🕷️Scraping Guide

This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about scraping Facebook Marketplace listings with HiveFB.

You’ll learn

• How to start and stop scrapes safely.

• When to use Standard vs Endless mode.

• How to tune speed vs reliability.

• What “Phase 1” and “Phase 2” output looks like.

Starting a Scrape

Basic Scraping

1

Click "🚀 Start Scraping"

• Located in the sidebar navigation

• Opens the scraping configuration modal

Screenshot placeholder: Sidebar with “Start Scraping” plus the configuration modal opened.

2

Select Mode

• Vehicle Mode: For cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, boats, etc.

• Item Mode: For general marketplace items

3

Configure Settings

• Search Term: What to search for (e.g., "honda civic", "truck", "suv")

• Max Listings: Maximum number of listings to collect (default: 500)

• Scroll Speed: Delay between scrolls in milliseconds (default: 2000ms)

• Page Load Wait: Time to wait for pages to load (default: 10000ms)

4

Start the Scrape

• Click "Start Scraping"

• Monitor progress in the Console tab

• Watch the Browser tab to see automation in action

Screenshot placeholder: Console tab during Phase 1 and during Phase 2.

Scraping Modes

Standard Mode

How it works:

• Scrapes listings based on your search term

• Stops when max listings reached or no more results found

• Single search execution

Best for:

• One-time searches

• Specific vehicle searches

• Quick data collection

Example:

• Search: "honda civic"

• Max: 200 listings

• Result: 200 Honda Civic listings collected

Endless Mode

How it works:

• Continuously cycles through multiple catalogues

• Never stops automatically (until you manually stop it)

• Perfect for ongoing deal hunting

Best for:

• Ongoing deal hunting

• Multiple search terms

• Continuous monitoring

Setup:

1

Create multiple catalogues

2

Click "Start Endless Mode"

3

Select catalogues to cycle through

4

Configure cycle settings

Example:

• Catalogue 1: "honda civic"

• Catalogue 2: "toyota camry"

• Catalogue 3: "ford f150"

• Result: Continuously cycles through all three

Update Database Mode

How it works:

• Re-scrapes existing listings to refresh data

• Updates prices, descriptions, and availability

• Compares new data with existing records

Best for:

• Keeping your database current

• Checking price changes

• Updating listing status

Setup:

1

Click "🔄 Update Database" (if available)

2

Select listings to update

3

Starts re-scraping process

Monitoring Progress

Console Tab

The Console tab shows real-time information:

Phase information:

• Current phase (Phase 1 or Phase 2)

• Phase progress percentage

• Estimated time remaining

Listing counts:

• Unique listings discovered

• Listings processed

• Listings remaining

Status messages:

• Current operation description

• Errors or warnings

• Completion status

Example Console Output:

✅ Phase 1 Complete: 147 unique listings discovered
🔄 Starting Phase 2: Deep inspection
📊 Processing listing 1 of 147...
✅ Extracted: 2018 Honda Civic LX

Browser Tab

The Browser tab shows:

• Live view of the automation browser

• See exactly what HiveFB is doing

• Watch pages load and scroll

• Useful for debugging issues

What you'll see:

• Facebook Marketplace pages

• Listing detail pages

• Navigation between pages

• Scroll actions

Screenshot placeholder: Browser tab mid-scrape while scrolling a results page.

Scraping Parameters

Search Term

Tips for Best Results:

• Be Specific: "honda civic 2018" vs "civic"

• Use Variations: Try "truck" and "pickup" separately

• Location Matters: Facebook uses your location for results

• Avoid Special Characters: Keep it simple

Examples:

• ✅ Good: "honda civic", "ford f150", "toyota camry"

• ❌ Avoid: "honda*civic", "civic!!!", "best deal ever"

Max Listings

Recommendations:

• 100-200: Quick searches, specific vehicles

• 500: Standard searches (default)

• 1000+: Comprehensive data collection

Considerations:

• More listings = longer scraping time

• Facebook may limit results

• Quality over quantity

Scroll Speed

Settings:

• 1000-2000ms: Fast (may trigger rate limiting)

• 2000-3000ms: Balanced (recommended)

• 3000-5000ms: Slow (safer, takes longer)

Factors:

• Faster = quicker but riskier

• Slower = safer but takes longer

• Adjust based on your needs

Page Load Wait

Settings:

• 5000-10000ms: Standard pages

• 10000-15000ms: Slow connections

• 15000+ms: Very slow connections

Purpose:

• Ensures pages fully load before scraping

• Prevents missing data

• Adjust if you see incomplete data

Stopping a Scrape

Manual Stop

1

Click Stop Button

• The "✕" button appears when scraping is active

• Located in the scraping interface

• Immediately stops all operations

Screenshot placeholder: Stop (“✕”) button visible while a scrape is running.

2

What Happens

• Current operation completes safely

• All collected data is saved

• No data loss

Automatic Stop

Scraping stops automatically when:

• Maximum listings reached

• No more results found

• Error occurs (with option to retry)

Data Preservation

Always Saved:

• All listings collected up to stop point

• Phase 1 discoveries

• Phase 2 inspections completed

• Progress information

Not Lost:

• Partial data is preserved

• Can resume with new scrape

• Database updated incrementally

Best Practices

1

Start Small

• Begin with 50-100 listings

• Test your search terms

• Verify results quality

• Scale up once comfortable

2

Use Appropriate Delays

• Don't set scroll speed too fast

• Allow pages to load completely

• Mimic human behavior

• Prevents rate limiting

3

Monitor Progress

• Check Console tab regularly

• Watch for errors

• Verify data quality

• Adjust settings if needed

4

Use Catalogues

• Save common searches

• Reuse configurations

• Organize your searches

• Enable endless mode for multiple searches

5

Take Breaks

• Configure break settings

• Prevents account issues

• More natural pattern

• Reduces detection risk

Common Scenarios

Scenario: Finding a Specific Vehicle

Goal: Find a 2018 Honda Civic

1

Search term

"honda civic 2018"

2

Max listings

100

3

Mode

Standard mode

4

Review results

Review results in dashboard and filter by price/condition

Scenario: Broad Market Research

Goal: Understand truck market in your area

1

Create catalogue

"trucks"

2

Search term

"truck"

3

Max listings

500

4

Run catalogue

Run catalogue and analyze in Analytics page

Scenario: Continuous Monitoring

Goal: Never miss a deal on multiple vehicle types

1

Create multiple catalogues

2

Enable endless mode

3

Select all catalogues

4

Let it run continuously

Check hot deals regularly

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Next pages

• Save searches: Catalogue Management

• Monitor deals: Hot Deals