Assets and then select Enable Marketplace. 

After you’ve done this, eligible products from your shop will start to become visible on Facebook Marketplace within 24 hours. Product listings are fed to users algorithmically, so products will show up in the feed of users that Facebook believes will be most interested in them.

Boost your Marketplace listings with Facebook ads

If you want your Marketplace listings to reach more users, you can boost their reach by creating Facebook ads for your Marketplace listing. To do this, start by going to your Facebook account: 

1. From Facebook, select Marketplace on the left side menu, then click Your Account.

2. On your account page, under Your Listings, select Boost Listing on the listing you want to boost.

boost listing

3. On the next page, you’ll be able to select a daily budget, the length of your campaign, and your audience, and see a preview of your Facebook ad. Edit these attributes as you see fit, and if you’re happy with how the ad looks, select Promote Now.

promote now

Learn more about Facebook ads:

How to sell through Facebook buy and sell groups

Any Facebook group can enable buy and sell features, but typically buy and sell groups are situated locally, meaning members often live in a specific city, town, or neighborhood. With buy and sell groups, payment is usually arranged between the buyer and seller. 

Although buy and sell groups are most commonly used by casual sellers, they do offer an opportunity for small businesses looking to build a more local audience. Though there’s no integrated checkout, small business owners can simply direct interested buyers to their Facebook store to purchase.

If you want to sell through Facebook buy and sell Groups, here’s how: 

  1. Join the groups you want to sell to. To find local buy and sell groups, simply go to Facebook > Groups and search Buy and Sell, or follow this link. You’ll also be served a list of local buy and sell groups when you create a Marketplace listing.
  2. Click Sell Something at the top of the Buy and Sell Group page. 
  3. Select Item for Sale from the options given.
  4. On the next page, you’ll be able to enter all of your product information, including an image, description, and the location you want to sell in. Enter the required info and click Next.
  5. After entering your product information, you’ll be given the option to Add Your Listing to Marketplace. If you select this option, items will appear in the feeds of users that Facebook believes will be most interested in your products. You’ll also be able to join other buy and sell groups and list items there as well. 
  6. Once you’ve selected the groups you want to post in, click Post.

Facebook Marketplace tips for sellers 

What not to do when selling on Facebook Marketplace

  • Don’t post any personal information (such as your address, phone number, or email address).
  • Don’t post items that are illegal or prohibited by Facebook Marketplace’s terms of service.
  • Don’t include any offensive or inappropriate language in your posts.
  • Don’t use deceptive or misleading language in your posts.
  • Don’t post images of items that are not actually being sold.
  • Don’t post any items that are counterfeit, stolen, or otherwise illegal.
  • Don’t use any automated processes to post or manage your listings.
  • Don’t use Facebook Marketplace to conduct any activities that could be considered fraud or deceptive.

How to avoid getting scammed on Facebook Marketplace

  • Make sure the buyer provides their full name and contact information before agreeing to the sale.
  • Request payment via a secure payment method such as PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle.
  • Insist on meeting in person for the sale, if possible.
  • Ask for a copy of the buyer’s driver’s license or other form of identification to verify their identity.
  • Don’t ship items unless you are absolutely certain of the buyer’s identity.
  • Don’t accept payment in the form of cashier’s checks or money orders.
  • Don’t provide any personal information such as your address or bank account details.
  • Avoid transactions with buyers located in another country.

Sell on Facebook to power charge your ROI

If you’re using Facebook to reach audiences but not sell to them, you’re missing out on a ton of potential sales. With a little know how, creators and business owners that leverage Facebook’s sales tools now will be in prime position to scale down the road. 

Facebook has the most massive user base of any social network. With its growing suite of commerce tools, finding and selling to your target audience has massive ROI potential⁠—no matter what industry you’re in.

Start selling your products on Facebook and Instagram

Shopify comes with powerful tools that help you list, promote, and sell items on Facebook and Instagram. Create product collections, showcase your brand and products, and make sales on Facebook and Instagram from one place.

Discover Shopify's Meta sales channel today

Selling on Facebook FAQ

How much does it cost to sell on Facebook?

The cost to sell on Facebook varies depending on your approach. If you’re using Facebook Marketplace for individual listings, it’s free. However, if you’re using Facebook Shops for a business, you’ll need to pay transaction fees, which are typically around 5% per shipment, or a flat fee of 40¢ for shipments of $8 or less.

Is selling products on Facebook free?

Selling products on Facebook can be free if you use the Facebook Marketplace for individual listings.

How do you get paid for selling items on Facebook?

To get paid for selling items on Facebook, you need to set up a payment method. For Facebook Marketplace, transactions typically happen outside of the platform, with buyers and sellers agreeing on a payment method. For Facebook Shops, you’ll need to set up Facebook Pay or another supported payment processor.

What are the requirements to sell on Facebook?

The requirements to sell on Facebook include having a Facebook account, being at least 18 years old, and adhering to Facebook’s Commerce Policies. Additional requirements may apply if you’re setting up a Facebook shop for your business, such as having a valid tax identification number and a verified business page.

This originally appeared on Shopify and is made available here to cast a wider net of discovery.
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