Can You Do Dropshipping With the Facebook Marketplace?

Facebook Marketplace is a great way to make some extra cash if you have stuff lying around that you don’t use anymore.

However, besides this ‘traditional’ way of using the Facebook Marketplace, you may have thought of using the platform for dropshipping.

If you did, that’s awesome!

Facebook Marketplace is definitely a platform you can do dropshipping on. It allows ecommerce businesses to dropship without a website and advertise their products to a large audience.

Today, we will look into the way Facebook Marketplace works and how you can do dropshipping with it.

Furthermore, we will look at the pros and cons of dropshipping with Facebook Marketplace. Lastly, I will point you in the right direction for finding products to sell on the Facebook Marketplace!

So, have you ever wondered how you do dropshipping using Facebook Marketplace?

Well, today you will find out!

What is dropshipping?

Before we dive into the details of Facebook Marketplace, let’s take a quick look at the working principles of dropshipping.

After all, you must understand the principle of dropshipping before you can start dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace!

Here is our definition of dropshipping:

Dropshipping is a business model where you sell products online without keeping them in stock. Once you get an order, you forward it to your dropshipping supplier, who will ship the product directly to your customer.

And, for the visual learners, here’s one of our amazing infographics explaining how dropshipping works:

Due to this unique business model, dropshipping comes with quite some awesome benefits:

Dropshipping looks great so far, right?

But now the question is, can you do dropshipping with the Facebook Marketplace?

Let’s find out!

Can you use the Facebook Marketplace to dropship?

Now that you understand the concept of dropshipping, let’s take a look at how you can use Facebook Marketplace for it.

When Facebook Marketplace was added to Facebook for the first time, it was not really a platform you could do dropshipping on. Its primary goal was to allow Facebook users to list various items on the marketplace and sell them to other Facebook users.

Since 2019, Facebook has started adding a bunch of features to the Facebook Marketplace that allowed ecommerce businesses to sell products on the platform. These new features created a major Business to Customer (B2C) opportunity for US retailers.

To find out how well-suited Facebook Marketplace is for dropshipping, let’s take a look at the necessary features a dropshipping platform must have:

Necessary features for a dropshipping platform	Present on Facebook Marketplace?
Create product pages	Yes, using product listings
Use the product pages to reach an audience	Yes, by reaching Facebook users
Communicate with shoppers	Yes, using Facebook Messenger
Manage product inventory	Yes, in combination with a listing partner
Process payments	Yes, using Facebook onsite checkout
Manage orders	Yes, using Facebook’s order management tools

As you can see, Facebook Marketplace offers all features you need to start dropshipping.

While everything looks great, the possibility of using all of these features will not be possible for everyone.

For starters, only ecommerce businesses in the US can list their product offerings on Facebook Marketplace:

If your ecommerce business is located outside the US, you will still be able to list products on Facebook Marketplace, but you won’t be able to use features like Facebook onsite checkout.

Besides this, you will only get access to all features if you use one of Facebook’s listing partners to list your products on Facebook Marketplace. These include popular ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify.

To conclude, if your ecommerce business is located in the US and you are managing your inventory with one of Facebook’s listing partners, you will be able to use Facebook Marketplace to its full potential.

If this is not the case, you will miss some of Facebook Marketplace’s awesome features. You will be able to list your products, but you won’t be able to do things such as:

• Manage your inventory
• Include hyperlinks in your product listing or use Facebook’s onsite checkout
• Use Facebook’s order management tools

However, don’t be sad if you fall into this category. It’s still possible to earn money using Facebook Marketplace!

For example, take a look at this story of Paul J Lipsky, who made a $600 profit in one week by dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace without using their “advanced” features.

How do you dropship on Facebook Marketplace?

If you are interested in dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace, here is a comprehensive tutorial:

Your first step is to register for a Facebook Business account. This allows you to create a Facebook page for your store and manage your Facebook Marketplace listings.

If you are located in the US, make sure to use one of Facebook’s listing partners. This will allow you to easily publish products and manage your inventory while using Facebook Marketplace.

Within a few minutes, you will be able to create your own product listings!

