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Buying and selling used stuff is a great way to make and save money! In Canada the best platforms to do that are Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace/Buy and Sell groups.  Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Please read my affiliate disclosure here. But before having my baby, I used to commute about 45 minutes a day each way to work. This lead to me not really getting to know or build any real meaningful relationships close by. When I was working and child-free, it didn’t really bother me, as I would socialize at work and had no problem driving about two hours to my hometown to visit old friends. Fast forward to now and reflecting on the past year, and the fact that I have not taken the time to meet and connect with people has left me somewhat lonely and feeling isolated. So, in an attempt to connect with others and build solid friendships, I joined a Facebook mom’s group for my town. It’s kinda awkward meeting people for the first time (kinda like a first date), and I haven’t found any immediate connections, but I’m still working on it.
 As I spent some time on this mom’s page, I was connected to a Buy&Sell Facebook page for my community. Now, I’m not going to lie, I’m a Kijiji junkie, but I absolutely LOVE the Facebook Buy&Sell group. Why? Simply because I’m lazy! An admitted creeper, I go onto Facebook several times a day and scroll through my newsfeed. With the Buy&Sell page, I get posts in my feed throughout the day of people selling stuff that I may want and looking for things I may have. I don’t have to go to another site, or browse through different categories – it’s right there, for quick and easy viewing! Kijiji is a great place to find deals, and it’s also great for selling stuff you don’t need anymore. Having used Kijiji for years, I know that you can find some great stuff and make money off your no longer wanted stuff. So, yesterday I decided to try a little experiment. I set up an ad in my Facebook group and posted some items that I imported from China and put on Kijiji every few months. The goal was to see how the Facebook site would compare to Kijiji. I wasn’t sure if the different platform would make a difference, but it did! Normally, my Kijiji ad will yield 7 or 8 inquires which will lead to 1 sale – if I’m lucky. Facebook gave me fewer inquires, but more sales (5 inquires and 3 sales)! Not only did I have more sales, but I also found that people were more likely to follow through with communication. One thing that drives me bananas about Kijiji is that people will message you for information, or say they want to meet to buy and never respond to your follow up. It’s so frustrating that they can’t manage basic common courtesy. With the Facebook Buy&Sell group, you are able to see the person’s Facebook profile and can communicate your experience in the group page. Having that name and a picture of the person contacting you, who likely wants to keep buying and selling stuff too, gives a bit more accountability and reliability. While I’ll still use Kijiji for local ads (I use tripleclicks to reach a global audience), I’m going to increase the amount of items I put on Facebook and see if the better sales continues. What are your experiences with Facebook Buy&Sell groups? |
