My Facebook Marketplace Obsession {Tips To Find Treasures}
February 22, 2025
Share this
My tips for finding beautiful treasures on Facebook Marketplace!
If you love vintage and unique decor in your home, then the Facebook
Marketplace will become your favorite source for interesting pieces!
Recently, especially over the past year or so, the seasonal decor releases at
places like Target and Walmart are just hitting me differently.
It's hard to find something unique -- all of the decor items start to look the
same after a while.
Over the past few years I've fallen back in love with thrifting and antiquing.
It helps that our teenage son enjoys it too -- he loves looking for vintage
sports memorabilia.
Late last year I clicked on the little marketplace button at the bottom of my
FB page while winding down in bed one night. I was surprised at all of the
beautiful pieces that were both interesting and full of character.
I started logging in everyday to check out the finds. It's easy to get
slightly addicted once you find a few treasures!
In the past few months I've learned a lot about successfully shopping on this
app, so figured I would share my tips along with some of my finds!
1. Search for keywords and add filters.
Looking through all of the listings can become a major time suck, so searching
by terms helps to whittle down the items.
You can use any word you'd like -- wood or metal, new or used. Or search a
specific design style you love like modern or farmhouse.
Not only can you use keywords, but you can set a price range, condition, color
and more to filter your search:
I love just about anything brass, so I use that every so often to look for
treasures. These brass library bookends were one of my first finds:
Love the candlestick in front of the books!
This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.
I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links.
See my policies and disclosure page for more information.
And this vintage brass magazine rack was perfect for my office:
Does anyone else still read magazines? I love them!
I adore cloisonné brass bowls -- I found one years ago and have it displayed
in my office:
When you
clean these brass pieces, all of the beautiful colors and designs really shine.
I found another one on Facebook recently. It was already pretty with the
patina:
But an absolute stunner when cleaned up!:
The colors are so much more vibrant!
I have it displayed on our
vintage dresser than I recently cleaned up and moved to our foyer:
You can also set up a notification for certain keywords so you'll be notified about new listings right away!
2. Be safe during pick up.
I avoided shopping the marketplace for years because I was concerned about
safety. Now I always let my husband know where I'm going and only do porch
pick up.
Also, I do NOT meet people at a specified location, even if it's outside. I
would meet at the police station perhaps, but at a random gas station, no. I
know that's supposed to be safer, but I'd much rather pick up something on a
porch than meet face to face. I could be weird about that!
I highly discourage going into a home to get an item. When I've purchased
furniture second hand over the years, I always ask that it is left on a porch
or driveway.
When I picked up the
cane chair I recently recovered, the seller had it inside her front porch. That's the furthest I've stepped
into someone's house:
Some may find that extreme, but better safe than sorry!
I've learned these days most transactions are completed without saying a word to someone in person!
3. Pay attention to sizes.
I'm shocked at how often sellers don't include dimensions! Always ask, and if
they are in the description, make sure you pay attention. 😂
I picked up this beautiful capiz shell box and round brass tray with handles
and was shocked at how small they were -- the photos made them look three
times the size:
But that was my fault, I didn't pay attention to the measurements and just
assumed. I ended up paying more than I would have if I had seen the sizes,
but I do love the pieces!
The adorable little tray holds our drink coasters and I placed our matches
in the pretty little box:
4. Communication is key.
If I'm interested in something, instead of just clicking the "Hello, is
this still available?" message, I make a little more effort:
Even just writing "Hi there!" or "Good morning!" first helps to stand out
and lets the seller know you are truly interested.
Communicate as much as possible about pick up. I haven't sold on FB myself,
but I can't even imagine how many messages people get and how often they are
stood up!
I try to communicate when I'll pick up and let them know if that will
change.
By the way, I don't pay for the item (usually via Venmo) until I've had a chance to look it over and have it in hand.
5. Set a radius for your search.
You can filter searches to however many miles around you. I have mine set to
a 15 mile bubble around us -- too often I was discovering exactly what I was
looking for, just to find it was hours away.
You can keep the same distance away from your home, but just move your
"bubble" around to the north, south, whatever, to discover new finds. (I
find that FB still shows me plenty outside of my specifications, which can
get frustrating.)
Sometimes sellers will ship! I find that they usually list that in their
description. One of my all time favorite second-hand finds was this nautical
brass light:
The seller shipped it out the next day and I had a couple days later. I only
did that because I LOVED this sweet little lamp -- so check out the
"delivery" filter to only show sellers that will deliver or ship.
I think this would be most helpful when looking for something super
specific, or furniture that is an exact size or style that you like.
6. Don't hesitate to hesitate.
If you don't have a spot in mind for it, or feel like the price is too
high...hesitate. You can always save (hit the heart button) the item for
later.
I've always enjoyed thrifting and antiquing, but years ago I pulled back
on it because I was spending way too much money and filling our garage
with "potential" projects.
The clutter weighed on me...regret would often set in because I felt like
I had to grab the piece right then or it would be gone
forever.
Now I've learned if it's meant to be, it will be. Walk away for a bit to
see if you REALLY love it as much as you think.
Also, I only purchase something if I know exactly where it will go
and how I will display it. If I can't think of where I would place or use
it in our home, I won't buy it.
6. Do your research.
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. I've seen the same seller
list a "brand new in box" vacuum for $50 when the retail price is
$750. Something is up with that one!
I once inquired about a light fixture and never heard back from the
seller, but I was interested enough that I took a screenshot of the item
and did
a Google image search. Turns out that exact light (with the same photo) was listed for
a fraction of the price on Amazon!
I've also seen plenty of listings that use the word "vintage" in the
description when I know for a fact it's from Target. Ha! So just do some
digging if something feels off.
If it doesn't feel right, just save the listing and come back to it later
after doing some research.
Pay attention to seller ratings and read the reviews!
I hope these tips help if you try out Facebook Marketplace! If you're
smart about it, it's a wonderful tool for finding truly lovely and unique
decor for your home without breaking the bank. There's something special
about decorating with pieces that have a history!
Do you shop the marketplace often? Please share any additional tips in the
comments!
Never miss a post by signing up to
get posts via email.
Comments