I just finished a Facebook Marketplace Challenge and it was a huge success! I made $380 in one week and cleared out so much clutter from our house!

If you are anything like I am, you have a house filled with things you bought because you “had” to have them, only to get them home and feel anything but love. Or maybe you have a storage room full of décor that is not in style anymore, kitchen appliances you intended to use but did not, and closets packed with clothes that do not fit.

The first thing I want to tell you is – do not feel guilty about this!! I would say that the majority of Americans struggle with having too much and holding on to even more of it for longer than we should. There can be a lot of guilt associated with getting rid of things you did not use as much as you think you should have, because you spent good money on it! In my mind, there is no use feeling guilt over this. The money has been spent, hopefully you did use or enjoy the items a bit, and then it is okay to move on.

I have bought so much over the years with the intention of using the items for a project or to resell. I love reselling and it can be a fun way to make some extra money!

Where I sell

However, the idea of reselling is often overshadowed by my lack of time and desire, thus, I have a basement full of things I need to get rid of.

I have tried garage sales over the years and just have not had much luck with them. They are a lot of work, they monopolize your garage for at least one weekend, and sometimes they are a huge bust! I do like to try and make some money from things I want to get rid of, though, and there are a few ways I do that.

The first place I sell things is eBay. For items that I know have extensive value, I will list them to sell on eBay. I do not do this for everything, though, because it takes a lot of time to take extra pictures and then have to ship the item if and when it sells. Also, shipping can be a hassle if I do not have the proper supplies on-hand to wrap and ship it safely.

If I decide to not sell on eBay, the next place I list items is Facebook Marketplace. This is basically an on-line garage sale. You can find anything and everything on Facebook Marketplace, and it can be customized based on what you are looking for and where you live. I will l chat more about this option in a bit.

The last option I use for selling items I no longer want, is a consignment shop. Once I have posted on eBay and Facebook Marketplace, whatever does not sell, I normally take to a shop called Stuff Etc., local to me in Ankeny, IA. I also take items there that I do not want to mess with selling elsewhere—knowing already that they probably will not sell—this saves me several steps. This particular consignment shop has a couple different options for taking items in to sell. You can either make an appointment, at which time, you can fill 2 of their totes with items to sell, they will go through the items while you wait, and then you can take home whatever they will not accept. The second option is to take your items in whenever and you can consign whatever will fit into 1 of their totes. You fill out a sheet, including your consigner number and whether you want to pick up what they do not accept or have them donate it. I am at the point where I just let them donate it—you can get a printed record for your tax documents at the end of the year. This saves me a trip to the thrift store to donate.

How I made $380 in a Week on Facebook Marketplace

I know you came here for the goods on how I made almost $400 on Facebook Marketplace, so let’s get started! This time around, I was part of a challenge on Instagram, in which four of us decided to list three items a day on Facebook Marketplace for a total of seven days.

When I first signed up for the challenge, I was thinking it would be no biggie. Take pictures, measurements, post—and I would be done! I forgot, though, that this would be for seven whole days, including the part of the process I do not love: answering questions and coordinating pick-up.

Selling Tip:

One thing I like to do when selling on Facebook Marketplace, is to not open and answer all the inquiries for an item. There are always those things we list that instantly have a ton of interest. Instead of going down the rabbit hole of messages, I will only open the first three responses, and then go down the list from there, as interest fades on the first three. If one of the first three people to message about an item buys it, then I am done. I will mark the item as sold and be on my way. The people who have previously messaged about the item will get an alert that the item has been sold, so I do not feel the need to tell them as well.

Also, I listed items throughout the week at different times of the day. This was by no means strategic, but it was just when I had the time to do it! I do think that, depending on the day and time, I had more interest in my items than others. Once items are listed and sit for a while, they get pushed toward the bottom of the feed, so you want there to be interest right away, or you have to wait 7 days to refresh them. Looking back, if I decide to task myself with another challenge like this, I set aside time to take all the pictures and measurements of the items I want to sell. It would be a lot, but it would end up making the process much more enjoyable overall. Plus, I would have had more control over when I posted, instead of just fitting it in to my day.

5 Steps for a successful Facebook Marketplace Challenge:

1. Think about when people will be online and looking at items.

I look at it much like social media—when will people be scrolling their phones? I also look at Facebook Marketplace as a very impulse-driven way to buy and sell. If you post, will you be available right away for people to pick things up? The weekends are a great time to be selling, as people normally have extra time to make the trip to pick things up and will do it quickly, which I prefer.

2. Be prepared to answer questions.

No matter how thorough I am in the description, someone always wants to know more, including more pictures, measurements, etc.

3. Be willing to negotiate on price.

I always price my items a little higher, so that there is wiggle room. Also, if I really want something to sell (i.e.: not have it sit in our basement anymore), then I need to be willing to come down on my price.

4. Try to bundle!

I sold a purse to someone and knew that I had another purse available from that brand. I took a picture and sent it to her, and she ended up purchasing both from me! You never know what people are looking for, so you might as well show them what else you have for sale, if you have similar items.

5. Follow-up on messages.

If someone said they were interested, you had a conversation, and then they disappeared, do not take that as they moved on. Sometimes people get distracted and forget to message back, but they still want the item. Sometimes, though, they decided to ghost you, or quit messaging, so if you message them and they still do not answer, you can feel good about moving on to the next person in line!

Selling Tip:

It is important to do a little research on your local Facebook Marketplace, before you list, to see how much similar items are selling for in your area.

I’m sharing a few of the items below that I sold, so you can get an idea what sells and what pricing is like in my area. I live in Iowa and have been told that pricing can vary quite a bit across the US, when selling online.

I had a lot of fun with this challenge and encourage you to do the same! The four hosts of the Instagram challenge gave 10%, of what we made selling, to a lucky winner who also participated in the challenge with us.

This could easily be something you do to make extra money for a vacation, home renovation, or to donate to a favorite charity. I highly recommend making it a challenge and getting a few friends to do it with you. You can help hold each other accountable, plus everything is more fun with friends!

If you decide to start selling on Facebook Marketplace, drop a picture in your stories on Instagram and tag me so I can see! You can find me on Instagram at @hilaryprall!

Happy selling (and clearing out the clutter)!!