We started listing things on Facebook Marketplace to get them out of the garage. Somewhere around the two-hundredth listing it had turned into a small, steady side income, mostly from things other people were throwing away or from our own house's slow turnover of outgrown gear. The money is real: about $2,400 last year. But the time can vanish if you let it, and the rules below are what keep the hours down and the sales up.
Photographing
- Daylight, plain background. Take the item outside or next to a window, against a wall or a sheet. A crib photographed in a dark garage sits for weeks; the same crib on a lawn sells in a day.
- Five photos, minimum. Front, side, any labels or model numbers, any damage, and one that shows scale. Buyers who can see the damage do not ask about it.
- Clean it first. Ten minutes with a rag adds 20 percent to the price on almost anything.
Pricing
Search the item on Marketplace and note what similar listings are asking. Then look at which of them are still there after two weeks; those are overpriced. List at about 10 percent above what you will actually take, because everyone offers less and it costs nothing to say yes to a fair offer. Round numbers sell better than precise ones: $40, not $37.
Anything under $10 is not worth listing on its own. Bundle small things: a bag of toddler clothes, a box of kitchen tools, three board games together.
Messaging
Answer within an hour or not at all. Marketplace rewards fast responders with visibility, and buyers move on quickly. We do not hold items for anyone. The first person to arrive with money gets it, and we say so politely in the first message. "Is this available?" gets a one-line reply with the pickup arrangement, not a conversation.
Pickup
Porch pickup with a labeled bag removes the awkward doorstep chat and means nobody has to be home. Cash goes in an envelope under the mat, or the buyer pays electronically before we put the item out. For anything over about $100, we meet in the driveway or at a public spot, in daylight. Nothing is ever shipped; the platform's shipping option adds fees and disputes.
What sells and what does not
| Sells fast | Barely sells |
|---|---|
| Furniture, especially solid wood | Adult clothing (unless a searched brand) |
| Kids' gear: strollers, cribs, bikes | Books, DVDs, old media |
| Tools and yard equipment | Decorative items and knick-knacks |
| Small appliances in working order | Anything with a "free" price that needs hauling |
Scams and time-wasters
Electronics attract the most scam attempts: requests to text a code to "verify" you, offers to pay by a link, buyers who want to send a courier. Anyone who will not do a simple cash or in-app payment at pickup is not a buyer. Block and move on. The other time-waster is the buyer who wants to negotiate through six messages; a single counter-offer and then silence works better than a debate.
What it is worth
At roughly fifteen minutes per listing including photos and messaging, and an average sale of $35, the hourly rate is fine, and the garage is clear. The best part is what happens to buying decisions: knowing we will have to photograph and sell something in three years makes us think harder before bringing it home.
