Is Facebook Marketplace a Sourcing Secret Weapon?

Facebook has had some challenging years, with newer and hipper sites like TikTok cropping up and CEO Mark Zuckerberg being hauled in front of Congress. But Facebook Marketplace, launched in 2016, is booming—with more than one billion visitors each month—and is increasingly becoming a resource for designers looking for that one-of-a-kind treasure.

The high end of the online furniture and accessories market—sites like Chairish and 1stdibs—are largely professional dealers selling authenticated goods, as opposed to the amateur, everything-and-the-kitchen-sink Facebook Marketplace. But many interior designers across the nation give Facebook Marketplace high marks for the sheer volume of material available and its algorithmic search interface. It has also benefited from COVID-19’s work-from-home ethos.

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“The pandemic has made all of the internet sites more useful and relevant,” says Lindsay Anyon Brier, owner of Anyon Design & Atelier in San Francisco, which is both a design firm and a retail store on design-rich Sacramento Street. “Everybody wants to find treasures locally, and people are doing more upcycling—that is, reusing existing pieces—which is more environmentally responsible.” Brier avers that her wealthy clientele prefers Chairish and 1stdibs, given that their high standards for sellers tend to assure the authenticity and provenance of each piece, but adds that she frequents “all of the platforms weekly, for different reasons.” (Brier has design retailing in her blood. At the time of her birth, her mother owned an antique store in the city’s Russian Hill neighborhood. “My mother used to put me in the window,” she says. “People thought I was a doll.”)

“The internet marketplace has reshaped our industry,” says Jessica Davis, a self-described “vintage queen” and owner of JL Design in Nashville. “On Chairish and 1stdibs I was finding great stuff, but now that they’ve both grown, the price points have gotten a little ridiculous. I bought 10 things on Facebook Marketplace just last week. In the search bar I can key in something specific, like ‘vintage runner rug,’ and the algorithm gets to know you and help you. The more you use it, the more it knows.” What’s more, she adds, you can specify “in and around Nashville” for that special local or regional piece. Buying from the local market also helps designers and clients save money on shipping.

Davis adds that you always have the option on Facebook Marketplace of making a low-ball offer, recommending that you communicate with the seller and ask if the price is negotiable.

Sometimes the stars align and a perfect piece emerges from Facebook Marketplace. Faith Blakeney of Faith Blakeney Design Studio in Los Angeles was prepared to commission a custom dining table for a client that would have cost more than $10,000. Then she happened upon a vintage 1980s green marble table on Facebook Marketplace that even had a removable lazy Susan. “On a whim, I sent it to my client, and she loved everything about it. And it cost $1,000. It’s now our favorite piece in her home.”

Lisa Gilmore of Lisa Gilmore Design in St. Petersburg, Florida, advises fellow designers to use Facebook Marketplace because it allows more measured risks. “Let’s say you’re looking for an étagère and you want to paint it hot pink. On Facebook Marketplace you’re not making this $5,000 gamble. Sometimes you can find a piece for $300. You can buy, paint it, and see how it turns out.” Like all designers, she has been challenged not just by the pandemic but the global shortage of furniture, due to a variety of supply-chain issues. “On Facebook Marketplace things are available immediately during the current furniture crunch that we’re experiencing,” she says.

Some clients love the hunt, explains Gilmore, and are themselves aficionados of the virtual bazaar: “We have a healthy mix of proactive hunters and others who want me to do everything.” But just like the étagère, a piece that lacks personality can be given extra oomph. “Why not a Regency chandelier painted purple?” she asks.

Corinne Acampora of Acampora Interiors outside of Boston has a rarified clientele and an inveterate staff who love to dig. “We use online resources all day long,” she says, “and 1stdibs and Chairish are the ones we use the most. But we always try to mix high and low. I found a little bamboo table on Facebook Marketplace that I’ve probably painted three times. Since I only paid about $100 for it, what’s the risk?”