Tales of Facebook Marketplace

[Paul Carmody]

Sad as it may be, I think Facebook Marketplace has mostly usurped Craigslist with regards to classified sales. And as evil and crappy as FB is, its Marketplace actually has some advantages over Craigslist. Namely, you can do a bit of background check on who you're selling to/buying from, instead of hoping that the person you've been emailing/texting isn't a weirdo or robber. Also, I like that the conversations happen over the app, and not over my phone or email.

I've had some good finds there, as well as a few stinkers. I was curious what sort of hauls you guys have had there? Any good stories to tell?

[Paul Carmody]

One of my better ones was my Miata, which I got through a private local Miata club FB marketplace. I've also sold a few items to some good people: a table saw, a workbench, a few other tools.

The other day I feel like I had my first sour experience buying an Arcam receiver off a local guy, which I'll detail in another thread.

With the Miata itself, I distinctly remember the guy I bought it from telling me, "It needs nothing." Ha! Immediately after buying it, I had to replace a wheel hub, a fuel filter, a fuel pump, fix wiring issues, and worn-out interior bits. Not that I really regret it; his price was fair, and finding just the right car is not always easy, so it was definitely worth it in the end. But either these Marketplace sellers have a different idea of what "Very Good" condition is, or they're just looking to unload stuff on a sucker.

[Geoff Millar]

Sometimes - but only sometimes - people just don't know that their cars have problems.

Our Miata is a 2002 with only 67,000km on it, had it from new, serviced religiously, timing belts changed, new struts, radiator, etc etc . I would have described it as 'very good' to 'excellent for age' but at the last service they told me that the Rear Main Seal was on the way out, not a cheap repair. I've never noticed any oil leaks etc. If we had it for sale I would have disclosed that to potential buyers, as we're not going to sell it , not an issue.

OTOH, my sister once looked at a car, liked it, had it tested and wanted to buy it. When we turned up with the $$, the bloke had swapped the tyres for old re-treads, removed the stereo and taken out the carpets! We told him to go and see a taxidermist......

Caveat Emptor, indeed.

Geoff

[unclejunebug]

In my experience people who claim there's nothing wrong with a car are either willing to drive the thing into the ground with whatever issues it currently has, are lying through their teeth, or both. I've personally always liked the old "This car has only ever been driven by a little old lady" sales pitch.

I once was selling an old computer case/PSU combo on FB Marketplace. Someone messaged me saying they were interested and wanted to meet to make the purchase. Every exchange with this person was always a bit odd. I asked where they wanted to meet and they gave me an address. I mapped the address and Google showed it being off in some strange, out of the way location. I said thanks but no thanks and blocked the buyer. Somehow they were able to keep messaging me no matter what I did! I ended up just having to ignore them and eventually they disappeared.

[gregbegland]

Scored a few high-end(think $600-800 new) office chairs for cheap recently. Browse the car ads frequently, always watching for that perfect weekend car for a deal.

[AudioSQ]

I like that it doesn't look like a poorly designed site from the 90s.

I agree it's nice you don't have to give out any personal contact info. Craig's list has always felt sketchy to me. I've only made one purchase on FB, but the experience was good. I bought a CAAD 10 bike for my kid who seems to be trying hard to bring down its resale value.

[johnny5jz]

I have been using Craigslist for years buying and selling motorcycle parts, tools, and stereo gear. I have had really good luck and actually met some cool people. Many times I have ended up having a beer with someone discussing our hobbies. Maybe I have been lucky. I just purchased a Parasound preamp last week for a great price and the seller was awesome. Now when I have tried selling normal household stuff, that has been a different story. A lot of flakey people. I just can't get over the Facebook interface. I do have the best luck, like I said, with household items on Facebook.

[Paul Carmody]

I have been using Craigslist for years buying and selling motorcycle parts, tools, and stereo gear. I have had really good luck and actually met some cool people. Many times I have ended up having a beer with someone discussing our hobbies. Maybe I have been lucky. I just purchased a Parasound preamp last week for a great price and the seller was awesome. Now when I have tried selling normal household stuff, that has been a different story. A lot of flakey people. I just can't get over the Facebook interface. I do have the best luck, like I said, with household items on Facebook.

Interesting you mention how you end up meeting and chatting. When I started buying and selling Miata parts through FB Marketplace I've found that the guys all want to chat a long time about Miatas or other random things. It's weird because I wasn't going in expecting that. I don't mind it; but I also have learned I have to sort of need to factor that time in if I'm going to meet someone to exchange some parts.

What really surprised me was the guy I bought the Arcam from. Like I said it was 5 degrees out, so I quickly shoved it in my trunk. But then he stood there and wanted to chat about audiophile gear for 20 minutes. Like, first of all, it's freezing. Second, you just sold me a turd.

[PWR RYD]

Come on Paul, maybe it wasn't a turd until it sat in your trunk at 5 degrees for 20 minutes while you were yacking and froze the electrolyte in the power supply caps.. just kidding, but maybe not

[tylerdurden]

I have sold probably over a hundred different items on Craigslist over the years and purchased dozens more. Tools, Speakers and other audio related stuff. I built my entire wood shop using CL.

As far as FBMP, I can not comment as I closed my account years ago and will never have another one. Although I do know people who have had good experiences with Market Place, my nephew just bought a KIA Forte Koup off of marketplace and the experience was good.

I agree with AudioSQ, CL has always had a sketchy feel to it and a bad rep as well. But if you engage in conversation about what you are selling and they dont partake in it with you and have no real knowledge of what they are buying you can bet they are full of BS. I have had that happen a few on CL however I have always been able to weed them out.

I hope your wrong Paul, but I have a hunch your probably rite about MP replacing CL. Not sure what I will do if it does. Theres always Ebay,...

Has anyone tried USAudioMart? Its free to list, some types of listings are a couple of bucks. I have not tried them yet.

[dcibel]

Kijiji was quite popular back home, but where I live now the used market is mostly FB marketplace. I've bought and sold a lot over the years on the used marketplace apps. Furniture, computer parts, other electronics, whatever. For audio stuff, my best find was a non-working Harmon/Kardon HK6900 for $20. I took a chance on a real nice high end stereo receiver from 1990. It was in good shape but when I opened it up it must have been dropped at some point, the front PCB for all the knobs and switches was cracked. A little fiddly PCB trace repair and a good cleaning and it is good to go. Found a service manual for it too with full schematic and instructions for bias adjustment, etc so for $20 and an afternoon of repair I got a nice 200wpc receiver that looks to have originally sold for $1300.

[djg]

Nice heat sink.

[Paul Carmody]

Has anyone tried USAudioMart? Its free to list, some types of listings are a couple of bucks. I have not tried them yet.

I haven't bought anything there, but I find myself lurking a lot. The upside is that the site is populated almost exclusively by guys who know what they got and take good care of it. The downside is that it's populated by guys who "know what they got."

[Wolf]

I get a USAM e-mail every Saturday and check things out. I've never bought either, but I do like to look...

Wolf

[dcibel]

I've purchased a couple items from the CanuckAudioMart, all were smooth transactions and exactly as advertised. I don't know what CAM or USAM have for dispute resolution if there are issues however, so perhaps using Paypal is a good option for those transactions so at least you have the Paypal buyer protection as an option.