The Facebook Marketplace is the newest and one of the most profitable selling channels for dropshipping.
While the Facebook Marketplace has been around for a while, dropshippers only recently started using it as an additional platform for expanding their dropshipping business.
Although Facebook Marketplace is not new, it is completely untapped. There are not as many dropshippers on Facebook Marketplace as of now and the organic traffic and sales are through the roof.
Therefore, now is the perfect time to start dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace and enjoy the fruits that will come (sooner rather than) later.
If you’re interested in dropshipping on the Facebook Marketplace but have no idea where to start – look no further. This guide will walk you through it all until it becomes fun and rewarding. Get ready to go from having no prior knowledge to getting your first sales!
What Is Facebook Marketplace Dropshipping?
For those that are completely new to dropshipping, let’s first cover the basics. Dropshipping is a way of selling products online with no initial investment.
There are three parties involved in the dropshipping business model:
- A supplier or manufacturer
- You (the dropshipper)
- A customer
How does it all work?
- A customer purchases a product from your dropshipping store.
- You place the order with your buyer’s information from your chosen supplier.
- The supplier ships the product to your customer.
You don’t need to invest in stock, store inventory, or deal with shipping, and the price margin is your profit.
Now, with the power of Facebook’s ability to direct a ton of free organic traffic to our store on the marketplace, the Facebook Marketplace is one of the best under-the-radar selling channels to start or expand your dropshipping business.
So whether you’re completely new to dropshipping or want to scale your dropshipping business by selling on a new selling channel, this guide is for you.
We take you through all of the necessary steps to succeed. From how to find hot products to sell, listing your first item, and automating your dropshipping business.
You can also learn how to start through our free Facebook Marketplace Dropshipping course!
Find Products to Dropship On The Facebook Marketplace
Finding good products that will sell is the first step toward a successful Facebook dropshipping store. Because Facebook dropshipping is relatively new, finding products that will sell is far less difficult than other selling channels such as eBay or Shopify.
Facebook is also a good place to search for product ideas, but we can do better on TikTok. The platform is popular among influencers and is often the best place to notice trends before they become popular. To make product research on TikTok fast and efficient, we can use the AutoDS TikTok Spy tool. It shows us tons of different videos and ads promoting trending products. By using its powerful filters, we can sort videos to narrow our searches and find winning items in minutes.
With hardly any competition for dropshipping on the Facebook marketplace, we can easily find good products to sell by looking up best-selling items on sites like Amazon or Walmart.
Unlike eBay, where thousands of dropshippers have been selling for years, Facebook opens a new window of opportunity for dropshippers of all levels to capitalize on.
Finding best-selling products is a straightforward task. For example, we can find the best-selling products on Walmart’s homepage by going to their ‘Deals’ section.
Then, the ‘Featured Shops’ section on Walmart will show us the hottest selling items. This is a great place to catch new rising trends.
Let’s not forget to select only categories and items that are fit for the dropshipping business model.
Best-Sellers & Listings With Good Reviews
Home and kitchen is a popular category with plenty of items considered safe for dropshipping. After clicking ‘Movers and Shakers,’ we can select ‘Home and Kitchen’ on the left column. Then, select an item.
As such, dropshippers can find items for their Facebook store on Walmart. Open the drop-down menu located at the top left and select a department.
Note that Walmart offers multiple categories under each department. Keep selecting categories until you reach the homepage of your chosen subcategory. In this example, we select ‘Home, Furniture & Appliances.’
Next, pick a category. To illustrate, let’s pick the ‘Kitchen & Dining’ category. Then, pick a subcategory within ‘Kitchen & Dining’ and select an item.
Make sure to sort items by ‘Best Sellers’ (top right). Finally, pick a hot-selling item with positive reviews since we only want to sell high-quality products.
One of the trusted dropshipping platforms, AutoDS, supports over twenty-five suppliers, including Walmart, Wayfair, Costco, and more. Moreover, AutoDS now has its own warehouse and a large network of private suppliers.
