Keyword 002: The Art of the FB Marketplace Find ft Nancy Cavaliere
"True story: I just found 12 original paintings in the trash. Oh, and one time, I even thrifted authentic Picasso plates for six bucks!"
You’ve graduated from “I want a cute rattan side table” to “I’m gonna manifest a 70s Roche Bobois pit sectional for under $300 and pick it up in a rainstorm 3 hours away because I am built for this.” Key Word is a new series where I and invited guests share keywords we use to find the unfindable and actionable tips to help you win!
There are people you meet on the internet who give “double tap and keep it moving” energy and then there are people like Nancy.
We met on Instagram, obviously because, where else do chaotic-good women with impeccable taste and wildly specific niche obsessions find each other?
Everyone loves to thrift. Everyone loves to scream “VINTAGE!” when they find something older than a TikTok trend. But very few people take the time to actually learn the stories. The lives. The literal humans behind the things we collect and style and throw on our shelves for the aesthetic.
Nancy? She gets it.
Her series on Lady Z? It wasn’t just content, it was a love letter to the woman whose life, taste, and vibe still echo through the things she left behind. It was beautiful.
This is why I’m screaming from the proverbial Substack rooftop: Take notes. Save this post. Text it to your thriftiest friend. Print it out and stick it on your fridge.
Tell us a little about you.
NANCY: Hiiii! I’m Nancy Cavaliere, a thrifty New Yorker, sustainable interior decorator, stylist, jokester, and full-time secondhand sorceress. I live in a pre-war NYC rental that I’ve decorated entirely with finds from Facebook Marketplace, estate sales, thrift stores, auctions, and my favorite source of all: the streets of New York. (True story: I just found 12 original paintings in the trash. Oh, and one time, I even thrifted authentic Picasso plates for six bucks!)
My home vibe is eclectic, definitely maximalist, bold and colorful, rooted in traditional design principles, but always with a little humor and a splash of WTF. Being a mom and crazy collector of literally EVERYTHING, things around here can be a little chaotic, but are always full of heart. I mix old and new, high and low, and share it all online through lazy girl DIYs, fashion history deep dives, Marketplace hacks, and way too many jokes at #PoorAlex’s expense (he’s my husband, mover, installer, and genuinely the best human on the planet). I love secondhand decorating so much, I created the 345 Decorating Method — a foolproof, tangible, easy to use formula for designing your dream space entirely with secondhand treasures, while uncovering your personal style in the process.
How would you describe your home style in 3 words?
NANCY: Eclectic, Bold, Collected
What kind of items are you usually searching for on Facebook Marketplace?
NANCY: I search for EVERYTHING on facebook marketplace. NOTHING is off limits! I'm looking at sofas, I'm looking at chairs, I'm looking at your grandmother's vintage brooch collection- I want to see it ALL.
List your go-to keywords
NANCY: Weird, Custom, Designer, Regency, Upholstered
Any “weird” or unexpected keywords you swear by?
NANCY: I love searching for “weird art” or using keywords like ugly, strange, sculptural, or grandma. You would not believe how many hidden gems pop up that way. The more unhinged the listing title, the better the find.
What’s the best thing you've ever found and what keyword led you to it?
NANCY: This is a tough one because I’ve literally furnished my entire apartment with Facebook Marketplace finds, and even built my whole 345 Decorating Method around designing with secondhand treasures! But if I had to pick favorites…
#1 has to be my pair of Colefax and Fowler chintz chairs. I scored them a few years ago for $500, before chintz made its big comeback. Best part? I found the original receipt tucked under the cushion. Turns out they were custom-made by the design firm Healing and Basanti… for $5,000 EACH. So basically, I now have $10k worth of chairs casually hanging out in my rental. With a toddler. As one does.
#2 is my Bunny Williams Home draped wooden table — a sculptural masterpiece that retails for over $4,000. I snagged it for $350 from a home stager. Total unicorn. It’s basically impossible to find secondhand, and even when it pops up on sale, it still costs thousands. People constantly ask about it — in real life and in my DMs — and yes, #PoorAlex drove six hours roundtrip to get it. Bless him.
How far are you willing to travel for a good find?
