You’re staring at your phone, scrolling through the Facebook app, and it hits you: the little shop icon is just… gone. Or maybe it was never there to begin with. Honestly, it’s one of the most frustrating "tech" mysteries because Facebook doesn't exactly give you a roadmap when things go missing. You just want to sell that old air fryer or find a cheap mountain bike, but instead, you're stuck in a loop of settings menus.
If you're wondering how do you get marketplace on facebook, you've probably realized by now that it isn't always as simple as clicking a button. It’s not an "app" you download separately. It’s a feature that Meta (the company behind Facebook) toggles on or off based on a invisible checklist they keep on your profile.
Getting it to show up—and stay there—requires a mix of meeting basic requirements and, occasionally, "tricking" the algorithm into realizing you’re a real human being and not a bot trying to scam people with fake PS5 listings.
The Basic Checklist You Can't Ignore
First off, let's talk about the "hard" requirements. These are the things that will block you no matter how many times you restart your phone.
You have to be 18. Meta is extremely strict about this. If you set your birth year to 2010 when you created your account to look cool, Marketplace will be invisible to you. They don't want the legal headache of minors entering into sales contracts. If you’re actually an adult but your profile says otherwise, you need to head into your Account Center, find Personal Details, and fix that birthday. Be warned: sometimes they’ll ask for an ID to prove it if you change it too many times.
Location, location, location.
Marketplace isn't global. If you’re living in a country where it hasn't launched yet, or if you're using a VPN that makes it look like you're in a restricted region, the icon will vanish. It’s built for local trade. If your IP address is bouncing from New York to Singapore every three hours, Facebook’s security systems get nervous and pull the plug on your access to protect the community.
Why Your New Account is Being Ghosted
This is the one that trips everyone up. You just created a brand-new account specifically to sell furniture before a move, and... nothing. No Marketplace icon.
Basically, Facebook hates new accounts.
In the eyes of their AI, a brand-new profile with zero friends and no profile picture looks exactly like a scammer from a different continent. To get Marketplace on a new Facebook account, you have to "warm it up."
- Complete your profile. Add a photo. Fill out your bio.
- Be social. Join a few local community groups. Like a few posts.
- Wait. It usually takes anywhere from two weeks to a month of active use before the Marketplace tab magically appears.
There is no "Force Enable" button. You just have to prove you’re a real person by actually using the platform for its original purpose: social networking.
The Hidden Menu Fix
Sometimes, you actually have access, but the icon is just hidden. Facebook’s navigation bar is dynamic; it changes based on what you click most. If you haven't used Marketplace in a while, the app might have swapped it out for "Groups" or "Watch."
To find it, tap your Menu (the three lines or your profile picture in the corner). If it’s in that list, you’re golden. If you want it back on your main bottom bar, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Navigation Bar > Customize the bar. Look for Marketplace in the "Hidden" section and change it to "Pinned."
Boom. It’s back.
👉 See also: Why the Telephone With 2 Lines Still Rules the Home Office
When You’ve Been Put in "Marketplace Jail"
If you used to have it and now you see a message saying "Marketplace Isn't Available to You," you’ve likely hit a policy snag. This is the "Marketplace Jail" everyone talks about.
It happens for a few specific reasons:
- Prohibited Items: You tried to sell something against the rules. This includes the obvious stuff like weapons or alcohol, but it also includes weird things like "healthcare items" (yes, even a thermometer sometimes) or digital products.
- Reported Listings: If too many people flag your listings as "Scam" or "Inaccurate," the system auto-revokes your access.
- Low Activity: If you don't use it for months, it sometimes goes dormant.
If this happens, you can usually appeal. There’s typically a "Request Review" button on the screen where the error appears. When you write your appeal, be polite. Real humans do eventually look at these, and "Hey, I didn't realize I couldn't sell my old vitamin supplements, sorry!" works a lot better than a rant.
Practical Steps to Restore Access Now
If you’ve checked the age and location and it’s still not working, try these specific moves:
- Log in on a Desktop: Sometimes the mobile app glitches out. Log in via a browser like Chrome or Safari on a laptop. If Marketplace works there, the issue is just your phone's app cache.
- The "Lite" Alternative: If your phone is older, the main Facebook app might be struggling. Try downloading Facebook Lite. It’s a stripped-down version that often loads features that the main app "forgets" to show.
- Check Your Support Inbox: Go to Help & Support > Support Inbox. If you have a violation you didn't know about, the details will be there. You can’t fix a problem if you don't know what rule you broke.
The reality is that Facebook Marketplace is a "trust-based" feature. The more you look like a trustworthy, local neighbor, the more likely the platform is to let you in. If you’re using a fresh account, a VPN, or an unverified profile, you’re going to be fighting the algorithm every step of the way.
Your Next Steps
Start by verifying your age in the Personal Details section of your Account Center. Once that's confirmed, check your Navigation Bar settings to see if the icon is simply hidden rather than disabled. If you're on a brand-new account, spend the next ten days interacting with local groups and adding a few friends to build the "social credit" the system needs to see.