The AutoDS warehouse and extensive private supplier network provide invaluable support for dropshipping businesses on Facebook Marketplace. This ensures efficient order fulfillment and seamless shipping processes, enabling sellers to meet the demands of their Facebook Marketplace customers. Additionally, the network of private suppliers offers unique products and exclusive discounts, giving dropshippers a competitive edge and the ability to maximize profits.
By leveraging the AutoDS warehouse and private suppliers, dropshippers can focus on growing their business on Facebook Marketplace while AutoDS handles the logistics, resulting in a streamlined and successful dropshipping experience.
With so many suppliers and millions of products to choose from, we are all but guaranteed success on our dropshipping journey as long as we are willing to put the work in.
What Products Are Not Allowed to be Sold on Facebook Marketplace?
As we search for products, let’s keep in mind which products we cannot dropship on Facebook Marketplace.
Some prominent types of prohibited products include animals, bodily fluids, etc.
However, other prohibited items may not be so apparent to us as dropshippers. In fact, Facebook’s commerce policy contains a list of twenty-five categories that are not permitted on the platform. Violating these policies may affect our ability to sell on the marketplace in the future. Some examples include:
- Adult products (like sex toys)
- Medical products (e.g., band-aids, antibiotic ointments, pain relievers, etc.)
- Misleading, violent, or hateful materials (for example, a T-shirt with a hateful message)
- Ingestible supplements (e.g., vitamins, protein bars, and the like)
- Alcohol (e.g., beer, vodka, rum)
- Recalled products
- Any products that violate the Facebook community policy
Aside from items prohibited by Facebook’s specific policies, many other products, and things cannot be dropshipped or re-sold anywhere. AutoDS has a list of such items in its database for our convenience and protection.
The AutoDS platform will automatically warn us from listing any item on its prohibited list.
How To Begin Dropshipping On The Facebook Marketplace
Knowing how easy it is to find products, how can dropshippers make the most of the lucrative opportunity Facebook Marketplace presents?
Luckily we have at our disposal a detailed guide of how to dropship on Facebook Marketplace and fully automate our Facebook store by utilizing AutoDS’s dropshipping tools.
Before listing items, it is important to download and install two AutoDS Chrome extensions.
The first and most essential is the brand new Facebook Marketplace Dropshipping Helper. The extension will help us automate most aspects of our store.
Second, make sure to download the Chrome AutoDS Dropshipping Helper Extension.
This extension makes processing orders easier by copying customer addresses to supplier websites. Additionally, it lets you upload products to AutoDS in one click.
After installing both extensions (and ensuring you enabled the Facebook Marketplace Plan on your AutoDS subscription), we can add our first Facebook store.
To do this, at the top left of the screen, you click on the pencil symbol, which will open a pop-up window with the list of current stores.
Click on ‘Add Store.’
Then, three options will appear; eBay, Shopify, and Facebook. Select Facebook and then pick a name for the store.
The name is internal to our account for reference purposes. It will not appear on Facebook.
Now that we’ve added a store to AutoDS, we’re finally ready to add products to Facebook Marketplace.
After integrating our stores with AutoDS, we can sync existing products from the extension. To do so, first, click on the Chrome Extension and select your FBMP store. Then, choose Sync Range. Here, we can choose to sync products from existing listings from the last 24 hours, 7 days, or all products.
With this option, we can sync existing products on our FBMP store with AutoDS. As a result, our product listings are always up to date, and we will never fall behind our competition.
How To Add Products To Facebook Marketplace
AutoDS offers multiple product importing solutions. Each method is a bit different, but all share the same six basic steps.
- Choose a product.
- Import the product to AutoDS as a ‘Draft’.
- Edit and optimize the draft.
- Transfer the product from ‘Drafts’ to ‘Products’.
- Paste the item into Facebook Marketplace and create a listing.
- Configure the listing and publish it.
For illustration purposes, we’ll use Amazon’s ‘Movers and Shakers’ list to select products and demonstrate four time-saving import methods.
Each option automatically imports the product’s title, description, images, and other information needed for the product.
Import Using The One-Click Importer
The first option is to utilize the Chrome AutoDS Dropshipping Helper Extension we installed earlier to import the product with one click. This is perfect for quick single product uploads.
