Quick answer
What should you ask a seller on Facebook Marketplace?
Ask the questions that decide whether the trip is worth it: does everything work and has anything been repaired, why are they selling, can they send a photo of the serial number or model label, is it signed out of their accounts, and when can you see it working. Send two or three of them in one message with a pickup time, and keep the detailed checks for the inspection.
The three things every question is trying to find out
Every useful question to a seller is one of three questions in disguise. Is it what the listing says? Is it theirs to sell? Can you actually get it home? Everything else can wait for the pickup.
These six work for almost anything on Marketplace:
| Ask | What it tells you | A good answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| “Does everything work? Any faults or repairs?” | Condition the photos cannot show | Something specific, including the small flaws |
| “Why are you selling it?” | Whether the price is a clear-out or a problem being passed on | An ordinary reason: upgraded, moving, no longer used |
| “Can you send a photo of the serial number or model label?” | Exactly which model it is, and whether it can be checked | A clear photo, sent without fuss |
| “Do you still have the receipt or box?” | Age, and a hint about ownership | Yes, or a believable no (“I bought it second-hand too”) |
| “Can I see it working when I arrive?” | Whether you can test before paying | Yes: charged, plugged in or pumped up and ready |
| “Where are you, and when suits?” | Whether a pickup is realistic today | A suburb and a time, ideally at their home |
Notice what is not on the list: “What’s your lowest price?” On a fairly priced listing that belongs in the negotiation, after you know the item is right, and asking it first tells the seller you are a haggler before you are a buyer. The guide to negotiating on Facebook Marketplace covers when a lower offer is worth making and how to word it.
Why “Is this still available?” is a weak first message
When you tap to message a seller, Marketplace offers a pre-filled “Is this still available?”, which makes it the message sellers receive most. It is not rude. The problem is that it asks something the seller has already answered by leaving the listing up, and it gives them no reason to pick you out of everyone else sending the same words. Sellers learn quickly that plenty of the people who send it never write again.
A better opener answers the availability question for you and asks something useful at the same time:
- “Hi, if the bike’s still available, what frame size is it, and could you send a photo of the serial number? I could come at 6 tonight.”
The seller can reply “sold” in one word, or answer and send an address. Either way you have saved a whole round of messages, and on a popular listing a round of messages is often the difference between first and fifth in the queue.
If you have already sent the pre-filled line and heard nothing, the guide to a Marketplace seller not responding covers how long to wait, where replies get hidden and the one follow-up worth sending.
Questions to ask for phones, consoles, laptops and cameras
The most expensive electronics failures are not broken screens. They are locks, bans and accounts still tied to the previous owner, none of which show in photos. Ask about those before you go, then check them in person before you pay.
| Item | Ask before you go | Check in person | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone | Is it signed out of iCloud or Google, with Find My off? What does the battery health show? Any screen or battery replacements? Is it locked to a carrier? | It reaches the setup screen with no Activation Lock, the battery figure in Settings, every camera, speaker and the SIM tray | The seller cannot sign out, or offers to do it “after you pay” |
| Console | Which model is it (a photo of the label)? Has it been online recently? Any stick drift? Are the games physical cards or digital? | It connects to the internet and the online store opens, the sticks behave, and a factory reset happens in front of you | The store will not load, or the “bundle” is digital games that stay on the seller’s account |
| Laptop | Which model and year (a photo of the About screen)? What is the battery cycle count? Is it signed out of their Apple ID or Microsoft account? Is the charger included? | Keyboard, trackpad, ports, the screen at full brightness, and a fresh setup screen after the reset | It is still tied to the seller’s account, or has a startup password they cannot remove |
| Camera | What is the shutter count (a screenshot)? Any drops, water or sand? Any fungus, haze or scratches in the lens? Original battery and charger? | A few frames at different settings, autofocus, a look through the lens at a light, and the serial on the body against the box | They will not share the shutter count, something rattles, or there is haze or fungus in the glass |
How you read a shutter count varies by camera brand, so ask the seller to send it from whichever method their camera uses rather than trusting a number typed into a message.