To learn more about how you can start selling on Facebook with one of the listing partners, check out this page for more detailed information on the steps you should take for each listing partner.

If you aren’t located in the US or can’t use one of Facebook’s listing partners, you will have to create product listings just like everyone else does when selling products.

After clicking on “Create listing”, you will be guided to a step-by-step process where you will be able to upload the product images, enter your product description, and so forth:

If you also have a website for your online business, be aware that you won’t be able to add any hyperlinks to your listing. However, you are able to enter your website’s domain in the product description and encourage your customer to buy the product there.

This will make the whole process much simpler since you won’t have access to Facebook’s onsite checkout for these listings.

Lastly, before listing your first product, make sure you have read Facebook’s ecommerce policy and Facebook’s ecommerce merchant agreement.

If you don’t have found products to sell yet, hang in there! Later in the article, I will tell you where you can find products to dropship on Facebook Marketplace. In my opinion, this will also be really valuable, especially if you are just starting!

The pros and cons of dropshipping with Facebook Marketplace

If you are debating on whether or not you should do dropshipping with Facebook Marketplace, I hope the pros and cons of the platform will help you to form a decision.

For me, it really helps to decide whether or not to use something. And there are definitely a few things that can be said about the pros and cons of Facebook Marketplace (just like the pros and cons of Shopify or the pros and cons of dropshipping).

So, without further ado, let’s dive into them!

However, if you’re in a hurry, you can take a look at our infographic below for an easy-to-view overview of the pros and cons:

The pros of using Facebook Marketplace

Alright, let’s first go over the pros of using this marketplace. We will go over these points below:

• You can dropship without a website.
• You can communicate with customers through Facebook Messenger.
• You don’t have any advertising costs (free traffic).

Let’s begin:

Dropship without a website

Facebook Marketplace can allow you to start dropshipping without a website.

If you are eligible for the required features, you can use certain tools that Facebook can provide, such as onsite checkout for payment processing and order management tools. Also, you can use one of Facebook’s listing partners to manage your inventory.

Since everything happens on the Facebook platform, your customers won’t need to use a website anymore, and you will be able to dropship without a website!

Communicate with customers through Facebook Messenger

Another useful feature for ecommerce businesses is the ability to communicate with your customers in real-time through Facebook Messenger.

On Facebook Marketplace, a buyer can message a seller directly and ask any questions they might have or request more information about the product.

This way of communicating creates a more “direct” connection between you as the online business owner and your customer, which is great for customer loyalty!

It creates a positive buying experience that shoppers don’t always get when shopping on regular online dropshipping stores.

No advertising costs

By listing your products on Facebook Marketplace, you automatically tap into a growing community of millions of Facebook users. In other words, you won’t have to pay for any expensive social media marketing!

As an additional benefit, the Facebook users that will see your product aren’t just scrolling through their home feed, like most often the case with Facebook Ads.

Instead, they are already in a shopping mood and browsing through Facebook Marketplace!

Besides that, Facebook takes care of a personalized shopping experience for all its users. So, the people who will see your product have the highest chances of being interested in them!

The cons of using Facebook Marketplace

Now, let’s not forget about the cons of using Facebook Marketplace. We will go over these points below:

• You must use a personal profile to create product listings if you don’t live in the US
• You will have to deal with a location filter in your product listings
• In some cases, you have no ability to add clickable links to your website in the product description

Let’s start:

You must use a personal profile to create product listings if you don’t live in the US

If you don’t live in the US, you won’t be able to utilize the tools that Facebook created for ecommerce businesses.

And unfortunately, you won’t be able to create product listings on Facebook Marketplace from your Facebook business page.

In the end, the only possibility that is left is to create product listings from your personal Facebook profile. Quite a shame, right?

Location filter

When creating a product listing for Facebook Marketplace, you will have to select a location where the product is “sold from”.

The problem with this is that your product won’t be seen by Facebook users from the whole world.

When a Facebook user goes to Facebook Marketplace, the standard filter will be set to show product listings that are located within a radius of 100 miles from their location.

