[kgilpin]

In my kids’ generation (college aged) they all use Facebook Marketplace.

[snowwrestler]

It’s astounding how bad FB Marketplace search is, though. For very popular things, it’s fine. For browsing and “huh, that’s interesting,” it’s fine.

But if I am looking for something specific, it is an incredible failure. It’s so bad I suspect they intentionally don’t want it to work well. That is, I think they only want to optimize for low-effort social buying, not picky people who know exactly what they want.

For this reason I have bought way more stuff off eBay than FB Marketplace recently.

[bpye]

It seems to just ignore filters like “date listed” sometimes too. And people will list items at nominal prices and give the actual price in the description. Generally a poor experience.

[jrmg]

It also doesn’t seem to respect the distance filter.

I’m not one for conspiracy theories usually, but I’m pretty sure the state of Marketplace search is, if not ‘deliberate’, at least a result of metrics-driven development. The search results are _just_ useful enough to keep you scrolling and tapping, so the vagueness increases engagement :-(

[segmondy]

ebay is still useful for obscure stuff. if you want to buy used servers, GPU, electronics, car parts, etc. I don't think ebay and FB MP really overlapped, MP ate craigslist. The closest thing to eating ebay is Aliexpress.

[Beijinger]

I found ebay more reliable, interesting and smoother than Amazon. Amazon screwed me over for 40 USD now they are nagging that I should sign up for "Prime"

(I ordered a bunch of stuff, maybe 800 USD. They decided the order is fraudulent, and canceled it, without ever telling me. When I moved into my new place, there was nothing. No sheets, no nothing from Amazon. That this order was "canceled" without any email seemed to puzzle Amazon support. They told me in the chat to reorder with fasted shipping, and that they would reimburse the shipping. Of course, they did not. And the chat protocols clearly stating Amazon would reimburse the express shipping were a "misunderstanding".

[yellow_postit]

It’s quite good for jewelry and fashion items — their certification program is legitimate from all the digging I’ve done.

[harrall]

eBay and Facebook Marketplace don’t really compete. FB is better for normal fungible items. eBay is better for specialty stuff. Don’t forget that you have to pay to list and usually have to ship on eBay. It’s two totally different vibes.

If I wanted to sell a Dewalt angle grinder, I would go to Facebook first.

If I wanted to sell a Sony E-mount camera lens, I would go to eBay first.

Most used things I buy make more sense on Facebook. Most people I know use Facebook because they are usually looking for regular things.

[firesteelrain]

FB marketplace is full of people wasting your time.

"Is this still available?" Yes it is - never heard from again.

I stopped giving out my address. I will give a general area where we can meet so they can gauge how far it is for them. When they are on their way, I give them the public location to meet. Only serious people will meet me. On some occasions, I still get ghosted. But ghosting has become more and more common. I don't recall it being this bad when Craigslist was huge.

Rather go back to yard sales.

[rcpt]

Local classifieds are great if you live in a dense area. But I've tried using them when visiting rural family and there's absolutely nothing for sale.

[Beijinger]

You must be kidding. No kid uses facebook anymore.

[m463]

"ewww, facebook is for moms" - every kid born after the first gen of facebook

[jrmg]

Lots of people have a Facebook account just to use Marketplace, at least in my area.

[sampullman]

Depends on the country.

[red-iron-pine]

or adults for that matter. outside of Marketplace.