Today I will walk you through the pros and cons of selling vintage toy collections on Facebook. Where you choose to sell vintage toy collections is a significant decision. The choice will determine how much time, and effort you need to expend as well as what your return will be.
The pros of Selling Vintage Toy Collections on Facebook Marketplace
It’s free to buy and sell
Free is fantastic. Free is the number one reason to use Facebook Marketplace. Rest assured the Marketplace will not be free for much longer. Once enough people adopt it they will charge.
Massive toy buyer reach
Your ad will be seen by toy buyers for a 100-mile radius. Additionally, as both a buyer and seller you can expand or shrink the radius.
Facebook Marketplace platform is easy to use
Unless you struggle with technology, it’s a rather easy to use platform. It’s also very easy on the computer, not as much so on the Facebook app, but still good. Take a picture, select a price, write a description and enter your location and you’re off.
The Cons of Selling Vintage Toy Collections on Facebook Marketplace
You don’t know what your item is worth
Possibly the biggest drawback, you have a great place to sell, but no idea of value, so underpricing, your collection is easy to do.
Your name, location, and address are exposed
Your name and full profile are exposed for all the world to see, if you’re selling something valuable then it’s not a great idea.
Buyer and seller protections are nonexistent
If you get cheated, there is no recourse on Facebook. Facebook customer service is also nonexistent. A great personal story about the first time I used Facebook marketplace as an individual (not as a business) was a complete disaster. I simply posted “buying lp record collections.” I was banned with prejudice, without assistance for 6 months. It was never explained to me why I was banned. No one would help at Facebook (and boy I tried getting answers and help). No one cared. So if you run into any normal or abnormal problem(s) expect zero assistance. One day after 6 months, I was allowed to post again, well thanks but no thanks! I have never posted again.
Success is hard in rural areas
Unless you’re in a city your items are unlikely to sell. I have seen a massive collection of G1 Transformers for sale for over 8 months. It’s fairly priced with good in-demand old toys. However, he won’t ship it, but no one wants it locally.
Personal safety concerns
We’ve all heard the horror stories of a Craigslist deal gone bad. The same stories, again and again, happen on Facebook Marketplace. You must use every precaution when meeting people.
Ship at your own peril
This is usually just a bad plan on Facebook Marketplace or anywhere else without a strict set of controls like eBay or Amazon or with some sort of reviews you can check. Facebook has no controls to prevent fraud. I won’t even give anyone any ideas in this article on how to rob people. It’s too easy on these platforms to rob people if they ship. The true identity of users is unknown. They can claim much about the collection you shipped then disappear and reappear with a new user id, under a new name. All the while you lost your money and collection.
Lots of communications with buyers
You must be available to answer questions, in some cases lots of questions. Questions you may not know the answer to, not even with photographs. Also, you will run into a lot of what I call “tire kickers” people interested enough to message you, but not interested enough to buy no matter what you said.
Selling collections to Wheeljack’s Lab compared to Facebook Marketplace
We are a known vintage toy buyer. We’ve been buying and selling vintage toys for over 20 years. We aren’t disappearing anytime soon. My family has been in this area for 3 generations. We offer immediate communications, immediate payment, and prepaid shipping. If the collection warrants, we will even pick up your collection! Toy quotes are given the same day. And we will be certain to give your old toys new homes with people who greatly appreciate them like you did. Hope you enjoyed our review of the pros and cons of selling vintage toy collections on Facebook.
Author: Chris Ingledue
Affiliation: Autobot
Function: Theoretician
Contact: email
Bio: I’m the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys, triggering fond memories and reigniting their imaginations. Every day I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year; scouring the internet – like we did the Sears Catalog of yesteryear – for the next great treasure, awaiting the arrival of the postman as if he was Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day is an absolute joy!