NANCY: You mean how far is my husband, #PoorAlex, willing to travel? I actually don’t know how to drive (learning is on my 2025 goal list!) so I’m the one who finds the goods and he’s the one who picks them up. Yes, I know I’m very lucky. I almost never do the pickups myself unless it's local and in NYC where I can uber home.The farthest I’ve sent Alex was about 3 hours each way. He was picking up a pair of bookcases for our daughter’s room, and I may have added a mirror to the route as well. That trip ended up being 4+ hours, because he accidentally went to a Real Housewife of New Jersey’s house instead of the right one. Can you guess which housewife it was? Classic #pooralex.
Do you have any Marketplace red flags or deal-breakers?
NANCY: Yes, big time! If a seller isn’t communicating clearly, dodging questions, or just being weirdly cagey about the item, that’s a red flag for me. I’ve learned that if it’s already a hassle just trying to have a normal chat, the pickup is probably going to be even more chaotic. I trust my gut- if it feels off, I cut my losses and scroll on.
Do you negotiate, or just pay and go?
NANCY: It totally depends on the item! If it’s something rare, like a Brutalist Tom Feldman chandelier or a unicorn piece I’ve been hunting for, I’ll usually offer asking or moreto lock it in. If it’s insanely cheap, close by, or something I know will go fast, I have no problem offering up to double the price. I’m not trying to lose my dream piece over $20! That’s the worst feeling. But if it’s more of a standard find and priced reasonably, I’ll usually ask for around 20% off. I feel like that’s a sweet spot, respectful to the seller but still gives me room to feel like I got a deal. And while I know you’re technically not supposed to gush about how much you love something, I do it anyway. I’ll usually say something like, “This would be perfect for my daughter’s room!” I try to be kind, genuine, and a real human, and honestly, it tends to work in my favor. I've found that most sellers are really nice, they either A) just want to get rid of something, or B) want to get rid of it but have an emotional attachment, so they’re hoping it goes to a good home, which can make all the difference.
Final wisdom: what would you tell someone just starting out on Marketplace?
NANCY: Scroll constantly. You have to be in it to win it. I scroll when I wake up, before bed, on the train, in the bathroom — no shame! The best way to catch the best deals is to check Marketplace at all different times of day.
Train your eye. That means do your research. You’re not going to recognize a Tom Feldman Brutalist chandelier if you’ve never seen one before. Scroll through sites like 1stDibs, Chairish, eBay, and LiveAuctioneers. Save the pieces you love and study why you love them — the shape, the style, the designer. Even if they’re out of budget, you're building visual fluency, and that’s what helps you spot treasure in the wild.
Max out your search radius. I set mine to 250 miles. If something incredible comes up 100 miles away for $100 (say, a chandelier worth thousands), you can hire delivery services like LUGG or uShip to grab it for a couple hundred. And if you ever fall out of love with it, you can always resell it.
Refresh the algorithm. If your feed feels stale, switch it up. I "hunt" in other cities — LA, Dallas, Palm Beach — and save everything I love for about 30 minutes. Then when I return to my local NYC search, the algorithm is usually refreshed with new finds. Works like a charm.
Use the desktop version. It’s way easier to scroll and refine your searches. You can set a larger search radius and get a better overall view of what’s out there.
Hablas Español? Spanish is one of the most commonly used languages on Marketplace. I’ll search terms like silla (chair), mesa (table), or sofá in Spanish, and I’ve found absolute gems that way. Bonus tip: try common misspellings! You’d be shocked how many ways people butcher the word “chandelier.”
Don’t forget the filters. The feed shows you “suggested” items, but you can switch to “newest” or filter by category — like Furniture or Shipping Only — to narrow things down fast.
And don’t sleep on clothing or accessories. I’ve found incredible vintage clothing, designer bags, shoes, and jewelry. Even if it doesn’t say shipping is available, I always ask — and most people are happy to work something out. That’s how I scored my beloved red fox vintage coat, and I’ll never let it go.
Obsessed? You should be! Follow Nancy on IG immediately!
Long live the collectors, the storytellers and long live the girlie pops turning dusty treasure into sacred memories. What’s your top keyword?
Such great tips!!
Great tips... Especially how to switch up the algorithm!