If you’re selling something on Facebook, you should include the price in the listing.

I’m a big fan of Facebook buy/sell groups. They’re more sustainable and cheaper than buying new items and are a win-win for the seller and the buyer. I love to scroll through Barnard Buy Sell Trade for clothes and have bought some amazing things from there. In fact, I’m sitting in jeans I bought for $20 from Barnard Buy Sell Trade right now as I’m writing this article.

I’m a firm believer that there are three components of a sale on the Facebook marketplace: item, price, and pickup location. For a sale to happen, these three elements must work for both the seller and the buyer. What this inherently presupposes is the presence of all three elements in a sale post, because the information must be available for a negotiation to proceed.

It’s so annoying when I’m scrolling through Barnard Buy Sell Trade or Columbia Free & For Sale and see something I might be interested in, but where the price should be is the dreaded phrase “message me for prices.” Why do people do this? Is it a reverse psychology tactic? Does this elicit the attention of most other people? I don’t know about you, but when I see an item for sale that I might be interested in but the post says “message me for prices” instead of an actual price, I never actually message them for prices; I make a face and scroll right past. Just tell me how much money you want for it! If it’s something I need or want, I’ll likely be willing to pay.

Screenshots via Facebook