You tap the shop icon and get 'Marketplace isn't available to you'. Or the icon is simply gone from the app, or Facebook tells you your Marketplace access is at risk, limited or suspended. Friends in the same city can still buy and sell, so it feels personal.
It usually isn't a bug. Facebook's own help pages give a short list of reasons Marketplace can be unavailable: where you are, your age, how new or active the account is, which profile you are using, and whether you have broken the Commerce Policies. Only the last one has a review button, so it pays to work out which one applies before doing anything else.
Start by checking your Marketplace status. Before guessing, look at the one place Facebook shows Marketplace restrictions. If something there is wrong, you will see it with the listings involved. If nothing is there, the cause is almost certainly one of the eligibility reasons further down.
- Go to your Facebook profile.
- Select the three-dot menu and choose 'Profile status'.
- Under 'Extra features', select 'Marketplace'.
- Read what it says. A warning that your access is at risk, a limit or a suspension points to cause 5. A clean status points to causes 1 to 4.
Cause 1: Marketplace isn't offered in your country
Facebook's help says plainly that Marketplace isn't available to everyone yet, and that one reason is being in a country where it isn't offered. Facebook keeps a directory of the countries where Marketplace runs at facebook.com/marketplace/directory, which is the list to check rather than any copy of it you find elsewhere, since availability changes.
If your country isn't listed, there is no setting or review that switches Marketplace on for you. Don't try to route around it by changing your location: that can create the kind of account activity that leads to restrictions of its own.
Make a free OneSol page: one link for Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and YouTube, with your forms and payments on the same page.Create your free page →Cause 2: Facebook thinks you are under age
Marketplace is for adults only. Facebook's help defines that as being an adult under the laws of your country, and gives the United States, where you must be at least 18, as an example. If the birthday on your account puts you under that age, Marketplace is hidden.
If you are an adult and were blocked by mistake, Facebook's help says you can confirm your age in the Facebook app on your mobile phone, and that the methods vary by region.
- Open the Facebook app on your phone, not the website. That is where Facebook says age confirmation for Marketplace happens.
- Facebook's age help lists three ways to confirm: your date of birth, a photo ID, or a video selfie. The checks are handled by a third-party service called Yoti.
- Facebook says the details you provide are used to confirm your age and won't be visible on your profile, to friends or to other people on Facebook.
- You can review the birthday on your account in your settings. If it was entered wrong when the account was made, that alone can be the reason.
Cause 3: The account is new or inactive
Facebook's help lists a new or inactive account as a reason Marketplace access can be limited. It does not say how old an account must be, or how much activity counts, so be wary of any exact number of days you see quoted.
This is common when someone opens a fresh account just to sell something. The practical fix is patience and normal use: fill in your profile, add a profile photo, connect with people you know, and use Facebook as you normally would. If you have an older account you have been using for years, sell from that one instead.
Cause 4: You're on an additional profile, or not logged in
Facebook lets some people run more than one profile from the same account. Its help says that using an additional Facebook profile instead of your main profile is one of the reasons Marketplace may not be available. Switch back to your main profile, then open Marketplace again.
The same list includes not being logged in to Facebook. If you use the website, check you are signed in to the right account; if you use the app, Facebook's help notes Marketplace is available through the Facebook app on Android and iPhone.
Cause 5: A Commerce Policies violation limited or suspended your access
If 'Profile status' shows a Marketplace problem, this is the cause. Facebook says it may limit or suspend your Marketplace access if you break its Commerce Policies, and that it warns you that your access is at risk when you are getting close to a suspension. The Commerce Policies add that repeatedly posting content that breaks them can lead to further action on your account.
The rules cover far more than obviously illegal goods. The Commerce Policies list prohibited categories including alcohol, tobacco products, weapons, ammunition and explosives, prescription products and drugs, medical and healthcare products, adult content, land, animals and animal products, documents, currency and financial instruments, recalled products, stolen goods, used cosmetics, vehicle parts and accessories, subscriptions and digital products, and 'No item for sale', which covers posts that don't actually offer a product, such as news or jokes. Services are restricted too: the policies say commerce content may not promote buying, selling or trading services outside a few named exceptions.
There is one more rule that catches sellers by surprise. The Commerce Policies say Facebook Marketplace is intended for consumer-to-consumer sales, and that businesses and individuals acting in a business or commercial capacity in the European Economic Area, the Philippines and India may lose Marketplace access or have listings removed if they try to sell there.
How to request a review
If you think Facebook got it wrong, you can ask it to look again. Facebook says that if it finds it made a mistake, it restores the listing. If this was your first violation, you may instead be able to remove the warning by acknowledging which rule you broke, depending on the rule; the listing that caused the warning is not restored in that case.
- Go to your profile, select the three-dot menu and choose 'Profile status'.
- Select 'Marketplace' under 'Extra features'.
- Select 'See what happened' or 'See issue', then choose the listing.
- Select 'Request review'. In the app, a warning may show 'Fix it now' first, which then leads to 'Request review'. Follow the instructions and explain briefly what you were selling.
- If there is no review option, Facebook gives three reasons: more than 180 days have passed since the listing was rejected, you have already requested a review, or reviews are not available for the rule involved.
- Facebook's help does not say how long a review takes,. While you wait, don't post the same item again unchanged.
Prevent it next time
Most Marketplace restrictions come from listings, not from the account itself, so a little care before you post goes a long way.
- Skim the Commerce Policies before listing anything in a grey area: food, cosmetics, supplements, car parts, pets, tickets, gift cards, digital items or services.
- List one real physical item per listing, with real photos and an honest price. Posts that don't offer an actual product fall under 'No item for sale'.
- Don't repost a rejected listing unchanged. Request a review instead.
- Use your main profile and keep your birthday accurate.
- If you sell as a business, read the consumer-to-consumer rule for your country before relying on Marketplace for sales.
If you need somewhere to sell while you wait
A free OneSol page lets you list what you sell and share one link anywhere, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Taking payments on it needs OneSol Pro and your own Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay or Square account.