Short answer: For local pickup, Facebook doesn't take the payment for you. The buyer pays you directly, usually with Venmo, Cash App, or cash. The safest setup is simple: agree on the method in writing before pickup, never send money back to a buyer, and count a sale as paid only when the money shows in your own app or you've counted the cash.
Marketplace's built-in checkout is for shipped items. For a local sale, payment is between you and the buyer. That's flexible, and it's also where most seller scams live. Here's how each option works and what I accept.
Your options, compared
| Method | How it works for you | My take |
|---|---|---|
| Venmo | Fast, and the buyer can scan your QR code. Payments marked as goods and services cost the seller a fee (Venmo lists 2.99% on its seller page) and can be disputed later. | Yes |
| Cash App | Similar to Venmo. Check its current terms for selling goods on a personal account. | Yes |
| Exact cash | No fees and nothing to reverse. You count it yourself. | Yes, in a locked box |
| Zelle | A bank transfer, but scammers often imitate it with fake payment emails. | I skip it |
| Checks, PayPal invoices, gift cards, wires | Easy to fake, reverse, or attach to an overpayment scam. | No |
In my own porch sales, it's about half Venmo and half cash. Offer both and most buyers have an easy way to pay.
Using Venmo for Facebook Marketplace
Venmo is the most common way local buyers pay. It has two payment types, and each has a tradeoff for sellers.
- Goods and services: you pay a fee, and the buyer gets purchase protection. That protection means a buyer can dispute a payment after they've driven away.
- Friends and family: no fee, but using it to pay for goods can break Venmo's rules and get an account limited.
Terms change, so read your app's current rules and decide what you'll accept. Either way, set your Venmo transactions and friends list to private, and only share your handle with a buyer you've screened.
Cash, without the awkward handoff
Ask for the exact amount, since you won't be making change. If the buyer is picking up from your porch, a locked cash box fixed to the porch keeps the envelope from blowing away or piling up with others on a busy day. Count it before you mark the sale sold.
Five rules that keep payment simple
- Agree on the method in writing before anyone travels: the price, and Venmo, Cash App, or cash.
- Check your own app. A screenshot, a notification forwarded by the buyer, or "I already sent it" isn't payment.
- Never send money to a buyer, for any reason. Not for an overpayment, a "fee," or an "upgrade."
- No buyer needs your email or phone number to pay you. Your QR code or handle is enough.
- Thank them after the money lands, then mark it Sold.
If the payment doesn't show up
Usually it's a slow app or a failed scan. Ten minutes after pickup, send a friendly check-in. About an hour later, send one firm message with the amount and how to pay. If it still doesn't come, report it in the Messenger thread and leave an honest rating. Don't follow anyone, and don't go back and forth. Ending contact is the goal.
Start with the screen
The free 60-Second Buyer Check is the one-page screen I run on every buyer before they get my address. The full Porch Protocol guide covers the rest: the two-message pickup setup, every script, printable porch signs, and pickups while you're home behind a locked door, plus when an away pickup makes sense.
Related: Facebook Marketplace scams that target sellers · Facebook Marketplace selling tips