Answer in Messenger with a yes and a time
The first reply comes from your team inside the chat. Keep it to one or two lines: confirm the car is there and offer two times to see it. Save the dealership introduction for the visit.
A Marketplace lead is a Messenger chat, often one line long: is this still available? The buyer expects a quick, casual answer, and the next listing is one tap away. Answer the question, get a name and a number, and move the conversation to text, where Riley follows up until they come see the car.
Meta built Marketplace for people buying and selling with their community, and buyers bring that expectation to your cars. A formal auto-reply reads like a dealership and gets skipped. DealFlo's Marketplace approach is short and direct: confirm the car, don't over-sell it, and get them to the lot. Once the buyer's number is in DealFlo, Riley texts the same way and keeps the conversation alive until they buy or say stop.
The first reply comes from your team inside the chat. Keep it to one or two lines: confirm the car is there and offer two times to see it. Save the dealership introduction for the visit.
Messenger is a poor place to run follow-up. Offer something worth a number, like a walkaround video or a held time, and ask once. Never make it a condition for answering their question.
Once the buyer's number is in DealFlo, Riley texts short and casual: the car, that it's still there, and a time to come see it. No over-selling and no dealership boilerplate.
Your rep shoots a walkaround of the actual car in the DealFlo app, Riley sends it on a store-branded watch page, and the rep gets pinged the moment the buyer watches.
Riley confirms the appointment, sends reminders and handles reschedules, so a casual 'I'll swing by' becomes a set day and time that actually shows.
If the buyer goes quiet or the car sells, Riley follows up on a 13-touch cadence out to 3 years and can text them the day a matching car lands. Opt-out keywords and DNC status are checked before every message.
Marketplace isn't a lead form. Meta built it for people buying and selling with their community, and in July 2026 it described letting small businesses list as something it's still exploring. Here's what the buyer has in front of them, per Meta (as of September 2026):
In short, the buyer is chatting on a phone with someone they expect to be a real person, with plenty of other vehicles a tap away. Match that: short, human and fast.
The first two are for Messenger, the rest for text once you have a number. All follow Riley's rules: short, one question, no prices, and a real time. More in our car sales text message templates.
Yes, the {vehicle} is still here at {store}. Want to come see it today after 5 or tomorrow at 10?
Only say yes after you've confirmed it's on the lot.
I can hold tomorrow at 10 for you and text you a walkaround video of the {vehicle} first. What's the best number to send it to, {first name}?
Ask once, with a reason, and never make it a condition for answering.
Hey {first name}, this is {store} about the {vehicle} you asked about on Marketplace. It's still here, would today after 5 or tomorrow at 10 work to come see it?
Our sales manager handles price, so I've passed your question along. Want me to hold tomorrow at 10 for you to drive the {vehicle}?
Don't negotiate by text or in Messenger. Get the manager on it the same day.
Hey {first name}, I shot a quick video of the {vehicle} so you can see it before making the trip. Would Saturday at 10 work to come see it in person?
When a Marketplace buyer stops replying, don't keep pinging the Messenger thread. Once you have a number, give each follow-up a new reason to reply:
Riley works the text side the same way, on DealFlo's 13-touch default cadence out to 3 years, with a fresh angle every time and never a 'just checking in'. Without a number, keep the Messenger replies human and quick. If your Page messages buyers through a business tool, Meta's Messenger Platform policy gives businesses 24 hours to respond to a user, one more reason to get the number early.
Give Marketplace its own line in your lead reporting, from the first chat to the sale, so you know what the time your team spends there is worth:
Answer it in the first line, then offer a time. Something like 'Yes, it's here. Want to see it today after 5 or tomorrow at 10?' matches how Marketplace buyers write: short, casual and direct. Skip the dealership boilerplate, and only say yes after you've confirmed the car is on the lot.
No. Marketplace conversations happen in Messenger, and Riley works by text and email. Reply in Messenger quickly, get the buyer's name and number, and Riley takes the conversation from there by text.
Because follow-up needs a channel you can count on. When a business messages people through Meta's Messenger Platform, Meta's policy gives it 24 hours to respond to a user. By text, Riley can confirm the appointment, send reminders and follow up for months.
They can be, but they have options. Meta says 44 million vehicles are listed on Marketplace every month worldwide, so the next listing is always one tap away. Speed and a specific time to come in matter here as much as anywhere.
No. Riley never quotes prices, payments or trade values by text. When a Marketplace buyer asks about price, Riley sends the question to a person on your team and keeps working toward the visit.
The same way as every other lead. Sending hours, opt-out keywords and DNC status are checked before every single message, and STOP always means stop.
30 minutes. We'll show you the exact conversations Riley sends, and what your first 30 days of automated follow-up look like.