Facebook Marketplace: Buy, sell and make friends too?

Ilma, a 22-year-old homemaker living in Jigatola, started using Facebook Marketplace when her mother-in-law wanted to sell her sharis. 

The mother-in-law had preserved a closet full of this garment for decades on end and now wanted to part ways with the prized possessions. But none of her daughters or daughter-in-law was particularly interested in them. They all wear salwar kamiz and only occasionally don sharis for events. 

It took some time for Ilma to realise that her mother-in-law's intention to sell was genuine. That's when she started to look for options. 

"I posted ads on Bikroy.com first. Weeks went by, but no one responded. Then I noticed that Facebook has the Marketplace option where I could post pictures and the prices of the sharis. And once I did, the response was wonderful." 

"We sold five sharis within a week," Ilma recounted. 

Last month, after having her first baby, Ilma sold a Pureit classic water filter to a buyer from Kalabagan. "We no longer needed the older filter as my husband bought an automatic one. So, I put up an ad on Facebook Marketplace, and within a few hours, someone from Kalabagan [moderately close to Jigatola] texted and asked if she could come and look at the filter." 

In October 2016, Facebook launched Marketplace to allow people to buy and sell items locally in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. By 2022, Facebook extended Marketplace's availability to 70 countries, including Bangladesh. 

Recently, Facebook announced that over one billion people use Facebook Marketplace monthly. According to Statista, 485 million people log in to Facebook for the sole purpose of shopping on Facebook Marketplace.

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in Bangladesh.  

According to StatCounter Global Stats,  as of September 2023, there are 52.7 million Facebook users in Bangladesh, meaning a significant portion of Facebook Marketplace users are likely from here. However, there is no publicly available data on the exact number of Facebook Marketplace users from Bangladesh. Facebook does not release the information.

The Marketplace, which holds immense popularity in the Bangladeshi e-commerce scene, has become a thriving platform for individuals to buy and sell products without switching to a different app or website like Daraz or Bikroy.com. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Atik Hossain Zisan, a camera enthusiast from Rajshahi,  listed a Canon 18-55mm lens for sale on Facebook Marketplace. What interested him the most about Facebook's new feature was how he could list an item and select a price – and then Facebook automatically suggested different groups to post his ad. 

Since then, Atik has bought three and sold two cameras and numerous lenses through Facebook Marketplace. "[It] is more convenient and engaging than similar platforms for buying and selling products. You're already scrolling on Facebook most of the time, and buying and selling something is just one tap away," Atik explained. 

Atik, like Ilma, was also a regular user of Bikroy.com, an advertising website owned by Saltside Technologies. However, he uninstalled the Bikroy.com app once he became a regular at Facebook Marketplace. 

"For a long time, Bikroy.com was Bangladesh's most popular platform for selling and buying used products. But the primary reason Facebook Marketplace gained popularity over platforms like Bikroy.com is the reach the individual sellers get." 

Like Facebook Marketplace, anyone with an account can list their items for free on Bikroy.com. "But, for a better reach," Atik further explained, "you'd have to pay the platform a certain amount, which is determined by the price of your listed item. The more expensive the item you want to sell, the more you must pay Bikroy.com for reach." 

According to Atik, easy access to the Marketplace can be very addictive. He often finds himself in a loop of selling and buying similar products within a few months. For example, he bought a Canon 10-18mm lens from Bikroy.com in 2019. Since he did not use the lens that much, in 2021, he sold it on Facebook Marketplace, only to find himself buying another lens of the same model the following year.

"Marketplace is a great flea market, especially for people living in Dhaka. It can be tricky to navigate the platform and avoid the swindlers in peripheral places though," Atik said. 

Navigating the murky 'swindling' waters  

Last year, Atik saw an ad in his area where a person listed a Canon 6D camera at Tk20,000. He became excited and texted the person on Facebook immediately. "A full-frame Canon 6D camera at that price was a great deal, and I wanted it right then," he said. 

The seller agreed to sell the camera and asked him to send Tk500 in advance. When Atik said he lived in Rajshahi and would like to hand over the entire payment while receiving the product, the seller stopped replying to his texts and eventually blocked him. 

"Since selling products on Facebook Marketplace is free, many people try to swindle others by posting fake ads. They usually use remote or distant locations from Dhaka and ask for an advance to book the product. Once people pay the advance, they stop communicating," Atik pointed out. 

Atik also shared his frustration over the spurious pricing of products on the Marketplace. "Sometimes, figuring out the price of an item on the Marketplace can feel like solving a puzzle. You spot a cool item, but instead of a price tag, it says 'Free' or 'Tk1', and now you're obligated to send a message to the seller to know the price." 

According to Atik, sellers from different pages usually play this pricing mystery game on their products. These sellers deliberately keep the actual prices under wraps because the more people click on these items and text them, the more reach their products get on Marketplace. "It can get pretty frustrating on the buyer's end," he added.

One curious issue Atik faces after posting an ad on the Marketplace is that people from India often text and ask for his products. Since Rajshahi shares a border with India and Marketplace targets the local community, people from Malda or Berhampore in India also see his ads and text him occasionally. "When I tell them they have to cross the border to buy my products, we often share a good laugh."

Sometimes, the buyers and sellers connect beyond the Marketplace chat by sending each other friend requests. Atik, for example, became friends with a man from Dhaka who sources handpicked items from eBay. 

"I noticed a person selling camera lenses and other gadgets that we rarely see on the Facebook Marketplace in Bangladeshi markets. So I started asking him where he gets these items," said Atik. 

At first, the person was reluctant to share the details, but later, they bonded over a mutual enthusiasm for gadgets. And now, he is one of Atik's reliable sources to get products he cannot get in Bangladesh. 

Evan Azad, a photographer based in Halishahar, Chattogram, relies on Facebook Marketplace for selling his old gadgets, especially cameras and computers. Last month, he sold a Fujifilm XS10 with an 18-55mm lens for Tk90,000 on the Marketplace to a buyer from Dhaka. 

Before that, he bought a desktop monitor from a seller in Noakhali. 

We asked Evan how he deals with buyers and sellers who live far away and cannot check out the products in person. He said he always makes sure to get the buyer's or seller's cell phone number when they start communicating through Facebook texts. 

"Talking over a call gives primary credibility. Then I ask for photos of the product. And as the final stage of the safety measure, I never pay money in advance," he explained. He prefers the conditioned courier option of S A Paribahan, where the courier service is the intermediary in exchanging the payment and the product between the buyer and the seller. 

Atik Hossain Zisan follows similar safety measures as well. Additionally, he makes sure that the Facebook profile of the person in question is authentic. 

"You need to look for real photos and online interactions of the person. that'd give you an idea about the person trying to sell or buy products," he explained. "Besides, you can check out the seller profile in Marketplace – what items that particular seller has sold before and who has commented on their posts." 

"This also gives an idea about whether or not you can trust the profile."

But what Atik prioritises the most is product photos. He said, "I always ask for photos from a particular angle. If someone can show me the product exactly the way I want, then that indicates that they have the product. If they're just using stock photos of the product and refuse to share photos after I ask for them, I usually steer clear of those profiles."

Like Evan, Atik also prefers S A Paribahan and Sundarban Courier Service. Ilma, however, said that she uses Steadfast to deliver her products to the customers.