Accessing Facebook Marketplace: How to Shop Anonymously and Easily

Quick Links

• How to Use Facebook Marketplace Without Signing In
• Do You Need an Account to Use Facebook Marketplace?

For better or worse, Facebook Marketplace has become the primary destination for buying and selling used stuff online. However, you may not want to sign into Facebook to browse listings. You actually don’t have to—if you know where to look.

How to Use Facebook Marketplace Without Signing In

You might think you need a Facebook account to browse Marketplace, but that’s not the case—you can simply visit facebook.com/marketplace . When you see the sign-in prompt, just click the “X” icon in the corner.

Facebook will then ask for your ZIP code so it can show items near you. Enter yours and click “Shop Local.”

You can also use the search feature and filters as you’d expect. However, setting up alerts requires a Facebook account.

If you want to skip all of this, you can do a web search like “facebook marketplace kayaks Detroit MI” in a search engine like Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo, and you’ll get a result that takes you right to that search on Facebook Marketplace.

That’s all there is to it! Facebook may eventually throw up a pop-up that can’t be dismissed, but you can simply clear the site’s cache to get rid of it.

Do You Need an Account to Use Facebook Marketplace?

You can browse and search Facebook Marketplace without signing in, but you need an account to communicate with sellers or to sell your own stuff.

Unless the seller has an alternative contact method listed in the description of the item, Facebook Messenger is the only way to communicate with them. You don’t need an active Facebook account to use Facebook Messenger , but you’re still required to be signed into Facebook proper to initiate a conversation with a seller.

You’d think requiring Facebook accounts would cut down on scams, but there is no shortage of Facebook Marketplace scams to watch out for . Craigslist and eBay still exist as well, but many people have moved to Facebook Marketplace for selling and buying used goods locally. You’ll have to decide which one is right for you.