TL;DR
- A second-hand listing has one job: give a buyer enough to say yes (condition, price, pickup, payment) without a back-and-forth.
- Each platform reads differently. Facebook wants 100-200 honest words in paragraphs; Xianyu wants a 30-character title plus emoji and stock phrases; Vinted and neighborhood groups want three lines.
- Since early 2026, Meta AI drafts a Facebook Marketplace listing and suggests a price straight from your photos. Use it for the first draft, then rewrite the parts it gets wrong.
- For everything else, a general model (GPT-5.5, Claude Sonnet 4.6, or Gemini 3.1 Pro) writes a clean draft in seconds if you feed it real specifics. The copy-ready prompt below caps output at 80 words.
- Never let AI invent condition details. Every claim a buyer reads, they will check in person.
The task
You are selling a single item on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, Gumtree, Vinted, Xianyu, or a local Telegram group. You need a short listing — usually 50-100 words — that gives enough detail to filter out tire-kickers, signals you are trustworthy, and answers the questions every buyer asks (pickup, payment, condition).
The platform now writes the first draft for you
As of June 2026, you do not always start from a blank box. On Facebook Marketplace, Meta AI generates a draft listing and suggests a price from the photos you upload — one of four AI seller features Meta rolled out in 2026 (the others are one-click shipping labels, AI auto-replies to “is this still available?”, and an auto-generated seller-profile summary). Xianyu’s app has offered a “one-tap generate description” button from a photo since 2025, and it auto-fills a 验货宝 (inspection-guarantee) badge for eligible electronics.
Treat these drafts as a starting skeleton, not a finished listing. The platform AI is good at the boring fields (dimensions it reads off a box, a price band from comparable sales) and bad at the things that actually sell the item: the one honest flaw, the reason you are selling, the exact pickup logistics. Keep the auto-filled specs, delete the filler, and paste your real details into the prompt below to rewrite the rest.
Each platform demands a different listing style
The title says “works on all of them,” but Facebook Marketplace, Xianyu, and local-group posts read nothing alike. Same item, three different listings. Below is what each platform actually expects, with the same item — nine months old, lightly used — rewritten for each.
Facebook Marketplace
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Length: 100-200 words is the sweet spot as of June 2026 — long enough to answer questions, short enough to skim on a phone. There is no bullet support in the body, so write in natural paragraphs.
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Voice: direct, honest, a little personal. Mentioning small flaws upfront raises trust more than it scares buyers.
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Must include: dimensions, year of purchase, pickup logistics (driveway / inside, stairs / no stairs), cash vs. electronic payment.
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Avoid: stacked emoji and excessive hashtags. Facebook does not index them and they read as spam.
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Tags: when you edit a listing, Facebook lets you add up to 20 tags. Fill them with the words a buyer would search (“Malm”, “6-drawer”, “dresser”, “white”, brand, model) — they feed Meta’s 2026 search ranking, the description prose does not.
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Sample listing — IKEA Malm 6-drawer dresser, white, 9 months old:
Selling our IKEA Malm 6-drawer dresser in white. We bought it new from the Brooklyn store in August 2025 — about nine months of light use in a guest bedroom, no kids, no pets. Dimensions: 63 in wide, 30 in tall, 19 in deep. All drawers slide smoothly, no broken hardware. There is one small scuff on the back-left corner from moving day (photo 4) — not visible against a wall. Original assembly instructions included. Asking $140 firm. We paid $279. Selling because we are moving cross-country and it does not fit the new place. Pickup only, ground-floor walkout, easy load. Cash or Venmo on pickup. I can help carry to your vehicle. Message me with a pickup window and I will hold it for you.
Xianyu (Alibaba’s Chinese second-hand marketplace)
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Title: Xianyu titles are capped at 30 Chinese characters and carry most of the search weight. Front-load brand + model + storage + condition grade + a scene tag (“搬家急转”, moving sale). Write the listing in Chinese — English-only listings get ignored.
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Length: 200-400 characters in the body. Do not dump every spec; Xianyu sellers warn that a wall of parameters reads as exhausting.
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Voice: emoji + a topic hashtag + native shorthand. Use the platform’s stock phrases for “open to a small haggle” (
可小刀), condition grade (“9 成新” / 9-out-of-10), original price vs current price. Skipping these makes you look like a scalper. -
Must include: original price, current price, how long you owned it, the reason for selling, and which shipping option (carrier shipping included / self-pickup / same-city).
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Trust badge: for phones and laptops, enable
验货宝(Xianyu’s paid inspection-and-escrow service). Buyers filter for it, and the listing shows a verified badge that does more for trust than any sentence you can write. -
Interaction phrasing: end with the native equivalent of “DM me before you tap buy” — buyers expect a quick chat before they hit buy.
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Sample listing structure — same idea, but a 9/10 iPhone 15 since Malm doesn’t ship on Xianyu:
[Condition + model + storage + color + ownership length + selling] #SecondhandPhones #iPhone15 Original price [X], asking [Y], slight haggling OK. Bought from official site in [month/year]. Receipt and box included. Battery health 93%, no drops, no repairs, all original parts. Under warranty until [date]. Calls, signal, Face ID, camera — all working. Same-city Shanghai meet-up; carrier shipping to other cities. Pay after inspection. DM me before tapping buy.Write each bracketed segment in Mandarin when you actually post; the structure above is the English skeleton.
Local-group platforms (Vinted, Zhuanzhuan, neighborhood chats)
Different sub-platforms inside this bucket each have their own quirks:
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Vinted (Western second-hand fashion): ships by post, almost never local pickup. Specify size + condition + packaging type. No haggling tone — buyers use the platform’s built-in offer button.
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Zhuanzhuan (China electronics): mandatory authentication for phones and laptops. Include the platform’s standard “self-inspected + not carrier-locked + supports official inspection” phrases (in Mandarin) to filter scam-wary buyers.
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Telegram neighborhood groups / Facebook neighborhood groups: ultra-short, 3 lines max. Item + price + cross-street + contact.
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Sample listing — Vinted (Zara wool coat, size M):
Zara wool-blend coat, size M, camel. Worn 4-5 times, no pilling, no stains, smoke-free home. Bust 38 in, length 44 in. Ships next day, folded in recycled tissue. Open to offers via Vinted button. -
Sample listing structure — Zhuanzhuan (same iPhone 15):
iPhone 15, 128GB, black, 9/10 condition, asking [price] Self-inspected + carrier-unlocked + official inspection supported Battery 93%, under warranty, receipt included Carrier shipping included, pay after inspectionPost the actual text in Mandarin; the four lines above are the English outline.
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Sample listing — Telegram neighborhood group:
IKEA Malm dresser, white, $140. Mission/24th. DM me.
Platform cheat sheet
| Platform | Body length | Title | Voice | Non-negotiables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook Marketplace | 100-200 words, paragraphs | Detailed: brand + model + key spec | Honest, personal, no emoji | Dimensions, pickup logistics, payment, up to 20 tags |
| Xianyu | 200-400 characters | 30 chars: brand + model + 成色 + scene tag | Emoji + 可小刀 + condition grade | Original vs current price, reason, 验货宝 for electronics |
| Vinted | 3-4 lines | Item + brand + size | Neutral, no haggling | Size, condition, packaging, “offers via button” |
| Zhuanzhuan | 4-5 lines | Model + storage + 成色 | Plain, escrow-trust phrasing | ”自查 + 无锁机 + 官方验机” |
| Telegram / neighborhood group | 3 lines | none | Ultra-short | Item, price + cross-street, contact |
Which AI to use
Any current general model writes a clean draft if you feed it real specifics. The difference is small for an 80-word listing:
- GPT-5.5 (ChatGPT, free tier works): fast, follows the word cap tightly, good at matching a casual neighbor voice. The default since ~April 2026.
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Claude free or Pro $20/mo as of June 2026): the most natural at sounding human and not salesy, which is exactly what a private listing needs.
- Gemini 3.1 Pro (Google AI Pro $19.99/mo): handy if your photos live in Google Photos, since you can attach the image and ask it to read the model number off the box.
For Chinese listings, all three write fluent Mandarin, but Xianyu’s own in-app generator already knows the platform’s stock phrases (可小刀, 自用, 急出), so it is often the fastest starting point — then tighten it by hand.
When AI is the right tool
- You are clearing out 5+ items at once and need consistent listings fast.
- You are not a strong writer in the marketplace’s local language.
- You want to sound friendly without sounding desperate.
- You are reselling repaired or refurbished items and want to disclose condition clearly.
