Facebook Marketplace vs Craigslist vs Others: Which is Better?

Many people especially new Sellers consider Facebook Shop and Facebook Marketplace as the same, but. They are not in reality! The Facebook shop can be created and configured via the FB page. Other than the local buying and selling groups, in 2016, Facebook has launched its Marketplace intended for buyers and sellers. It was integrated with Facebook Messenger using which the two parties can complete a deal. This post will compare Facebook shop vs marketplace, Facebook marketplace vs craigslist, and more.

Facebook Shops vs Marketplace

Both the Facebook Store and Marketplace are pretty different approaches for Facebook sellers. By using these, Sellers/Resellers can set up their online presence and interact with their target customers well. So depending on the requirements and need one can choose an option and plan the social media strategies for the business as per.

The marketplace can be understood as a Facebook Craigslist. On Facebook, manufacturers, sellers, or individuals can list their items with a price tag. It is like a website for sellers from where buyers can view their items and contact them. However, there is no particular process to checkout and confirm the purchase of an order like that of an e-commerce marketplace.

On the other hand, a Facebook shop is a medium where you can list your items and get them sold via your Facebook Page. It helps you to directly reach your potential customers with ease. The best part of using Facebook pages for the sellers is the fact that they can also link their products to external stores.

Due to the presence of the window functionality, people can buy items directly from a Facebook page. Buyers can also be redirected to an e-commerce site or store to checkout and complete the order.

Facebook Marketplace is a service or feature of the most famous social media in the world. It helps people to buy and sell their products with others or within their network. People can post about their products or browse others. Sellers and Buyers can contact and chat with each other and finalize a deal.

A Facebook user can search for any product by using the product name, type or category, or related features. The results can also be displayed depending on the distance from their location to that of the seller who has posted it.

An icon of Facebook Marketplace is available on both Android and iOS-based apps. By the way, both the Facebook shop and marketplace can help Dropshippers or Direct sellers to grow their customer base online.

If we consider the Facebook Marketplace then it is a feature that allows FB users to list, advertise, and find the products. A Facebook shop is created by companies and sellers to list their items in front of a wide social media audience and get them sold on the platform.

A person cannot buy or sell items on the FB Marketplace, since it lacks the transactions facility, but users can purchase their needed products from many Facebook shops.

So in FB shops, you can set up a payment transaction mode as per the availability. You can also redirect your potential buyers from a Facebook Shop to any e-commerce store, platform, or site.

The main purpose of FB Marketplace is product listings. People can search for the desired product on it and contact the sellers to proceed ahead. Facebook shops work like an online store where buyers can see the listed items from the producers, sellers, and dropshippers.

By the way, both the Facebook shop and marketplace can help Dropshippers or Direct sellers to grow their customer base online.

Facebook Marketplace vs Craigslist

Craigslist is a well-known private online marketplace. People can take the help of geographical regions or categories as search filters to find the item they want. It comes with minimal barriers.

The platform would not charge any additional fee for selling or buying. It is pretty easy to list a product on Craigslist for the seller however the post will get deleted automatically after some time. In this case, the item needs to be reposted.

In the Craigslist app, you can easily search for the relevant products, but. It redirects people to the web version of the listing after they hit on the contact button and they will need to further get the details.

On Craigslist, sellers are mostly anonymous so it is pretty difficult for a buyer to trust a person for the first time. Facebook Marketplace reveals the location of sellers and buyers. Additionally, the public Facebook profiles, cover photos, and a common friend of the users are also exposed.

So, the FB marketplace is better as compared to Craigslist. One can collect the background information of a seller or buyer before finalizing a deal. Facebook Marketplace is safer, easier, and faster than Craigslist especially to access via mobile. People can easily browse items than simply looking for the desired item using different search terms.

Facebook Marketplace vs eBay

eBay has mainly got global attention due to its auction system. As per which, the seller posts a starting selling price of the product with a due date of bidding and let the buyers reveal their price for it.

The benefit of using this method of selling for resellers or dropshippers is that they can mostly sell their items at a higher price than predicted. However, there is also another option of selling a product at a fixed rate.

There are different categories of sellers on eBay. Buyers will get the security on their purchases from eBay like the money-back guarantee or PayPal transactions. eBay also offers some free listings per month to its sellers but charges a final value fee for every sale.

Facebook Marketplace works almost like any classified ads page. Buyers can choose from the listed items and contact the sellers, negotiate the price and use any means to exchange the money.

You need to be a bit careful while dealing to buy a product on Craigslist or Facebook. The main reason is that they do not offer any guarantee of return like that of eBay or Amazon.

Facebook Marketplace vs Amazon

You can generally find new products on Amazon and eBay. Additionally, many facts from eBay vs Facebook marketplace seem similar in this section as well. Selling on amazon comes with two options, one is free (as an individual account) and the other is paid. (around $40/month as a professional account)

Depending on your sales figures and need to grow your business on Amazon, you might need to bear additional of their service charges. It also includes some percentage of commission per sale.

FB Marketplace didn’t charge any taxes or fees for listing the products, but. There is no proper feedback or rating system in Marketplace like that of any e-commerce platform, but. A user can report Facebook about the illegal or suspicious activity of another one.

Offerup vs Facebook Marketplace

OfferUp is one of the largest selling apps that allow buyers and sellers to give ratings to each other like eBay. It is much convenient for a seller to list an item there and deal with potential buyers.

A seller can get different offers from the buyers from which a seller can accept, decline or counter using a button within an app. It also features in-built messaging features for the two parties. Hence, buyers and sellers can communicate with each other without sharing personal information.

OfferUp collects some percentage of the service charge for a sale. However, not all buyer offers on it that sellers get are made with serious intentions. It was also found that many sellers are not happy with its un-customizable and infrequent notifications service.

The FB marketplace can help buyers to get informed about the total time from which a seller is active on Facebook as a user. In this way, the potential scammers can be tracked on this social media platform.

Etsy vs Facebook Marketplace

Etsy was begun in 2005 mainly as an online community for vintage lovers, crafters, and artists. People prefer to search for artistic, original, handmade, and quirky items in different categories. The popular products of this marketplace include toys, jewelry, clothing, and more.

Sellers who want to sell such unique items on Etsy need to pay a charge of 20 cents for each listing. Additionally, for each sale, a seller would be charged a transaction fee including that of shipping.

A seller can quickly create the listing and import the image. There is a Your Items tab for the sellers to organize and manage the queries and listings from and to buyers without hassle.

FB Marketplace on the other hand offers a wide variety of niches for a seller or reseller to list an item and get the attention of its targeted traffic. It can save time and effort and increase the chances of future business profits.

Verdict

According to a Facebook Official, more than 450 million Facebook users are visiting the buying and selling groups every month. No doubt Facebook has much potential for businesses of all types and sizes due to its huge customer base worldwide. One does not need to reveal the contact information while dealing with any new person for business on Facebook.

It is confusing for many sellers to choose a platform between craigslist vs Facebook marketplace for their business. After all, they both are very similar, but. Facebook Marketplace is to offer highly personalized service to the customers of a business.

Dropshippers who deal with a small number of items can prefer using the FB Marketplace to gain sales as compared to the other options. At least, it can give a free boost to a business of any type.