Each of these has its own detail. The used iPhone checklist walks through Activation Lock and IMEI checks, the used Nintendo Switch guide covers model numbers, banned consoles and drift, and the used MacBook guide shows where to find the battery cycle count.
Questions to ask for bikes, furniture and cars
With bigger items, ask about size and access as carefully as condition. A perfect wardrobe that will not fit through your front door is not a bargain.
| Item | Ask before you go | Check in person | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bike | What frame size? Can you send a photo of the serial number? Any crashes or cracks? When was it last serviced? For an e-bike: how old is the battery, and is the original charger included? | The serial matches the photo and has not been ground off, the frame around the welds or carbon joins, gears, brakes, and a short ride | There is no serial, the frame has been filed, or the price is far below what that bike usually sells for with no reason given |
| Furniture | Exact height, width and depth? Solid timber, veneer or particleboard? Does it come apart? Stairs or a lift at your end? Pets or smoking in the house? | Drawers and doors run, it does not wobble, the smell, and the underside for water damage or borer holes | It will not fit your vehicle. Measure the boot or tray before you leave, not in the seller’s driveway |
| Car | Are you the registered owner? When does the rego expire? Is there a logbook or service history? Any money owing? Can you send the VIN? | The VIN matches the papers, a cold start, a test drive, and under the bonnet for leaks | The seller is not the registered owner, will not share the VIN, or wants to meet anywhere but their home |
For a bike, ask for the serial number early and check it against a stolen-bike register before you pay; a genuine owner has no reason to hide it. For a car in Australia, run a PPSR search on the VIN before you hand over a cent. The inspection and paperwork rules differ by state, and the guide to buying a car on Facebook Marketplace in Australia covers each one, including the 14-day transfer deadline.
How to ask in one message without slowing yourself down
The trap with a good list of questions is sending them one at a time. Each round trip costs you minutes while the seller is also replying to everyone else. Put the whole thing in one message with three parts:
- Intent. Say you want to buy it, not that you are curious about it.
- Two or three deal-breakers. Only the questions whose answer would stop you driving out.
- A time. A specific window you can genuinely make.
In practice that looks like this:
- Phone: “Hi, I’d like to buy the iPhone 13 if it’s still here. Is it signed out of iCloud with Find My off, and what’s the battery health? I can come at 5.30 today.”
- Camera: “Hi, I’m keen on the camera body. Could you send a screenshot of the shutter count and let me know if it’s ever been dropped? I could collect tomorrow morning.”
- Furniture: “Hi, I’d like the wardrobe. Could you confirm the height and depth, and whether it comes apart? I have a ute free on Saturday at 10.”
Keep the rest of the checklist for the inspection. Sellers answer two clear questions readily; a list of twelve reads like a buyer who will take an hour at the door and then haggle, and it gets parked behind easier messages.
This is not the same message as a snipe. On a listing that is clearly underpriced and only minutes old, the guide to sniping on Facebook Marketplace argues for committing at the asking price, subject to inspection, and asking your questions on arrival. Use questions first when the answers would genuinely change your mind about going.
Answers that mean you should not drive out
Most sellers are ordinary people clearing out a cupboard, and their answers sound like it. These are the replies that should make you stop:
- Vague answers to specific questions. “Works fine” in reply to “What does the battery health show?” usually means they have not looked, or have and would rather you did not.
- No serial or model photo for an item that has one printed on it, or a photo that is suspiciously blurred over the number.
- A deposit, postage or payment before you have seen it, for something that is supposedly a short drive away.
- Pressure to pay now. Plenty of genuine sellers do have lots of interest. The warning sign is being pushed to send money before you have seen the item, not being told others have asked.
- A request to move the conversation to another app or to email before you have met, or a story about a courier or an agent collecting payment.
- A branded item priced far below normal with no reason given. The US Federal Trade Commission’s online shopping advice warns that expensive brand-name items offered at bargain prices could be counterfeit or stolen.
