Am I the only one who can’t stand Facebook Marketplace?

I have ignored Facebook successfully for about 10-15 years and been as happy as a clam. I, like many of you folk I’m sure, routinely (daily) make the rounds on most all of the online classifieds, auctions, industrial WW listings, CL, etc for used machines just to keep up with what’s coming and going, asking price trends and, of course for more specific items that are on “the list.”

Sometime within the last year I was alerted to something for sale (industrial drill press) on FB Marketplace that I was interested in and ended up buying for a great price. It’s been mostly all downhill from there. I have actually found one other fantastic deal in the interim on a scissor lift table, but it’s typically the worst of the worst in terms of actual content for sale.

The way it’s laid out and presented is such a visual mess. There are ads that are mixed in with other (real) listings that are completely off topic, annoying, and often times offensive to some.

The worst of it is the keyword search doesn’t actually seems to be a keyword search and always offers all these other “suggestions” sprinkled in that only detract further from the experience. The “local” radius filter is seemingly useless and doesn’t actually filter out stuff that is farther away and has a very low upper range (100 mi.) I’m the type that likes to set parameters and filters on searches for particular things so as to maximize my time and minimize time wasting. This seems impossible on FB.

I would be delighted to learn that I am, like so many other elements of the Facebook interface, confused about how to effectively use it. I am computer savvy, in my 30s and have been actively searching and buying machinery from all corners of the internet for several years and never experienced such repeated frustration and disgust from a classifieds section. Please tell me I’m doing it wrong.

I wish I could go back to ignoring it altogether but CL has all but died and it seems like there are more diamonds in the rough to be had on FB marketplace than any other general online classifieds.

Your thoughts?

I have been using it for about a year as CL is scam city lately. I did buy a tile saw on FBMP last spring which came in handy for my cottage renovation.

My only issue is items are not removed or marked sold and when I see something listed many weeks ago I wonder if it is still for sale or not and ose interest in it.

Other than that I like it so far.

You are correct that it's a frustrating format. Like you say a keyword search gets a lot of "other" content. I select local pickup only and that does seem to get rid of some ads. It seems that a keyword search get's every type of possible wood working tool. Put in planer and get table saws, floor nailers, etc. I have managed to score a deal or two but nothing in a couple years except for lumber locally. That did work out.

A couple of years ago it was almost all local ads by individuals and small businesses and I found it useful. And it felt safer than CL because it wasn't anonymous to the extent CL was/is. Like most things facebook related, as it got more popular they "improved" it to the current annoying state, full of business ads of questionable authenticity with no applicability and plenty of obvious scammers (30K tractor for 1K, listing for my sister; call her cell) nonsense like that. Every once in a while I'll take a look, but mostly I've given up on it.

Yep. I have all the same complaints as the OP. The distance filter is a complete laugh. That said, FBMP is how I scored a WoodRat for $70.00!

FB marketplace is pretty bad.
So is CL for that matter.

I hate it when people say, "Buy used instead of new and save money".

How is that possible when all there is to buy is overpriced broken crap?

I think there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Many of us have outfitted shops with very good tools from these sources; I've sold tools I'd be happy to own and use (indeed I did up until the day I sold them) on them. Sure, it's more work and risk than just ordering brand new from Martin. Felder, or Festool, but there are also compensations.

I'll agree that the FB interface is a mess. The ability to search rivals Amazon for uselessness.

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Originally Posted by Rich Engelhardt

I hate it when people say, "Buy used instead of new and save money".

How is that possible when all there is to buy is overpriced broken crap?

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I won’t argue that there aren’t deals to be had and some amount of value there, because there obviously are. My point was mainly about how messy and frustrating it is to use compared to almost any other online classified. I was wondering if, because it’s relatively new to me, I was missing something.

I always buy used over new and spend a considerable amount of time regularly searching for deals on quality used machines that I couldn’t even dream of affording to buy new.

Anything now days requires patience. These things are so big they're not nimble or flexible and choose not to change for individuals at all, rather they have a CAO (Chief Apology Officer) that responds but does nothing. It takes some time and energy to make these things work to your advantage. My son in law finds Facebook marketplace much better than CL for selling. His folks just downsized and he sold tons of things for them. There are regional buy and sell Facebook pages that I always start with and sell through. Turning items are sold here and on other forums because the interest is more specialized. Sometimes it gets tiring because things change all the time. Anyone still get a paper called a "Shopper". We still get two although they're pretty thin these days.

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I think there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

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Not in the 15 years I've been scouring the listings.
There is a definite lack of decently priced quality tools in my area.

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My point was mainly about how messy and frustrating it is to use compared to almost any other online classified.

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There is that also.

I frequently use the FB "local" groups for selling/buying and have not had any issues at all. The experience is no worse than any other online marketplace, honestly...you have to be savvy, careful and deliberate as well as be willing to walk away.

Groups are a different story, the marketplace itself, is a joke.

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Originally Posted by mike stenson

Groups are a different story, the marketplace itself, is a joke.

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They are somewhat connected, however, as they use the same software. But yes, the broader "marketplace" has its downsides for sure, just as Craig's List does.

Being a little leery of Facebook, their market place has not been visited.

However, since my curiosity kicked in Craigslist was given a peek.

The usual list of hand held power tools are things of no use to me.

Typed in > hand plane < and found very few responses. There was one that caught my eye:

Attachment 471531

Hmmm, worth a closer look:

Attachment 471532

It appears someone has turned an old gas station into an antique tool store in a part of town seldom on my route of travel.

There appears to be a disturbance in my wallet…

jtk

I will have to take a closer look at the Groups. Wasn’t really aware of that. It’s the general marketplace that I find frustrating, messy and disconcerting. Craigslist isn’t much better in terms of spam listings and has really slowed down over the last 2 years, but at least the keyword search and distance parameters work the way one would expect on CL.