Tips for Furnishing Your Home in Style

July 21, 2023

0 Views 0

SaveSavedRemoved 0

Facebook Marketplace Secrets: Tips for Furnishing Your Home in Style

How to use these Facebook Marketplace secrets to furnish your home on a budget. Plus tips and tricks for finding exactly what you are looking for.

There are a lot of things I am just not great at, i.e., cooking, driving, and knowing which fruit to pick at the grocery store.

I have accepted these inadequacies, however if there is one thing I am really great at it’s finding the best home decor and furniture on Facebook Marketplace!

This talent has been honed in through many years of practice and also refusing to pay outrageous prices to furnish our home.

My sister-in-law loves to scroll through my Facebook Marketplace feed because she said she doesn’t get to see all this good stuff on hers.

So I thought I would share my 7 Facebook Marketplace Secrets, tips, and tricks for using Facebook Marketplace to find all the best home decor and furniture.

7 Facebook Marketplace tips

1. Crafting an Effective Search Strategy

Finding what you are looking for on Facebook Marketplace really comes down to what your search settings look like.

Location Settings

First make sure that you have selected a broad enough search area.

If I can’t find what I am looking for within about 30 miles I will adjust my search radius out further.

Next, I make sure that I am searching on the “Local” tab. This is my preference because I don’t want to shop items that need to be shipped.

Using Keywords

Whenever you are searching for a piece of furniture or home decor make sure you include the style you want.

For instance stay away from searching for “table with chairs” and instead search for “vintage table and chairs.”

Adding more keywords to your search will help Facebook pinpoint the right items for you.

Some of my favorite keywords to use are: vintage, antique, traditional style, French provincial, and mid century modern.

If you aren’t looking for something specific and want to see what finds you, searching the Facebook Marketplace Categories is a great option!

There are a lot of categories including antiques, home goods/decor, furniture, and more.

2. Finding Reputable Sellers

This might seem like a silly tip but trust me, making sure you are buying from a reputable seller will save you a lot of heart ache.

Right below the items description will be the Seller Information tab. Here is where you can find how many stars the seller has out of five.

For even more info you can click on their seller profile and see what other buyers have to say about them.

This is extremely helpful because if all the comments say their furniture was clearly in a house with smokers but they claim its from a smoke free house. You can pretty much guarantee your item will smell too.

Some sellers are also bad about being misleading with the condition in the description. Real reviewers will call this out real quick.

3. Negotiation Techniques

buying furniture on Facebook Marketplace

If you are like me you are shopping Facebook Marketplace because you are hoping to not only get cool furnishings but also get them at a deal.

Here are some tips for a smooth Facebook Marketplace Negotiation:

Start with a Friendly Approach: Begin the conversation on a positive note by greeting the seller and expressing genuine interest in the item. Don’t use the standard “is this still available.”
Do Your Research: Know the fair market value of the item you are interested in. Now you have a baseline for negotiation.
Politely Inquire About Flexibility: Ask the seller if they are open to negotiations.
Bundle Deals: If you’re interested in multiple items, propose a bundle deal to potentially get a better overall price.
Cash and Quick Pick-Up: Sellers may be more willing to negotiate if you offer cash payment. Also try to arrange a quick pick-up.
Be Respectful and Reasonable: Always maintain a respectful tone and be reasonable in your negotiation. Avoid being overly aggressive or making lowball offers.
Counteroffer Gracefully: If the seller declines your initial offer, consider countering with a reasonable offer rather than insisting on your original price.
Show Commitment: Demonstrate genuine interest in the item, and let the seller know you are serious about making a purchase.
Know When to Walk Away: If the negotiation reaches an impasse or the seller’s price is still higher than your budget, it’s okay to thank them and politely move on.

The main point is to know your limit and keep the conversation as polite as possible. Remember these sellers are not just a computer screen but a real person.

4. Timing Matters

If you see something you are interested in reach out immediately.

Facebook Marketplace furniture and decor can sometimes be sold at auction pace so it’s best to get a foot in the door before it’s sold out from under you.

You can also see how long the item has been listed for and that can guide your negotiation techniques.

Another timing factor to remember is that a lot of sellers will post closer to the weekend when traffic is highest and when they are most available for pickups.

Create an Alert

To find the best deals and new listings, it’s a good idea to check Facebook Marketplace regularly and set up alerts or notifications for specific items you’re interested in.

This way, you can be among the first to see new listings, regardless of the day they are posted.

5. Spotting Hidden Gems

Finding hidden gems on Facebook Marketplace can feel like a struggles when you are scrolling through the less than amazing items…

Here are a few things I do to find a home decor or furniture gem among the ordinary:

Utilize filters for vintage or antique items if you are interested in finding collectibles or unique pieces with history.
Pay attention to listings with creative titles and specific keywords. Sellers using distinctive terms might have rare or niche items worth exploring.
Creep on the photos I have had three instances where I bought an item that was not the one being sold but you could see in the photo.

This site has some great tips for figuring out if a piece of furniture is restorable or not!

6. Upcycling and DIY Projects

Remember when you are scrolling through Facebook Marketplace to pay attention to the “bones” of the item.

Not liking the color of a piece of furniture can easily be fixed if you love the style of the piece.

When it comes to furniture with hardware remember that hardware is a super simple fix and can completely change the style of the piece.

Also don’t be too put off by dirt, some sellers don’t want to clean off the items before selling but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a gem underneath the dirt.

Some pieces just need a really good scrubbing to be brought back to life.

The only exception I have to this rule is upholstery like couches. For me having to reupholster a couch is more work than I am willing to put in.