Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 31 to 39 of 39

Thread: Am I the only one who can’t stand Facebook Marketplace?

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529
    Rich,
    I found a ton of good deals when I lived in NEO for 8 years. So much more than where I live now, and it’s about the only thing I miss about Cleveland. You’re in the rust belt where used machinery is all over the place.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529
    There is a lot to be desired on FBMP, but it’s the only game in my little town. CL tool section has about 4 posts per day, and most are repeats or pawn shops. The ads and inappropriate humor on mugs or outlet covers is what drives me nuts.

    But on the other hand there are some good groups on FB, and I unfortunately spend less time here on SMC because of it. I think groups will be the downfall of most forums.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    I do not blame the people selling on FB. I just feel that FB and others make their sites hard to navigate, on purpose, so you stay longer and get to see more popup ads which pay the site owners.
    Bill D.

    Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.

    Mark Zuckerberg
    It sounds like they got the last part right, at least.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    6,983
    Rich,
    I found a ton of good deals when I lived in NEO for 8 years. So much more than where I live now, and it’s about the only thing I miss about Cleveland. You’re in the rust belt where used machinery is all over the place.
    Matt, I'm glad for you that you found them. I haven't ever found anything but old tired worn out junk or overpriced broken Harbor Freight scrap.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Wenatchee, WA
    Posts
    445
    On the one hand... I find searching/buying on FBMP incredibly frustrating - literally my place of last resort - due to pretty much the same reasons as the OP. Specifically, when on CL I make heavy use of 'refining' the search parameters utilizing very basic boolean terms like 'thing1 -thing2|thing3' i.e. "search for 'thing1', but exclude any listings that mention 'thing2' or 'thing3'". Some of those searches can get *really* long... but I can save them, and leave them running and have CL email or text me of new listings matching those criteria. Haven't found a way to get that kind of functionality out of FBMP - other than the 'Notify me'.

    Then again, as I'm typing this, I'm reminded of *why* I usually end up having to write out such long and detailed search strings on CL... it's because the *a-holes* who use keyword 'spamming' to try and up the numbers of views their listings get. As a case in point... if you want to list your Ryobi cordless drill/driver on CL, fine, be my guest. But don't sprinkle keywords like 'Festool', 'Bosch', 'track', 'miter', 'saw', 'router', etc. in the bottom of the dang listing. If I'm searching for Festool track saw, odds are abysmally low that I'm *ever* going to bite on your Ryobi tool. In fact, you pretty much just guaranteed that I *won't*, by cluttering my search results with garbage and wasting my time.

    I'm guessing the same 'crowd' probably exists on FBMP; I just haven't encountered them yet - since FB has crap for a search function.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Fergus, Ontario
    Posts
    31
    I have used fbmp regularly over the past year and a bit and have found it as good as kijiji. Just my thoughts
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] Just a little past the "Best Before" date.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    5,427
    Craigslist in my area is a shell of its former self. Despite its faults Facebook Marketplace is where 90% of the action is now.

  8. #38
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Posts
    1,370
    Blog Entries
    3
    Quote Originally Posted by Rich Engelhardt View Post
    Matt, I'm glad for you that you found them. I haven't ever found anything but old tired worn out junk or overpriced broken Harbor Freight scrap.
    I've seen a lot of decent machine deals in between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Typically never when I feel like driving out there though. Most recently was a oliver 399 with grinder for $1500 (on fb marketplace)

  9. #39
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Northern Virginia
    Posts
    1,370
    Blog Entries
    3
    Quote Originally Posted by Phillip Mitchell View Post
    I have ignored Facebook successfully for about 10-15 years and been as happy as a clam. I, like many of you folk I’m sure, routinely (daily) make the rounds on most all of the online classifieds, auctions, industrial WW listings, CL, etc for used machines just to keep up with what’s coming and going, asking price trends and, of course for more specific items that are on “the list.”

    Sometime within the last year I was alerted to something for sale (industrial drill press) on FB Marketplace that I was interested in and ended up buying for a great price. It’s been mostly all downhill from there. I have actually found one other fantastic deal in the interim on a scissor lift table, but it’s typically the worst of the worst in terms of actual content for sale.

    The way it’s laid out and presented is such a visual mess. There are ads that are mixed in with other (real) listings that are completely off topic, annoying, and often times offensive to some.

    The worst of it is the keyword search doesn’t actually seems to be a keyword search and always offers all these other “suggestions” sprinkled in that only detract further from the experience. The “local” radius filter is seemingly useless and doesn’t actually filter out stuff that is farther away and has a very low upper range (100 mi.) I’m the type that likes to set parameters and filters on searches for particular things so as to maximize my time and minimize time wasting. This seems impossible on FB.

    I would be delighted to learn that I am, like so many other elements of the Facebook interface, confused about how to effectively use it. I am computer savvy, in my 30s and have been actively searching and buying machinery from all corners of the internet for several years and never experienced such repeated frustration and disgust from a classifieds section. Please tell me I’m doing it wrong.

    I wish I could go back to ignoring it altogether but CL has all but died and it seems like there are more diamonds in the rough to be had on FB marketplace than any other general online classifieds.

    Your thoughts?
    It was good, it's getting worse. For a short while the search function was fantastic, but it's rather irritating now.

    That said the last most of my current machines were purchased through FB marketplace.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •