What Does Pending Mean on Facebook Marketplace? [Explained]

If you’ve browsed through Facebook Marketplace, you may have noticed some listings have a “pending” marking. The markings like “available”, “sold”, and “dispatched” are self-explanatory, but what does “pending” mean on Facebook Marketplace? That you’ll explore in this guide. 

Plus, we’ll explore how to mark a listing as “pending”, whether or not you can buy a pending listing, and how long the pending process can be. 

Let’s get started. 

What Does Pending Mean on Facebook Marketplace?

On Facebook Marketplace, the “pending” status of a listing means the buyer has initiated a transaction but it’s not yet been received or confirmed.

When a buyer initiates the transaction for a listing, the seller changes its status to “pending”. 

As the status is changed to “pending”, other potential buyers are notified the deal has been closed. But if the transaction is unsuccessful due to any reason, the seller can move the status back to “available”. 

Once again, the potential buyers will be notified the listing is available again. So they can contact the seller and look into finalizing the purchase. 

Overview of Different Listing Markings on Facebook Marketplace

Since Facebook Marketplace listings have various markings, it can be hard to determine what a marking means.

Below, we’ll explore different listing markings on Facebook Marketplace for thorough knowledge. 

Available

“Available” is the normal status of any listing on Facebook Marketplace. As you might expect, it means the listing is open to purchase for anyone.

So, anyone can massage the buyer of an available listing to get more details about it and negotiate the price. 

Further, listings set to “pending” and “sold” can be marked as “available” again.

Say a listing was pending, but the transaction couldn’t be successful – the seller can move its marking back to “available” to make it visible on Facebook Marketplace again. 

If a seller has many units of the same product, they can re-use an old listing marked as “sold” by changing its marking to “available”. 

Pending

The “pending” status refers to when you’ve agreed to sell your listing to a particular buyer, but the transaction isn’t complete. 

As you move your listing’s status to “pending”, other users who contacted you about the same listing will be notified the deal is closed. But they can choose to wait and see if the transaction is successful.

If not, they’ll be able to buy the listing from you. 

Dispatched

“Dispatched” is the marking a buyer sees when you confirm the transaction and initiate the delivery of their listing. 

As you mark a listing as “dispatched”, the buyer is notified their order has been processed and is in the delivery process.

They may also get an estimated delivery time. But the listing might be marked as “sold” for other potential buyers. 

Sold

The “sold” marking means the transaction is complete, and both buyer and seller are satisfied with the deal. Whenever a deal completes, the seller can mark their listing as “sold”. 

But as a listing’s marking is moved to “sold”, it’s immediately removed from Facebook Marketplace as it’s not up for sale anymore. But, if buyers who contacted you about the listing earlier see it, they can see it’s marked as “sold”. 

Further, as the seller marks a listing as “sold”, their buyer conversations are archived to declutter their Facebook Marketplace account. 

How to Mark a Listing as Pending on Facebook Marketplace

As mentioned above, if your buyer initiates the transaction for your listing but it’s not complete, consider marking the listing as “pending”.

Below, we’ll explore how to do so on a computer (through a web browser) and the phone. 

On Web Browser

Follow these steps to mark a listing as “pending” on Facebook Marketplace through a web browser:

Step #1: Open Facebook on the web browser (facebook.com) and log into your account. 

Step #2: On News Feed, click Marketplace from the left menu. 

Step #3: Click on “Selling”.

Step #4: Select your listing and click “Mark as Pending”. 

That’s it; the listing will be marked as “pending” and anyone who has messaged you about it will be notified. 

On Android or iOS App 

If you’re using your Android or iOS phone (iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc.), follow these steps to set a listing as “pending”:

Step #1: Open the Facebook app on your phone.

Step #2: Tap three lines in the top right corner. A menu will appear.

Step #3: Select Marketplace from the menu.

Step #4: Navigate to Selling and tap your listing.

Step #5: Now, tap on the three dots next to the listing.

Step #6: Tap “Mark as Pending”.

That’s it; your listing’s status will be moved to “pending”. In case the transaction doesn’t succeed, navigate to the same settings to make your listing available again. 

Can I Buy a Listing Marked as Pending on Facebook Marketplace?

Whether or not you can buy a “pending” listing on Facebook Marketplace depends on whether the seller’s deal is finalized with the current buyer. 

To back up, “pending” means the buyer initiated a listing transaction. If it completes, the listing will be marked as “sold”. 

But if it’s unsuccessful, its status will return to “available”. If that happens, you’ll have a chance of buying that listing. 

How Long Does the Pending Process Take on Facebook Marketplace?

Generally speaking, the pending process on Facebook Marketplace can take up to 4-5 days. Many users think it depends on the seller. 

But in fact, it depends on how fast banks and Facebook process the buyer’s transaction. If the buyer initiates a transaction during holidays, the pending process will be longer. 

Wrapping It Up

Facebook Marketplace provides many ways to mark your listing as a seller, including the following:

• Available
• Pending
• Dispatched
• Sold

The “pending” marking particularly confuses users. So, we explained what pending means on Facebook Marketplace in this guide.

Plus, we dived deep into how to set a listing to “pending” on Facebook Marketplace.

Until next time, cheers!