Is Facebook Marketplace the new Craigslist?

supton

supton

Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Messages
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Location
NH
Been looking for another vehicle, well, since forever. This morning my wife handed me her iPad and showed me Marketplace. Wow is there a lot of stuff on there! There’s all sorts of deals, newer cars and older cars. And stuff like you used to see, project cars and people cobbling things together. Makes CL look like an oasis. Is Marketplace the place to be now?

In other news, after showing her a couple of things I wouldn’t mind having (said it was running when parked, I bet I could have it on the road in no time), the wife took her iPad back and forbade me from getting a FB account. So much for that idea.

In other news, when I tried to show her a pickup truck that peaked my interest, she noticed that it was 2WD. “A two wheel drive truck is just a car with a bed.”

Women…
 
You're a couple years late to this game.

For a while it was just idiots selling cars with cheap & easy fixes but now the shysters are aboard as well.

If you really dig deep you'll find groups like "Vehicles in Maine for $3000 or less" that are entirely redneck owned and beat to a pulp.

I like to sell on Craigslist as there are people, mostly old white men, who don't use FB on some moral/ ethical block. I get less competition so they figure my stuff's "the best out there."
 
I check occasionally on Craigslist, but most of the time just Facebook Marketplace. It just has more items than Craigslist for the Seattle area.
 
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I was surprised at how much more stuff there seemed to be. I guess when you pay for something* the quality tends to go up. Started to see stuff I hadn’t seen in a while, like project vehicles and oddball stuff, stuff that made me want to scroll more and see what else was out there.

Anyhow. Don’t see myself signing up any time soon. I don’t need more distractions in life. And I’d have to deal with everyone asking “why’d you wait so long?”. Just easier to play the ”not interested” card at this time, most everyone knows I’m a luddite and is absolutely not shocked that I avoid FB.

Plus at some point FB will go away, and then I’ll have to learn something new and even more uninteresti…

[*I know FB is “Free” but I’m guessing ad placement pays for FB, no? is selling your data the same thing as making money off you?]
 
If you want to sell or buy anything in used private market you need an account. You don’t need to engage with social media platform portion of FB , once you do that they gain data and insights on you. They infer some from FB marketplace.

CL has run its course.
 
supton said:
I was surprised at how much more stuff there seemed to be. I guess when you pay for something* the quality tends to go up. Started to see stuff I hadn’t seen in a while, like project vehicles and oddball stuff, stuff that made me want to scroll more and see what else was out there.

Anyhow. Don’t see myself signing up any time soon. I don’t need more distractions in life. And I’d have to deal with everyone asking “why’d you wait so long?”. Just easier to play the ”not interested” card at this time, most everyone knows I’m a luddite and is absolutely not shocked that I avoid FB.

Plus at some point FB will go away, and then I’ll have to learn something new and even more uninteresti…

[*I know FB is “Free” but I’m guessing ad placement pays for FB, no? is selling your data the same thing as making money off you?]
Click to expand...
Supton, like you, I have avoided using facebook. I had an account that I closed about 10 years ago. I realized that I could no longer stand looking at photos of the latest and greatest margarita or some fancy meal someone was pretending to enjoy. Ugh. Never went back and I don't want to be a product of facebook..
 
andrew_j said:
If you want to sell or buy anything in used private market you need an account. You don’t need to engage with social media platform portion of FB , once you do that they gain data and insights on you. They infer some from FB marketplace.

CL has run its course.
Click to expand...
For a bit I could surf into FB but then it seemed like they turned that off.

Are you saying I could get a FB account and just not use any of the “social” part of it? I’m a bit concerned about that, as I did sign up for LinkedIn and now feel like I “need” to keep that up to date, or I’m not keeping up with my field.

CL does feel like it may be on its way out. Shame really. Reminds me a bit of BITOG before the redo. Simple and sweet. Nothing against new BITOG of course, I rather like it, a lot of features are simply awesome for posting information, but sometimes it is nice to have just a minimum experience, just the facts ma’am.
 
In the last few years I have picked up: abbreviated list, but basically everything I use EVERYDAY.
Macbook M1: Broken Screen
Multiple PC laptops: most needed software updates, and basic upgrades.
iPhone 7 Plus and XS max
non running power washers 3000 psi plus: Times 2 (carbs)
Husqvarna straight shaft Weed wacker and AWD 7.5 hp lawn mower both non running (carbs)
GT5000 Garage find tractor non running
Denon HDMI 850 watt 7.1 surround sound system - no power wire
Like new premium Infinity surround sound speakers for said surround system: needed wires
Klipsch 12 inch 600 watt HT subwoofer: needed wires
Multiple Flat screen TVs, with the most recent a pretty recent 55 plus inch LG that ALL needed software updates to gain features
Wireless printer - non working needed software update.
EVEN the 6speed forte was off marketplace : $OBO


This is not including the dozens of different items I have picked up for clients over the years also.
I even found 2 pack Silverstar light bulbs for $20 brand new on marketplace, so there are alot of things im forgetting but you get the picture.

Personally, I have GREAT success buying on Marketplace.. I can tell a scam when I see one, and out of the probably close to 100 transactions over the years, I have never been burned or even had a bad experience once..... knock on wood.

I also sell on marketplace, and again do not fall for the scams and had very good percentage (95%) of items sold and legit buyers.

EDIT: last note. As you can see, I buy a lot of products "AS IS" with nothing more then a trusting word that... "yeah it works" or "worked" in the past.. Then I Fix that item and use it for years..... EVERY single person I have met to do a transaction i never got a single bad vibe from any of them..
 
You get a lot of ridiculous priced cars on FBMP cluttering up the listings. People thowing up three picture and one sentence ads, for clapped out 200K mile '96 Civics for $5,000 or 2005 Ram pickups for $20,000. Hugh waste of time going through the ads especially when the sort functions are useless or don't even work. The most annoying ads are 1) from the dealers that list a car with a price that turns out to be the down payment, so if you're searching for "under $3000," a bunch of them will show up, only to find they are the down payment on a $10,000 car. 2) ads priced at $1234 or $1 by people expecting YOU to make an offer on the car. Just playing games. 3) ads listed as FREE, from people that list cars they are parting out in the cars for sale section. For five bucks I'll list a car on CL as well, knowing it will stand out more since there are few other similar listings.
 
Facebook is what you make of it. Limit your number of friends, you don't have to interact or even log in daily. I use it because my whole family lives on the East Coast, we chat through it and share photos often. It was an excellent way for me to connect with old military buddies. A side from the adds it is a social place like this where we come to "waste time". Tons of really good vehicle specific pages on Facebook. Having said that, I don't even list on Craigslist anymore. I have gotten rid of bunch of stuff on Marketplace. It is quicker with messenger.
 
BTW when you look at an account on FBM you can see when the seller registered-- most are between 2008 and 2011. If someone registered yesterday that ruins their cred. Also see if they have dozens or hundreds of "friends", another vote for legitimacy. And you can see what else they're selling/ have sold so you can see if they're "in the junk business" or just a working joe unloading something.

You should get an account, even if you leave it dormant, so the date will give you credibility if you later decide on using it. You don't need your real name. Sounds like you should do this car shopping under your wife's account.
 
Maybe it's just time to give in and join. CL isn't cutting it on the car front, and with two teen drivers and two clunkers already I'm not quite sure how many cars I will go through in the next few years.
 
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