Once you select a product from your supplier, a button will appear at the top of the product page with the title ‘Import to AutoDS.’
Upload Using a Product URL/ID
The second option is to use AutoDS’ built in importer. To do so, go to your AutoDS account.
First make sure that your Facebook store has been selected for imports, and deselect any other store you have unless you want to import to multiple stores.
Do this by clicking on the pencil icon on the top left corner right above ‘Add Products’.
Using the Product URL/ID importing method, you can import single products one by one or multiple products at once.
Below we will demonstrate using the ‘Single Product’ option. The only difference in the process is the amount of product URLs or IDs you will copy into the importer.
Once you have your Facebook store selected, click ‘Add Products’ and select ‘Single Product’ (or ‘Multiple Products’ seen below for a bulk upload using the same method).
When you click the ‘Single Product’ button to import by URL/ID, you will get a pop-up screen in which you need to paste the product URL or ID.
From here, simply paste your product’s URL or product ID from your supplier site, and add the product to ‘Drafts’.
Upload in Bulk by CSV File
Last but certainly not least, the fastest way to import up to thousands of products. This method uses the AutoDS Helper extension as well.
To add multiple products from any supplier in a just a few clicks of a button, start by heading over to your preferred supplier.
Look up a niche, a subcategory, or any product you’d like to add. Once you land on a search page with multiple products you’d like to add, click on the AutoDS logo on the bottom right to activate the extension.
From here, click to open and activate the Helper extension. Once you click, the extension will display a few buttons.
To import all the items from the search page, click ‘Extract’ followed by ‘Export as CSV’.
As soon as you click ‘Export as CSV’, the Helper extension will automatically create and download a ready made CSV file for you.
Once the file has downloaded, head over to your AutoDS account. Select ‘Add Products’ and then ‘Multiple Products’.
Here is where the AutoDS Importer will pop up with a few importing options. To upload your CSV file and import all your new products, select the second tab from the left ‘Upload CSV’.
Drag and drop the CSV file and select the importing option you prefer. We recommend to always add new products to the ‘Drafts’ page first.
Which leads us to our next step.
Optimize Your Product Draft
Using the menu on the left, go to ‘Drafts’ and begin optimizing the product you just added. Go over your product title, images, description, and any other relevant details. Time is precious, use the AutoDS AI Rewrite tool to enhance your product titles and descriptions with a single click in seconds.
To confirm it is the right product, lookout for a small Facebook emblem at the bottom of the product bar.
Aside from the Facebook symbol, a few other tabs below the product title serve an important function: we use them to confirm the last details before posting to Facebook Marketplace.
For example, you can confirm the correct supplier is listed (in this case Amazon US).
However, there is one important tab to focus on: variants.
If the variants tab shows more than one, make sure to delete all product variants except for the ones we want to sell.
We do this because unused variants needlessly eat up our AutoDS subscription plan.
Click on the arrow to the product’s le to delete variants, then ‘Variants.’
Next, select all variants, except for the one we are selling, and click ‘delete.’ The product should now only show the variant we need.
In this case, we only want the red meat-thermometer, so we select and delete the black one.
All in all, as long as the product is in the drafts section of our store, we can move back to Facebook Marketplace. Don’t worry, we can continue optimizing directly from there!
Creating The Listing On The Facebook Marketplace
Yay! We are finally ready to publish the product listing on the Facebook Marketplace. From here, we can see the product that is in the drafts section on AutoDS. Yes, that’s right, no need to go back and forth from tab to tab!
From the Facebook platform, select ‘Create New Listing.’
From the three listing types that appear on the main screen, click ‘Item for Sale.’
This takes us to the page where we have our product drafts that have not been published yet.
Here, we will click on ‘Paste Info from AutoDS.’ This will show us all of the information from the AutoDS drafts section which is imported directly to our Facebook Marketplace listing.
Sit back and let the magic happen. In a few short moments, AutoDS uploads our item with all relevant information, including product description, photos, and title onto Facebook Marketplace.
