Facebook Marketplace has rules put in place to allow for orderly and coordinated transactions within the forum. If you use or plan on using the Marketplace service, it would be advantageous to you to know these rules.
This post focuses on highlighting the Marketplace rules to guide you on how you conduct and run your business. These rules of are outlined below.
Facebook Marketplace Rules
1. Eligibility
Using the Marketplace service requires that you must be a forum member with a user title of “6502” or above. This simply means that on the forum, you have up to 250 posts and above. Also you must have been a member of the forum for at least 180 days.
2. Ownership
Ownership rules strictly dictate that all sales involved should be personal and of items owned by members involved. It is not allowed to sell an item on behalf of another party. And, you must be in possession of the item or items offered for sale at the time of making the sales offer.
3. Certain Items Cannot be Sold
Facebook maintains a list of items not allowed for sale. These items include;
- Adult products or services.
- Alcohol.
- Animals.
- Digital media and electronic devices.
- Event tickets.
- Gift Cards.
- Healthcare items (thermometers, first-aid kits, etc.).
- Illegal prescription or recreational drugs.
- Tobacco products or tobacco paraphernalia.
- Unsafe supplements.
- Weapons, ammunition, or explosives.
4. Items Sold must be Tangible
Items allowed for sale are strictly tangible items. Although housekeeping services and event tickets can be sold through coordinating the sales with Facebook partners.
5. Items Description must Match Images provided
The images of items you put on for sale must match the items and description given.
6. Before-and-After Images are not Allowed
Items for sale on Facebook can’t show a before and after picture (example: a photo showing weight loss attached to maybe weight loss products).
7. Certain Job Offers are not Allowed
Employment offers are not allowed, except you personally wish to employ say a web designer to help design your site. Listing employment offers for others is disallowed.
8. Fundraising is Prohibited
Fundraising activities of any kind is prohibited on the Marketplace.
9. Pricing
For sale threads must include a price. Although, feeler threads on the other hand should not. You are at liberty to set any price of your choose, but it is always advised that you ask for a reasonable price.
10. Thread Titles
Description of items must be kept as short and concise as possible. A typical thread title might be FS: 15″ 1.67GHz PowerBook. Your thread title does not need full system specs since you’ll post details in the thread. If you are selling only in a particular country or geographic area, you might include that in the title, e.g., FS/T: 17″ eMac (U.K.) Commonly used abbreviations include:
- FS: for sale or WTS: want to sell
- FT: for trade or WTT: want to trade
- FS/T: for sale or trade or WTS/T: want to sale or trade
- FA: for auction
- WTB: want to buy
