Having recently resigned myself to no longer having any *physical* space outlets for my art, I have been looking at ways to expand my online presence. 

Perhaps that just *makes sense* at the moment, given the whole Coronavirus scare... the idea of wandering door-to-door in public spaces doesn't sound hugely appealing... *or* smart.

![AS0034Closeup.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/alchemystones/EgUQaZY3-AS-0034-Close-up.jpg)

## *So... It Was Suggested to Me...*

... a well-meaning friend and fellow artist suggested that I really *"ought to"* create a Facebook Marketplace *"catalog"* and attach it to my Facebook page to maximize the benefits of *having* such a page. After all, the page has close to 600 followers.

So, **[I set everything up](https://www.facebook.com/AlchemyStones/shop/)**, following Facebook's instructions, using an interface that clearly was best suited to someone selling mass-produced generic products.

But hey, when you're hungry and need to eat... you tend to do what you need to do!

![AS19240b11.JPG](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/alchemystones/DUQvnkQU-AS19-240b-1-1-.JPG)

## *So Far, So Good...*

Having gone to the trouble of only loading *some* items, I then promoted the "shop" a bit to my greater Facebook following.

Lo and behold... I actually *sold* a couple of things.

Time for a celebration, right?

Not so fast!

For starters, you don't get paid until a transaction has been declared *"completed."* Which basically means that either the buyer *"signs off"* on having the received the goods, OR the system detects (from the shipping tracking information) that so-and-so-many days have passed since the shipping service declared the package *"delivered."*

Fair enough, I suppose... a *reasonable* way to minimize sketchy dealers...

![AS19061b.JPG](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/alchemystones/OUMzKvAn-AS19-061b.JPG)

## *But it Doesn't End There...*

Thankfully, my account balance quickly showed I had about $95.00... and after a couple of days, that went to zero, *suggesting* that the money had been transferred to the bank account I had set up and confirmed.

I wish I could say that was the ending, but it isn't.

I waited some days... and nothing showed up. In fact, my Facebook account didn't show that any actual *transfers* had been made. I had a $95.00 balance, then I had a zero balance.

Time to contact Marketplace Support!

![AS0001Collage03.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/alchemystones/r8ReFaM4-AS-0001-Collage03.jpg)

## *Customer Support Says...*

Like most large organizations, Facebook goes to great length to make it almost *impossible* to reach an actual person, sending you through endless loops of self-guided Q&A and FAQ pages, all ending with *"Did this answer your question? Y/N."*

When you click no, you get a little input form that asks *"How could we have made this page better?"* the answer to which is *"You could have directed me to a page that actually ADDRESSES my question!"*

Eventually, I managed to get off an email to God-knows-where and was even able to include some screen shots. Bonus points for that!

To their credit, Support had a response back within 45 minutes.

To their DIS-credit, said response amounted to *"Please follow this link to set up your bank account on the payment preferences page! Let us know if we can help you further!"*

Clearly, a *"canned"* response, generated after detecting a couple of keywords. Clearly my request was not actually *READ,* as nothing I asked was addressed.

So, I write back, and a *different* support person replies, this time (evidently) an *actual human being,* explaining that Facebook's *"payment processor"* takes about 8-10 days to turn around merchant payments. Nice... BUT it has already been close to 20 days. 

![AS0008LargerUPP.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/alchemystones/CmVAKkAU-AS-0008-LargerUPP.jpg)

## *Frustration Fandango...*

So I write back again to point this out.

A couple of hours pass. Another reply, from a *third* person. This time, my *"bank account is not set up correctly."*

So I go back through all my financial settings to double check... yes, sometimes I *do* make typos. In this case, I *didn't* make a typo... everything is correct. I email back and explain this.

Another reply, from a *fourth* person, explaining that the next *"payment window"* is now March 9th, because I changed my account settings (I didn't, I just *accessed* the page to double check). 

It'll be very interesting to see what happens...

The *"good"* news is that I know the purchaser fairly well. And if this remains a *"fail"* I'm going to ask her to enact a *"return,"* send me a trackable empty box, get a refund from Facebook and mail me a check.

After which I will be *done* with Facebook Marketplace.

Thank you for allowing me to share this gripe report!

Thanks for reading, and *"till the next time!"*

![Header-20150227.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbneUVXWuV2dY5Y8Zhkv1DMNuJEHheEmfxZ6TmHeoPL5P/Header-20150227.jpg)

## *Thank You For Supporting!*

Because I *am* trying to make some semblance of income — a *living,* even — I now add this footer to all my posts, in the hope that someone, somewhere, might decide to take a further look at my work, and perhaps consider supporting independent art either with a purchase or by becoming a Patron (for as little as $1!) on my Patreon account.

Thank you, in advance, for your consideration and support!

My **[Alchemy Stones Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/AlchemyStones)** appeal

**[Alchemy Stones web site](https://www.alchemystone.com/)** and blog

**[Alchemy Stones on eBay](https://www.ebay.com/str/Alchemy-Stones)**

**[Alchemy Stones on Etsy](https://www.etsy.com/shop/AlchemyStones)**

**[Alchemy Stones on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/AlchemyStones/)**

## Thank you for supporting independent art!

***2020.03.05 AS-TXT-034***