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(10 Posts)
kissngate Sun 28-Mar-21 18:57:48

I have never been on Facebook and need some advice before I sign up.

.. How private can you be, do you have to show your full name to the world. Can you use alternative?
.. how easy is it to sell on Fb marketplace.
.. every time you visit a page of interest does the person or business know it's you.

Any other advice for new user.

Thanks in advance.

MiniMoon Sun 28-Mar-21 19:05:29

You can certainly use a pseudonym, I have friends who don't use their real names. I only have a select group of friends, and don't allow my posts to be shared, so I use my real name.
There are lots of privacy settings so you can be as anonymous as you like.

rubysong Sun 28-Mar-21 19:13:39

I have sold and given away quite a few things on Facebook marketplace. It is very handy as the items get collected and cash paid.

Liz46 Sun 28-Mar-21 19:23:14

I sold a table and chairs on Marketplace today.

BlueBelle Sun 28-Mar-21 19:46:41

I have just been giving away plants on FB you can make it as private as you want but you do have to keep your wits about you I have been on fb about 10/12 years and not had many problems I ve sold a lot of stuff and made friends pick up lots of local news I belong to a lovely little gardening group

Start small and build your confidence up

kissngate Mon 29-Mar-21 16:19:42

Thank you for replies so far.

Mini moon - is it ok when I join to not give my real name but use alternative. What other info do they want apart from email address?

Bluebell - when you say keep your wits about you, what should I be wary of?

Rubysong - when you sold or gave away items on fb marketplace how easy is it to use?

Sorry cant ask family as they dont use it due to issues in the past.

B9exchange Mon 29-Mar-21 16:28:43

I have a grave mistrust of Facebook's use of my data, I have supplied the absolute minimum and would never put photos on there. It does seem to be used more as a marketplace these days, but if I want to sell stuff I use eBay, and if I want to give it away, Gumtree. These sites are designed for this purpose, not to use your data for target ads at you.

GrandmaKT Mon 29-Mar-21 16:31:15

Hi, I have bought lots through Marketplace and sold a few things too. One thing to be aware of is that your 'friends' get notified of things you are selling, so if your sister has given you a hideous vase and you want to sell it, make sure you're not fb friends! It's very easy to make listings in Marketplace. I prefer to do it on my laptop so I can use the keyboard. So I take photos on my phone and then email them to myself to attach to the listing.
I have luckily found everyone I've dealt with very trustworthy, most are small value items and during Covid, people tend to leave them in the porch and I post the money through the door.

MiniMoon Mon 29-Mar-21 16:46:17

kissngate, my DD goes by a French variation of her given name, and my DGD uses a shortened form of her middle name. You set up your FB profile with your usual details dob, address etc. You add a profile picture, it doesn't have to be of you, mine is an old photo of great grandparents, and my previous picture was of flowers in our garden.
FB doesn't like you to have a totally fictitious name, so something approaching your real name is probably acceptable.

cornishpatsy Mon 29-Mar-21 17:07:24

In settings you can see what others see on your Facebook page so can set your privacy settings accordingly. You do not have to put anything about yourself on there, not even a profile pic if you don't want to.