Facebook Marketplace v BC v eBay

[lownote]

Just started selling on FB. Impressed so far. Trying to clear bass and photographic backlog from last year’s GAS. Items are moving much quicker than on BC, even quite exotic stuff. Who’d have thought a general punter would want a 6 string bass. Now getting responses within 12 hours.Same bass items haven’t had a tickle of interest here.

Edited January 18, 2020 by lownote12

[Doctor J]

Still won’t be joining facebook, no matter what.

[mentalextra]

1 hour ago, lownote12 said:

Impressed so far. Trying to clear bass and photographic backlog from last year’s GAS. Items are moving much quicker than on BC, even quite exotic stuff. Who’d have thought a general punter would want a 6 string bass. Now getting responses within 12 hours.Same bass items haven’t had a tickle of interest here.

Pleased that your stuff is shifting on FB, personally I find it’s like the Wild West? Interesting that you haven’t had any luck on BC because there are one or two guys that shift ‘huge’ amounts of high end computer and camera gear regularly?

[paul_c2]

Do they shift it or do they advertise it?

[lownote]

I see no end of reasonably priced bass items that stay on BC so long they become like familiar faces. There’s one pair of Warwick cabs from @Woody1957 have been on here since April last year and this is the second time round they've been posted - so likely over a year to (not) sell two reasonably priced items.  I agree FB is a bit too public for my liking but the alternative is paying a hefty fee on eBay or very likely not selling at all on here.

Edited January 18, 2020 by lownote12

[odysseus]

I found local FB selling a waste of time as nobody has any money down here. Strangely, I've managed to shift two really nice 5 strings on here without even having to advertise - one through an innocuous post on a thread, another through the items wanted section.... and I got a lovely Mayones in p/x. Win!

Still got a fretless to sell that I will get around to shortly... 

[Aidan63]

Facebook generally is more local, if the items that you are selling are collection only on here or ebay they will be harder to shift; I'm interested in your fretless bass but it would take me a day to drive to yours and back so impractical and cost me more than the bass itself, if it was shipping included I'd have bought it, and I bet several others have thought the same

yes if buying a £2k bass you'd probably want to travel and try it first but a sub £200 one is just a nothing much to lose impulse purchase

if you are serious about selling stuff, on ebay then chose a low start price auction and it will sell for what the market thinks its worth, if you want what you think its worth it needs to be well described, usp and clickbait sales terms, good value, comparable in quality and price to the recent actually sold items of that type and be somewhere populous if it is collect only generally though there are buyers who buy rubbish and fakes at inflated prices

[skidder652003]

I would always come here first to buy or trade a bass (and have done a few) but for selling other stuff, especially guitars, I've found the FB marketplace excellent as well as gumtree, ebay is a big no no for selling these days as far as I'm concerned.

[skidder652003]

1 minute ago, Aidan63 said:

Facebook generally is more local, if the items that you are selling are collection only on here or ebay they will be harder to shift; I'm interested in your fretless bass but it would take me a day to drive to yours and back so impractical and cost me more than the bass itself, if it was shipping included I'd have bought it, and I bet several others have thought the same

yes if buying a £2k bass you'd probably want to travel and try it first but a sub £200 one is just a nothing much to lose impulse purchase

if you are serious about selling stuff, on ebay then chose a low start price auction and it will sell for what the market thinks its worth, if you want what you think its worth it needs to be well described, usp and clickbait sales terms, good value, comparable in quality and price to the recent actually sold items of that type and be somewhere populous if it is collect only generally though there are buyers who buy rubbish and fakes at inflated prices

sold an Ashdown 15" cab that way on ebay, got £7!!!!

[odysseus]

I have yet to try EBay.... I'd rather sell here if possible, but EBay may have to be an option in future....

[Aidan63]

10 minutes ago, skidder652003 said:

sold an Ashdown 15" cab that way on ebay, got £7!!!!

unfortunately that is what the market thought it was worth that day where it was, we have all lost money buying and selling things

[odysseus]

13 minutes ago, skidder652003 said:

sold an Ashdown 15" cab that way on ebay, got £7!!!!

No reserve? 

[skidder652003]

1 hour ago, odysseus said:

No reserve? 

nope-Doh! Mind you it was years ago, still never got over it! Guys drove all the way fro Birmingham to devon to collect!

[dmccombe7]

Yep i've bought and sold on FB local page too. 

I'm not someone that buys and sells a lot of gear tho. I reckon its about even with BC but the FB gear does seem to shift quickly. I think if its local FB its easier for people to try or pick up.

With BC most of the gear is quite a distance from me in Scotland so there's little chance of trying first.

First place i go is BC and then FB and occasionally ebay or Gumtree. I feel safer buying on BC tho.

