Facebook Marketplace has been around for quite a while now connecting both buyers and sellers for new and used items. With millions of daily active users, it’s no wonder the marketplace is huge and is only growing. If you have any used items at your home and need to get rid of them, why not list them on Facebook Marketplace? But that’s the discussion for another day. If you have noticed certain items listed by sellers, you’ll see that some of them have “pending” next to it and you can’t contact the seller for that item. This seemingly innocuous word has some important meaning for both buyers and seller. In this article, we will show you what does pending mean on Facebook Marketplace? keep reading.
What does “Pending” mean on Facebook Marketplace?
When you see some items from sellers that are still up but market as “Pending,” it means that the vendor has agreed to sell the item to someone but it’s still not confirmed yet. It’s like you are selling a car and your next door neighbour Saad wants to buy it and you’re in talk with him and may likely get the deal. In the meanwhile, if someone else come to buy your car, you can tell them that you’re in the middle of a deal with someone else, but if that doesn’t go through, you’ll let them know. On the Facebook Marketplace, it’s “Pending” label that takes place instead of letting someone know you’re in the middle of a deal.
Anyways, here are a few things you need to know about “Pending” status of an item on Facebook Marketplace:
- The buyer is agreed to buy but hasn’t paid for the item
- The item’s delivery or collection has not been finalised by both parties yet
- The seller is still waiting for a final confirmation for purchasing the item
- The seller think there are still other things that need to be confirmed before the item is marked as “Sold.”
How long does Pending last?
When you’re about to sell an item but it’s still not confirmed, you can mark it as pending. Which also means, other buyer might not be able to contact you. There’s no set limit on how long the item can stay in a “Pending” state. It can be a n hour, a day, three months, or six years. Facebook may gently remind you that you have an item that’s still pending, and whether it’s been sold yet or not? So you can renew the pending status many times. However, the best thing you can do is finalise the item to avoid confusion.
What should sellers do when an item is pending?
As a seller, you need to update all your Facebook Marketplace listings as and when required or cross list items from other marketplaces if you want to sell more. When a buyer agrees to buy the product and you mark the item as pending, it’s your responsibility to follow up with them. Communicate efficiently and gently remind them if they still want the product. If the buyer doesn’t respond, the seller can take the items off pending status and mark it as “Available” for any buyers to buy it.
What should the buyers do when an item is pending?
The buyers should communicate efficiently with the seller and confirm all details required for the completion of the transaction. It means payment, item condition, shipping, collection, warranty, etc. These things will help both buyer and seller save time that could otherwise be spent doing more important things. However, if the buyer is no longer interested in the item and want to back out for some reasons, he should inform the seller. That way, the seller can change the status of the item from “pending” to “available” again.
Tips for avoiding issues with pending items on Facebook Marketplace
You can use these tips below to avoid any confusion with pending items as a buyer or even a seller.
Effective communication: It’s very helpful to be upfront about all the necessary things involved in the sale process. Communicate with each others and agree on what need to be done and by when so nothing “last minute” happens later on that will cause confusion.
Keep track of items’ status: Make sure you know what you’re selling and if they are still pending or already sold. While for a small seller, it’s simple. It becomes really complicated when you have 458 items and 132 are pending and 67 are sold but you’re confused if 15% of the sold are still pending. Keeping a track of all your items and updating their status will help you save a lot of time and energy.
Set realistic expectations: As a buyer you should know if your offer is good enough and not something the seller will never agree with. And as a seller, you should also ensure the price, condition, and delivery/collection terms are well defined and are realistic so the buyer don’t have a reason to back out or create a deadlock.
Conclusion
so that’s it for this article on what does pending mean on Facebook Marketplace. As we have discussed, it’s a simple term for items that are yet to be finalised with the buyer. When a buyer agrees to buy it and confirms the transaction, the item is listed as sold. To avoid any confusion with pending items, you need to effectively communicate with the buyer, set realistic expectation, and keep track of all your items. You can have the item marked as pending for as long as you want but it’s recommended to not wait too longer and finalise the sale on Facebook Marketplace.