Not just for your parents: Facebook’s buy-and-sell platform drawing back millennials

A historical 400-kilogram anchor that was dragged up from nan water level disconnected Cape St. Mary’s successful Newfoundland sits propped up against a character successful beforehand of Tyler Stapleton’s house.

The two-metre-tall anchor, believed to beryllium from a century-old shipwreck, was salvaged by a fisherman successful nan 1980s. But past year, nan 31-year-old Stapleton, who useful arsenic a navigation serviceman connected a cargo ship, snapped it up connected Facebook Marketplace.

Bought for $400, it now sits proudly connected show extracurricular his 142-year-old location successful St. John’s, N.L., not acold from nan steps composed of 3 ample marble slabs that he sewage for free connected nan site.

“You tin find immoderate existent wealth connected there,” Stapleton said of Facebook’s trading platform.

He is 1 of galore millennial and procreation Z Canadians who consciousness nan societal media level they had mostly disengaged from is bringing them backmost and keeping them hooked done Facebook Marketplace.

Allie MacIsaac, a 29-year-old nationalist servant surviving successful Ottawa, said she scrolls nan buying-and-selling level for deals respective times a day.

“I joke astir Facebook Marketplace being a hobby to me,” she said successful a caller interview, adding that pinch nan precocious costs of living, she’s looking to find deals and bargain things second-hand.

MacIsaac has utilized it to bargain a bicycle, clothes, location furnishings, and astir recently, a large, pinkish canine crate for her puppy that costs conscionable $20.

“I emotion to scroll and spot what’s retired there. At this clip of twelvemonth a batch of my searches are for gift ideas, for group who would admit a typical second-hand aliases thrifted gift,” she said successful a caller interview.

Kevin Ouellette, a 27-year-old coach surviving successful Cole Harbour, N.S., said he and his partner person relied heavy connected Facebook Marketplace to unrecorded affordably.

“It’s thing that’s go benignant of fun, a spot exciting. Like, which 1 of america tin find nan weirdest aliases coolest thing?” he said successful a caller interview.

“We really for illustration uncovering a bully deal, we are very frugal … truthful I walk a ton of clip connected there,” he said, adding that he has bought furniture, a snowblower, a section mower and guitars connected nan site. Ouellette has besides utilized nan level arsenic a seller, uncovering buyers for a freezer and a number of section mowers he fixed up.

But trading tin beryllium a nuisance, he noted, arsenic you tin beryllium inundated pinch messages asking “is this available?” And erstwhile you make a deal, you past person to benignant retired a pickup aliases transportation plan, each while looking retired for imaginable scammers.

Devon Cole, a 28-year-old midwifery student successful Toronto, agrees that trading tin beryllium a struggle. When she and her roommate posted a scope of furnishings for sale, they sewage complete 100 messages.

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“There were truthful galore group who would connection that they wanted thing and past they didn’t ever travel up. But luckily location were truthful galore group messaging pinch interest, that we were capable to waste everything,” she said, adding they were capable to make $500 from nan furnishings sales.

Cole has besides had immoderate occurrence trading marque sanction clothes, for illustration Lululemon, but she prefers to usage Marketplace arsenic a shopper. It’s wherever she was capable to bargain 2 stethoscopes she needed for midwifery schoolhouse for $100 little than if she had bought them new.

“I really wasn’t expecting to beryllium capable to find those, and it worked retired truthful well,” she said.

MacIsaac, who useful successful societal media, besides said nan awesome tie to Facebook is Marketplace, arsenic good arsenic Facebook groups she’s successful for her neighbourhood, occupation hunting and “buy nothing” groups — wherever group station items they want to springiness distant for free.

She’s fixed distant furnishings connected nan buy-nothing group, and conscionable past week she recovered a “perfect” entryway console that was being fixed distant by a neighbour. “It was precisely what I was looking for, and wrong 3 hours (of nan Facebook post) it was successful my house.”

She said these groups, particularly during difficult financial times, are starring to “a resurgence of Facebook.”

“For group my property and possibly group successful their early to mid 20s, location was benignant of a consciousness like, ‘Oh, Facebook is for our parents,’” she said. Many of her cohort gravitated toward Instagram, Snapchat aliases TikTok.

“But now, group are utilizing it to find deals, for connections and occupation searching .… It’s pulling each nan millennials backmost successful there.”

This study by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2024.