Dave

Edited January 18, 2020 by dmccombe7

[Newfoundfreedom]

2 hours ago, lownote12 said:

I see no end of reasonably priced bass items that stay on BC so long they become like familiar faces. There’s one pair of Warwick cabs from @Woody1957 have been on here since April last year and this is the second time round they've been posted - so likely over a year to (not) sell two reasonably priced items.  I agree FB is a bit too public for my liking but the alternative is paying a hefty fee on eBay or very likely not selling at all on here.

Why did you have to bring those up! 😂

Those things have been killing me for over a year! If I was in the UK i'd have taken his arm off the day he posted them. 

Can't believe they still haven't sold.

In fact, I totally agree with you about things seemingly not moving very well on here. 

As far as Facebook marketplace goes though, it's absolutely massive, so pretty much impossible for any forum to compete. 

Edited January 18, 2020 by Newfoundfreedom

[hooky_lowdown]

2 hours ago, lownote12 said:

alternative is paying a hefty fee on eBay or very likely not selling at all on here.

Not sure fleabays 10% fee is hefty considering the large number of people viewing the site.

[mentalextra]

2 hours ago, paul_c2 said:

Do they shift it or do they advertise it?

One guy in particular ‘shifts’ a lot of stuff? 

[wateroftyne]

My eBay days are done.

For me, BC for substantial / specialist stuff, FB for bits and bobs. Works a treat.

[Len_derby]

I use both FB and BC.

The pattern seems to have been as follows.

Sell on FB. Stuff I no longer want, not looking to make a profit, easy local pickup or delivery.

Buy from BC. More expensive specialist stuff that I feel confident has been usually cared-for. Don't mind travelling a distance to collect or meet part-way.

 

[lemmywinks]

I use FB, Gumtree and Preloved almost exclusively as they're free, stopped selling on here when the fee was introduced. I do shift some bits on eBay, usually smaller items with a BIN cheaper than sold listings. The marketplace here is handy if you want something specific as items tend to hang around with ensuing price drops, got some great deals on parts through here which would have sold in no time on eBay/FB.

[ped]

We don't try and compete with the likes of FB and eBay but we like to think our strength is our community and safety which was only enhanced with the fee which saw any chancers take a hike. It's nice to know that most people try us first as a way of supporting the site also, even if they have eventual success elsewhere. 

[ambient]

I’ve had more luck on Facebook recently. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern to it, it’s all down to luck, selling the right thing at the right time.

I’ve had very little interest on here for my W&T bass. One guy had me take it all the way to London with me, take a trip up to Camden, wait around for an hour while he played it. He then announced that he wasn’t sure because it was a 33” scale and had humbuckers, both of with are clearly mentioned on the advert, he’d also owned a very similar model previously. He said he’d think about it and get back to me, he hasn’t though.

My experience of selling through Facebook has been great. Gumtree not so, you do have to watch what you’re doing there. Never post something, never accept PayPal, always insist on cash on collection.

Edited January 18, 2020 by ambient

[edstraker123]

2 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Not sure fleabays 10% fee is hefty considering the large number of people viewing the site.

And you can get the £1 total fees deal which I get quite often on Ebay which is ideal for higher value items.

I've found the marketplace on here to be dead even with ridiculously low priced items ( admittedly collection only does not help) so probably best making use of all of the marketplaces.

As Ambient notes above,  selling on here has become more problematic than it used to be . I bought train tickets from Liverpool to London only to be let down, people committing to buy and then dropping out and turning up for collection after a significant drive for the seller not to be there and not answer any calls. Maybe the Mods could impose more severe penalties for poor buying and selling behaviour - I'd certainly welcome that if it put the standing of the marketplace back to the way it used to be.

[kodiakblair]

I find FB works well. Thursday a fella posted  his Bass Collection 5'er  on the Glasgow gear page, told the lad I'd shared his ad on the Nanyo owners page.

Seller sent me a message saying thanks,he had a buyer from the Nanyo page within minutes. 😎

[ped]

9 minutes ago, edstraker123 said:

And you can get the £1 total fees deal which I get quite often on Ebay which is ideal for higher value items.

I've found the marketplace on here to be dead even with ridiculously low priced items ( admittedly collection only does not help) so probably best making use of all of the marketplaces.

As Ambient notes above,  selling on here has become more problematic than it used to be . I bought train tickets from Liverpool to London only to be let down, people committing to buy and then dropping out and turning up for collection after a significant drive for the seller not to be there and not answer any calls. Maybe the Mods could impose more severe penalties for poor buying and selling behaviour - I'd certainly welcome that if it put the standing of the marketplace back to the way it used to be.

Nothing has changed about the marketplace here and although that might not tally with your own experience it’s a bit of a stretch to say the marketplace isn’t what it used to be. In fact I don’t remember the last time I had to help in a dispute between members, and the statistics show more items being listed than ever before. 

Also we can only help with issues if they’re raised with us. Did you leave feedback for these guys who didn’t turn up?