The last step to creating your listing is to assure the synchronization between your Facebook Marketplace listing and AutoDS is complete.
In order to do so, make sure that the FB item ID on AutoDS turns to numbers (instead of numbers and letters). This happens only after we published the product on Facebook Marketplace.
Item Listing Optimization
AI has not surpassed us humans yet, so some of the information may need some tweaking before we move forward. For example, the product description may show up in one long paragraph:
We want to break it down into bullet points and line/paragraph breaks so it is more user-friendly to read and understand.
Next, delete any images that are for variants we are not selling.
Finally, we should go over the product title, price, condition, category, and other fields to ensure the product lists correctly.
Item Price Configuration
Let’s start with the price since setting up the correct price ensures we profit from the sale.
Typically, you would want to add to the base price shipping costs, facebook selling fees, and an additional profit.
Facebook charges a %5 fee or a minimum of $0.40 on every sale we make, whichever is higher. For instance, if we sell a product for $2.00, Facebook deducts a $0.40 fee.
The good news is that when we add a Facebook store to the AutoDS platform, it creates default price and break-even settings for us!
Then, when we paste a product to Facebook Marketplace, the price already factors in Facebook’s selling fees and an additional %15 profit.
Of course, we can always opt to change these settings for each supplier. For example, we can choose to make a %20 profit instead of %15 when uploading from Amazon.
Continuing on Facebook, select a category that best fits the product. This isn’t filled in automatically by AutoDS.
Remember, we have a better chance of higher sales if the item gets posted in the correct category where Facebook users will look for our product type.
Available Quantity
As you scroll down, you will find an option to enter how many units you have in stock under ‘Available Quantity.’
We can keep it by default at 1.
If we want to sell more than one item per listing, we can always adjust the quantity to a higher number, like 2 or 3.
Either way, since AutoDS automatically keeps the item in stock, the item’s inventory constantly updates according to the supplier’s availability. Therefore, we can keep selling units without worrying about the supplier running out.
By default, AutoDS marks items out of stock when the supplier has less than 1 left. However, we can always adjust these settings to a higher threshold.
Simply enter the desired number in the ‘Minimum product quantity’ box under ‘Monitoring.’
After entering all of the product information on Facebook, click ‘Next.’
The Facebook Marketplace Shipping Option
In the following section, Facebook asks for shipping information.
First, US-based dropshippers should select the ‘Set Up Shipping’ option at the bottom of the window if they haven’t done so earlier. This allows them to sell anywhere in the United States, which can greatly increase their sales.
Then, scroll back up to enter a location for the product. Since we are using Amazon Prime, which ships anywhere in the United States, we can enter any city and state. For example, here we entered San Jose.
Next, under ‘Delivery method,’ select ‘shipping only.’ Don’t select any option that includes ‘pick-up’ as it isn’t relevant for dropshipping.
For the shipping option choose, ‘Use your own shipping label.’ Leave the ‘Base shipping rate’ and ‘Additional item fee’ blank and select to turn on free shipping for buyers.
We already included any shipping costs in our item price, so we don’t have to add any additional charges.
Keep in mind that all of these options are for US-based, American dropshippers.
Those without US citizenship can only sell an item in one city and state. Additionally, Facebook ensures that only residents of that locality can see the item.
Unfortunately, this means fewer sales on Facebook for dropshippers without US citizenship.
On a final note about shipping, Facebook requires that items ship and deliver quickly to maintain a high standard marketplace.
To prevent products with slower shipping times from being listed, make sure to set the correct value under ‘Maximum Shipping Days’ in your AutoDS settings.
Items listed on supplier sites with more protracted greatly increasing than the maximum allowed shipping time will show as out of stock on Facebook.
Finalize And Publish
Once you’ve confirmed all of the details, the product is ready for publishing on the Marketplace.
Click ‘Next,’ and Facebook prompts you to decide which groups the item should be listed in.
Posting items in buy-and-sell groups increases the visibility of the product, and therefore its sales volume. After this selection, we click ‘publish.’