So, if you select a location like Las Vegas, your product will almost solely get viewed by people living close to or in Las Vegas.

No ability to add clickable links to your website in the product description

When creating a product listing on Facebook Marketplace from your personal profile, you won’t have the ability to add any clickable links to your website in the product description.

You will be able to add your website’s domain address, but visitors who look at your product listing won’t be able to click on it. Instead, they will have to type the address in their browser themselves, which may prevent them from checking out the product on your website.

One thing you can do is send your website link to Facebook users who message you through Facebook Messenger.

Where can you find products to dropship on the Facebook Marketplace?

Are you ready to start dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace now?

Well, you might be ready if you have already found a product to sell. However, I can imagine that many people reading this don’t have a product yet.

Because of this, I will now show you where you can find the best products to dropship!

When dropshipping with Facebook Marketplace, it’s best to find a local dropshipping supplier that can supply the products you sell.

A local dropshipping supplier is often located in the same country as your customers. Because of this, the shipping times will be much faster, and returns will be easier to handle!

Here are some of our articles that highlight local dropshipping suppliers for the best countries to dropship in. Just click on the country you are interested in:

An alternative to this is to look into the possibility of dropshipping products from marketplaces like Walmart, Amazon, and eBay.

In many cases, the shipping speed for these orders will be very fast. However, the product costs are likely to be higher compared to a dropshipping supplier.

And if you’re wondering now how to do product research, then check out these 15 product research methods here.

Facebook Marketplace dropshipping software

As you can imagine, using Facebook Marketplace to dropship with multiple suppliers comes with a few tedious tasks.

You will have to manage all your product listings, monitor all the prices, and monitor the product stock for all your suppliers. It’s a continuous process that takes up a big chunk out of your time.

Luckily, some companies have designed software that can help you to automate these tasks. They are specifically designed for Facebook Marketplace dropshipping.

An example of a Facebook Marketplace dropshipping software is AutoDS:

The Facebook Marketplace dropshipping software created by AutoDS is one of the world’s most advanced automation partners for Facebook Marketplace dropshipping.

AutoDS supports over 20 popular dropshipping suppliers, like CJdropshipping, AliExpress, and Alibaba.com.

The software helps you to find hot products to sell, create product drafts and listings for them, and monitor both their stock levels and price.

Besides this, AutoDS can offer you the following additional benefits:

• Let virtual assistants access your store using multiple user access.
• Change prices based on sales performance using dynamic pricing.
• Combine winning product combinations from multiple suppliers.
• Automatically create tags based on the product’s category to improve your store’s visibility on the Facebook Marketplace.
• Use the image editor to edit products within AutoDS, which includes an option to create a collage with a click of the button.
• Automate your order fulfillment process when using Facebook Marketplace dropshipping. (Coming soon!)

If you are interested, you can start a 30-day trial for $1 here. After the trial, the pricing plans for AutoDS range from $27 to $47 per month:

How do you get paid with Facebook Marketplace?

In the end, there is one question that remains unanswered; how do you get paid with Facebook Marketplace?

When selling on Facebook Marketplace, Facebook will pay you on the bank account you have entered during your account set up.

The funds will be deposited 15-20 days after you have marked the items as shipped and entered the tracking number or five days after the item has been delivered. You can find more information here.

Keep in mind that you will be charged a 5% selling fee if you’re using Facebook’s checkout system. This fee will be deducted from your payout.

Conclusion

The Facebook Marketplace is a great platform to make some extra money on the side, whether it is for individuals or for dropshipping businesses.

Dropshipping businesses in the US should definitely take advantage of this great opportunity to generate extra sales. Facebook has created some amazing tools that you can use to help you meet new customers, and even make money from them.

Meanwhile, ecommerce businesses that are located outside the US are a little bit limited when it comes to dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace, but as I said, it’s definitely doable!

As an alternative to dropshipping using Facebook Marketplace, you could also look into using Facebook Ads to attract customers to your website.

Facebook Ads is a paid advertising method, but when applied correctly, it can also be insanely profitable!

If you have any more questions about dropshipping with Facebook Marketplace, don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below!

Have a great rest of your day!