Is is possible to use Face Book as a venue for selling a product?
I have a friend who makes the most wonderful, creative works of art out of antiques.
She doesn’t Do Computers, but wanted me to help her set up a FaceBook page to pub her stuff.
I spent last Sunday helping her set up the page (Looks pretty good, I think!) But at this point it really isn’t doing her stuff justice.
For one, she needs to have a place set aside in her shop to take good pictures of her product.
Also, I’m having a hard time convincing her that her page should be named “Timeless New Antiques,” rather than under her own name.
All of that aside, would it even have the desired result of selling her stuff? Should we focus on Ebay instead? She doesn’t want to do Ebay because she won’t ship (can’t blame her…talk about a nightmare.) She’ll deliver, within reason, or they can come pick it up. I told her that I think she can put those perimeters on her Ebay page. I don’t THINK that Ebay REQUIRES that people ship.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
10 Answers
eBay does have a “pickup” option, but remember that eBay will cut into her profits.
Yes, but that’s also a trade off for the traffic you get through Ebay. Their cut isn’t bad.
BUT will FB work?
Try www.esty.com, it is for handmade items. Why not ship ? I’d rather not get “stuck-up” and having a Glock pointed at me. You can charge outrageous rates for shipping and handling.
Yes, is is.
You could use FB to show off the product, but I don’t think you can actually close the sale and exchange funds via FB.
I still don’t like the delivery thing, in my city ( Small ) we’ve had five shootings / robberies of delivery people this year, it was pizza and other phoned in items. Make sure to have a valid credit card number before delivery.
Starting a facebook page for a business is a pretty standard step, but if this is your only way to reach people online you’re probably going to miss out on a lot of business. It sounds like your friend might want to use her personal page to sell her stuff- is that what you mean by setting it up under her own name?
I don’t recommend doing it that way. That’s sort of the online version of asking all your friends and family to buy your stuff to support your business. One of my facebook friends uses her personal page to sell stuff, and it’s kind of awkward, because you feel obligated due to the personal connection, but you might not really want what she’s selling. The best way to go about this is to create a business page and then link to it from her personal page. This allows friends and family to opt in by following the business page if they want to.
Does your friend do special orders only, or does she participate in local craft fairs or anything like that? That’s a great way to get her name out there.
I’d really suggest creating a simple website with a few product examples, contact info, and payment/ delivery/ shipping info. Squarespace is pretty good for building basic websites. Link the facebook page to the website and use it to post updates like new designs, craft shows you’ll be in, etc.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