Before the item gets posted to the marketplace, Facebook may check that it meets its commerce policies. If everything checks out, the item becomes available for purchase.
Woo! Now our item is published on Facebook Marketplace. Plus, the item has moved from ‘Drafts’ to ‘Products’ on AutoDS, signifying that it is published and ready for sale.
Automation With AutoDS
We’ve successfully listed our product on Facebook Marketplace. Now we’re ready to configure the automation features that will save us loads of time for our other stores and projects.
Automatic Price & Stock Monitoring
Now, let’s set up Price and Stock monitoring, a crucial component of maintaining and scaling a profitable Facebook store. As dropshippers, we need to constantly check the supplier’s website for changes in stock quantity and price. While we can monitor stock and prices manually, it can take considerable time if we sell many products.
Therefore, we need an automatic tracking tool like the AutoDS stock and price monitoring tool to automate the process. This tool constantly monitors the product’s stock availability and price fluctuations on an hourly basis. On top of that, it automatically notifies us if there’s any change.
With this information, we can instantly update the information on our FBMP stores. This way, we can avoid incurring losses due to price fluctuations and avoid upsetting customers.
First, click on the Facebook Marketplace Dropshipping Help, and go to settings.
Now we can choose which Facebook store we want to monitor and the update frequency for stock and price changes.
This is where the magic happens. AutoDS scans each product we have in our store, making sure price and stock are always synced.
With the new Facebook Marketplace extension, we can instantly sync any Facebook Marketplace store with our AutoDS account. With this feature, all the products listed on our Facebook Marketplace store will be updated on our AutoDS account. This is important, especially if new Facebook stores have product listings before integration with AutoDS.
Can AutoDS Mark Facebook Marketplace Listings As Out Of Stock?
Currently, Facebook does not allow any Automation software to change stock levels on its site.
Instead, if your product goes out of stock on your supplier site, AutoDS automatically changes the price on Facebook Marketplace to an astronomically high number, deterring customers from buying it and effectively rendering it out of stock.
Automatic Synchronizing
The next automation feature tells us which products have been imported to AutoDS but haven’t been added to Facebook Marketplace yet.
To use this feature, go to the Facebook Dropshipping Helper, and select a ‘Sync range.’ For example, we may want our stores to sync every 24 hours.
Regardless of the interval we choose, we can always click ‘Sync Now’ for an immediate result.
A report then populates, which tracks all of the updates the extension made and price and stock changes.
We can download the log for our records or clear the log so that older information doesn’t confuse us. Furthermore, we can also access error logs. Simply, click on the Facebook Marketplace Helper Extension and click on Logs. Here, we can see all the error logs and issues to easily assess where they come from.
In short, error logs display issues. Thus, if there are issues, it also shows where they come from. Essentially, having easy access to error logs allows us to take action swiftly. As a result, we can fix any pending issues ensuring a smooth customer experience.
After each synchronization, all products imported to AutoDS but not uploaded to Facebook will appear above the ‘Paste info from AutoDS’ button in a drop-down menu.
Therefore, the Sync option reveals which products need to be copied from AutoDS in order to list them on Facebook.
Copy Addresses With AutoDS
We’ve learned how automation makes it easy to list and track products, but is there a way to automate the ordering process?
For now, no comprehensive order automation software for Facebook Marketplace exists. Therefore, we must pay attention and fulfill each order promptly, primarily because of Facebook’s high standards.
There is, however, one way to save lots of time processing orders. Using the AutoDS Chrome extension, we can copy customer addresses from Facebook and paste them in one click into a supplier website.
To illustrate, go to Shipping Orders on your Marketplace account and select a customer order.
Then, click on the small copy icon next to the customer’s address.
Now go to the supplier’s website, select the item and begin the checkout process.
When you arrive at the address page, simply click the orange ‘Paste’ button. The AutoDS extension automatically fills in the customer’s information.
All that’s left is to place the order.
Product Sourcing Quotes
Due to the nature of the Facebook userbase, most shoppers browse the FB Marketplace because of cheap items and fast domestic shipping. Most products there are used, therefore cheap. Also, customers often purchase from local sellers, meaning they can pick items during a walk or a ride from work, grocery shopping, etc.
As dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace becomes popular, you can find more products from Chinese suppliers. But still, how do you beat cheap used items with domestic shipping or compete with other dropshippers sourcing from China? The answer is the Product Sourcing Quotes service.
This innovative feature from AutoDS transforms the order fulfillment process and addresses common pain points dropshippers face. It simplifies and optimizes the order fulfillment process, particularly when dealing with Chinese suppliers. Here is how it works:
1. When you receive an order from a Chinese supplier or an unmonitored source, you can request a quote from AutoDS.
2. Our team swiftly processes your request, typically within 48 hours.
3. After processing, you’ll receive a range of options to choose from, including product variations, shipping methods, and associated costs.
4. Once you decide to source a product, its status changes to “linked.” You can connect only your product to the chosen AutoDS-sourced item (for future orders) or link existing pending orders.
The Product Sourcing Quotes service provides perks like shorter shipping times, possibly lower prices, and products that have undergone quality inspection before they are shipped. Here is why you should consider giving this service a try:
- Quality Assurance: We established a warehouse where products undergo thorough inspections before shipping to your end customers.
- Faster Delivery: We’ve streamlined the sourcing process, allowing you to choose from various shipping options and prices and enjoy faster delivery times for your customers.
- Effortless Process: The process is quick and efficient. Within 48 hours, you’ll have multiple options at your fingertips.
- Customization: Tailor your sourcing with various options for product variations, shipping methods, and costs, meeting your specific needs.
- Cost Savings: Find competitive and often lower-priced products, maximizing your profitability.
So, what do you get as a result? You get cheaper products with faster shipping, which are perfect for dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace. At the same time, quality inspection means high customer satisfaction that results in good feedback and repeat business.
Print on Demand
In the dynamic world of e-commerce, the key to success lies in the ability to stand out from competitors. But, as the market gets more and more saturated with various products, it becomes very difficult. One effective strategy to achieve this differentiation is through offering unique items. This is where Print on Demand (POD) emerges as a game-changer.
With AutoDS Print on Demand, you can design and sell custom products like apparel, accessories, and homeware without handling production or shipping. It empowers you to showcase your creativity by producing custom and exclusive designs, catering to niche markets, and capturing the attention of discerning consumers.
Bonus Stock and Price Email Notifications
AutoDS provides another way to keep track of price and stock monitoring with periodic email notifications. This may be useful if we want to investigate a price change or determine how often a particular product changes.
However, since we already have the automatic price and stock monitoring, this feature isn’t required.
To enable stock and price monitoring notifications, go to the AutoDS dashboard. On the bottom left corner, click ‘Settings’ and then at the top right corner ‘Notifications.’
We see several options for ‘Orders Notifications’ that are not relevant for our Facebook store. However, right below it, you will see an option for ‘Monitoring Notifications.’
To turn on monitoring notifications, toggle both price and stock monitoring to the on position.
Next, below ‘Monitoring Notifications,’ enter your email address where you wish to receive the price and stock change notifications.
These actions ensure that AutoDS instantly notifies us of every stock or price change of an item via email.
Wrapping It Up
Our fully automated Facebook dropshipping store is now ready for success.
As dropshippers start reaping the benefits of Facebook Marketplace, those of us with AutoDS’s full automation gain a competitive edge.
This is the only drop shipping tool of its kind currently on the market. It will make dropshipping on Facebook Marketplace a friendlier journey while also saving precious time.
All we need to do now is find winning products and add them to our Facebook store. Which, again, is much easier on this untapped marketplace.
Once we get orders, we full them through our suppliers and ship them directly to the buyer. Enter shipping information when available, and enjoy the profits!
Continue learning about dropshipping on the Facebook Marketplace with these related articles and video:
And begin to track our stock and price changes directly from AutoDS without checking every product through our suppliers daily.
Thanks to the automation features of AutoDS, changes to the price and stock are automatically reflected in the product bar and on Facebook Marketplace.
Continue expanding your Facebook Marketplace dropshipping knowledge:
