If you’re looking to buy or sell something locally, you have quite a few options at your disposal, especially when turning to the Internet for help. Craigslist has often been the go-to online tool for buying and selling in your area, but in the past few years, the practice has become popular on Facebook. Now, Facebook is making it official with the release of their newest feature, Facebook Marketplace. Here’s what you need to know about this new service.

Marketplace Availability

Facebook Marketplace is a new service, and as such, the company is still rolling out its features. Unfortunately, that means that Marketplace is currently unavailable on the desktop site. So, if you want to give it a try, you’ll have to load it up via the Facebook app on your iPhone or Android device. Despite this somewhat-frustrating setback, Marketplace should work for everyone in the United States.

Finding Things for Sale

Once you open up the Marketplace part of the Facebook app, you’ll be greeted with a collection of photos of things being sold in your area. Of course, you can search for something specific and filter depending on factors such as location and price. Once you’ve found something you’d like to buy, you simply click on the photo, read the seller’s description, and click a button to message the seller to arrange the sale.

Selling Stuff on Marketplace

Buying something through Marketplace is easy, and so is the selling side of the equation. All you do is take a photo of the thing you want to sell, enter the price and a few details, and post. The ad will go out to all those who are looking in your area, along with any specific groups that you’d like to post to. Then, you wait on someone to message you with their offer.

How It Differs From Craigslist

You’re not wrong if you think the whole process sounds a lot like Craigslist. So, what makes it worth choosing over the older service? Well, for one, it’s Facebook, so it’s tied to something that you’re most likely already using on a regular basis. Plus, there’s more accountability when all actions are tied to your Facebook account. The big seller here, though, is that you can have instant-time chats back and forth with the person you’re doing business with, rather than replying to an email spurred on by a potential Craigslist purchase.

Missing Features

Facebook Marketplace is easy to use, but that’s almost to a fault, as there are still some features that users would like to see added in the near future. For one, there’s no rating system in place, so bad sellers don’t really face any consequences for their actions. Also, payments could be made easier with integration of a “checkout” option, rather than having to set something up with the seller. Facebook already allows you to send money through Messenger, so why not add this to the Marketplace?

In short, while there are still some features users would like to see added to Facebook Marketplace, the service is already pretty well-rounded, and it certainly does a good job competing with Craigslist. If that all sounds good to you, check it out the next time you pull up your Facebook app.