The same FTC advice warns against sellers who insist on payment by gift card, wire transfer, payment app or cryptocurrency, because those make it hard to get your money back. For a local pickup, the safe pattern is simple: see it, test it, then pay. The guide to Facebook Marketplace scams covers the common patterns in more detail.
Why the questions have to be quick
Asking good questions makes you a safer buyer, but every round of messages gives a faster buyer time to say “I’ll take it, I can be there at 6.” On the well-priced listings that decides everything, because those are the listings that collect a queue of messages in the first few minutes and are marked pending within the hour. The guide to what pending means on Marketplace explains what happens to everyone in that queue after the seller says yes.
Refreshing the app does not fix this. If you check every 30 minutes, a new listing has been up for 15 minutes on average before you see it, and up to 30. Add a round of questions and answers on top, and the good listing has often gone to someone who saw it earlier and asked less.
So the time worth saving is not in the checks. Skipping the questions is how people end up with a locked phone or a stolen bike. The time worth saving is between the listing going up and you seeing it. Get that down to a few minutes, and you can afford to ask your two questions and still be the first serious buyer the seller hears from.
Where Outpost Alerts fits
Outpost Alerts handles the part of this you cannot do by hand: noticing the listing in the first few minutes. It is an Australian-built service that watches Facebook Marketplace for new listings matching your keywords and sends them to an iPhone app, a web dashboard or Discord.
You set up a watchlist with your keywords, include and exclude words, a price range, and one location with a radius of 5 to 500 km. Your fastest watchlist is checked as often as every minute on Pro, every 3 minutes on Standard and every 30 minutes on Basic, with your other watchlists checked less often. It needs no Facebook login, because it searches Marketplace from its own servers.
It also filters what reaches you. Across 30,777 listings that matched a keyword, 38.6% were discarded as not the item being searched for (18,890 kept, 11,887 rejected). Phone cases, wanted-to-buy posts and parts-only listings are dropped, so the alerts that arrive are worth a message.
What it does not do: it will not ask your questions for you, message sellers, check serial numbers or tell you what an item is worth. Those stay with you, and this guide is the list to work from. It covers Facebook Marketplace only, and there is no free plan, though every plan starts with a 3-day free trial.
FAQ
What should I ask a seller on Facebook Marketplace?
Ask whether everything works and anything has been repaired, why they are selling, for a photo of the serial number or model label, whether it is signed out of their accounts, and when you can see it working. Send two or three of those in one message with a pickup time, and keep the detailed checks for the inspection.
Is it rude to ask “Is this still available?”
No, but it is a weak opener. It asks something the seller has already answered by leaving the listing up and gives them no reason to choose you. A specific question plus a pickup time gets a faster, more useful reply.
How many questions should I ask before going to see an item?
Two or three: only the ones whose answer would stop you driving out. A long list slows the conversation down and can get your message parked behind easier buyers. Save the rest for the inspection.
What should I ask before buying a used phone on Marketplace?
Ask whether it is signed out of iCloud or Google with Find My off, what the battery health shows, whether the screen or battery has been replaced, and whether it is locked to a carrier. Then confirm each one in person before you pay.
What should I ask before buying a car on Facebook Marketplace?
Ask whether they are the registered owner, when the registration expires, whether there is a logbook or service history, whether any money is owing, and for the VIN. In Australia, run a PPSR search on the VIN before you pay anything.
What if the seller will not answer my questions?
Treat it as an answer. A genuine seller can usually tell you whether something works or send a photo of a label. If they avoid simple questions but push for payment or a deposit, do not drive out.
Sources checked
- US Federal Trade Commission: Online Shopping (last updated May 2023): bargain-priced brand-name items that could be counterfeit or stolen, and payment methods that make it hard to get money back, checked 1 November 2026.
Marketplace features, fees, and policies change. Confirm current rules in Facebook's Help Center before relying on specific details.
See the listing early enough to ask first
Set a watchlist for the item you are after and hear about new matches within minutes, so you have time to ask your questions and still be the first serious buyer.