When not to rely on AI alone
- High-value items (cars, jewelry, electronics over a few hundred dollars) where every claim has resale and legal implications.
- Items with safety considerations (cribs, car seats, helmets). Wording matters and is sometimes regulated.
- Anything where buyer disputes are common; keep listings factual and human-checked.
What to feed the AI
- Item name, brand, model, year.
- Honest condition notes (scratches, missing parts, recent repairs).
- Asking price and whether you accept offers.
- Location and pickup vs. shipping options.
- Accepted payment methods (cash, Venmo, Zelle, bank transfer).
- Reason for selling — buyers like context.
Copy-ready prompt
You are helping a private seller write a short marketplace listing
for [platform, e.g. Facebook Marketplace].
Item: [item, brand, model, year]
Condition: [honest notes, including any flaw]
Price: [price]
Negotiable: [yes or no, firm?]
Location: [city or neighborhood]
Pickup or shipping: [logistics]
Payment: [cash / Venmo / Zelle / bank transfer]
Reason for selling: [reason]
Write the listing in under 80 words. Structure:
1. Opening line: item + condition in one sentence.
2. Two or three short specifics (size, dimensions, brand, age).
3. One line on why you're selling (optional, builds trust).
4. Logistics line: pickup, payment, return policy.
5. Closing call: "Message me with questions" or similar.
Tone: friendly, plain, adult. No emojis. No marketing words.
Do not invent any spec I did not give you.Check the draft before you post
A good output is five short plain sentences with condition and price up front, so buyers self-qualify. No bullet lists on Facebook Marketplace; they truncate awkwardly. Before posting, run it past four checks:
- Count the words. Aim for 60-90 on most platforms, three lines in a neighborhood group.
- Read it as a buyer. Do you trust this seller?
- Confirm every detail is true. Padding a description backfires the moment the buyer arrives.
- Strip any line that does not change a buyer’s mind.
Common mistakes
- Walls of text — buyers skim on phones. Especially bad in Telegram or Facebook neighborhood groups, where 3 lines is the norm.
- Vague condition (“like new” without saying what is or isn’t worn).
- Missing pickup details, forcing five messages back and forth.
- Posting the same listing across 5 cities — most platforms detect and demote duplicates.
- Wrong-platform copy: posting Vinted ship-by-post wording on Xianyu, which expects native phrases for “same-city self-pickup” or “carrier shipping included” by default — buyers think you’re a reseller.
- Cross-platform jargon leak: the AI sometimes leaves Xianyu’s haggling shorthand (literally “small knife” — meaning “open to a bit of bargaining”) in Facebook Marketplace listings if you mentioned Xianyu earlier in the same prompt. Western buyers won’t recognize it.
- Emoji stacking on Facebook Marketplace: every fire / sparkle emoji you add signals “drop-shipper,” not “neighbor with a couch.”
- 200-word paragraphs in a Telegram or WhatsApp neighborhood group: the chat scrolls past it. 3 lines: item, price + neighborhood, contact.
Build a reusable template from each sale
Save a personal template for each item category (clothes, electronics, furniture) so you are not prompting from scratch every time. After every sale, note the one detail buyers kept asking about anyway and fold it into that category’s template. Two or three sales in, your AI prompt produces a near-final listing on the first try.
FAQ
- Should I just use Meta AI’s auto-generated listing? Use it for the first draft and the price band, then rewrite it. As of June 2026 it fills specs and a suggested price from your photos, but it cannot know your one real flaw or why you are selling — the two lines that actually build trust.
- Should I mention I’m firm on price? Yes, in one line. Saves both sides time.
- Photos or words first? Photos. The listing’s job is to confirm what the photo already sold. Most platforms rank listings partly on photo count and quality, so add four or more clean shots before you worry about prose.
- Should I list a phone number? No. Use platform messaging until you have a confirmed buyer; a public number invites spam and scam texts.
- What’s the best time to post? Weekday evenings for most categories; Sunday mornings for furniture. On Xianyu, refreshing (
擦亮) a listing once a day pushes it back up the feed for free. - Will AI-written listings hurt my ranking? No platform penalizes AI text itself, but they all demote duplicate listings posted across cities. Rewrite per location instead of pasting the same block.
Related
For platform-specific writing, see marketplace listing title prompts, the Etsy listing workflow, product description prompts, and the broader product description with AI and product title with AI guides.
Tags: #E-commerce #Workflow