Facebook Marketplace Class Action Says Platform Withheld Seller Payouts, Inflated Fees

Case Overview: The lawsuit claims Facebook withheld seller payouts and inflated Marketplace fees.

Consumers Affected: Facebook Marketplace sellers who didn’t receive payments or were overcharged.

Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Facebook is facing fresh legal trouble over allegations that its Marketplace platform withholds money owed to sellers and imposes an inflated fee structure that chips away at their earnings. 

A newly filed lawsuit claims the social media company withholds promised Marketplace payouts and imposes a 10% fee on the buyer’s total checkout cost, including shipping and taxes, which reduces sellers’ earnings.

Sellers Claim Facebook Kept Their Marketplace Earnings

Five Marketplace users from California, Massachusetts, and New York have brought the case after each says they shipped items to buyers but never received their payouts.

According to the complaint, each seller followed Marketplace’s process: listing products, accepting a buyer’s offer, printing a shipping label, sending the item through UPS or USPS, and seeing confirmation that the package had been delivered.

Facebook had also collected full payment from the buyers, including its 10% fee.

But the sellers allege their payouts, ranging from about $29 to $159, never arrived, even after they contacted Facebook for help. The lawsuit argues this pattern left sellers without both their items and their earnings.

Lawsuit Challenges Fee Calculations on Total Checkout Cost

Marketplace’s shipping feature allows buyers nationwide to purchase items directly through Facebook’s checkout system. The buyer pays the item price, shipping cost, and estimated taxes. 

Instead of calculating its commission solely on the price of the item, the lawsuit says Facebook takes 10% of the entire amount paid at checkout.

In practice, that means fees can far exceed what sellers expect. The complaint offers an example: a $50 product with $10 shipping and $5 in taxes results in a buyer payment of $65. Facebook then takes $6.50, leaving the seller with $43.50, before any alleged payout delays occur. 

The plaintiffs argue the fee structure is unfair and that Facebook has not implemented reliable systems for issuing payments promptly.

Meta Faces Expanding Legal Pressure Across Industries

The case lands as Facebook’s parent company, Meta, faces mounting legal scrutiny across several fronts. One lawsuit accuses Meta and Netflix of secretly coordinating to divide markets in the streaming industry, allegedly inflating prices while sharing user data to boost ad revenue. 

Another case claims Meta let scammers impersonate licensed financial professionals in ads and WhatsApp groups to conduct pump-and-dump stock schemes.

Meta has also been accused of shelving internal research, known as Project Mercury, that reportedly showed people who left Facebook felt less anxious and depressed. Plaintiffs in that case say the company stopped the study once the early findings were unfavorable.

The Marketplace sellers are seeking to represent two classes: people who shipped items but never received payouts, and those charged fees based on total checkout costs rather than the sales price. 

They’re asking for damages, restitution, and an injunction requiring Facebook to overhaul its payment systems and limit its fee calculation to the item price alone. 

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Cook, et al. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., et al.
• Case Number: 8:25-cv-02417
• Court: U.S. District Court Central for the District of California 

Plaintiffs' Attorney:

• Raymond Y. Kim (Ray Kim Law, APC)

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