Facebook Marketplace is that magic place where everyone could offer their used vehicle and reach hundreds and thousands of potential buyers. If you are an authorized dealer, however, as of January this year, you are no longer able to publish listings on the platform via the Facebook business page. Industry specialists believe this is an attempt from Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to push car dealers toward paid advertising.
In an official press statement, the social media company said it is “simply changing how inventory may be displayed in the future” and that “for auto businesses, we continue to invest in innovative solutions to deliver on the automotive sector's needs for the future.” If we put aside the marketing language, this basically means auto dealers – together with real estate and rental firms – can only use the paid advertising platform for used vehicle listings.
Automotive News has a new lengthy article detailing the new restrictions and the effect they have on auto dealers, and it seems that there will be mixed reactions from the sales departments. Some dealers believe Facebook Marketplace is a must for reaching a wider group of potential customers. The publication gives a Michigan dealer for example, which is ready to spend about $1 million in Facebook advertising. In another example, however, another metro Detroit retailer said the gains from Facebook Marketplace aren’t huge.
"Internet sales are necessary. It's just that the Meta marketplace never showed the kind of results that we see from the other third-party sellers,” Joe Jackson, Bowman Auto Group general sales manager, told Automotive News.
If you are an owner of a used car who wants to sell it, don’t worry – Facebook won’t restrict your ability to post a listing. The same also applies to person-to-person listings for real estate, which continue to be available on the platform as a free option.
