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Three Ways to Find Deals on Facebook Marketplace
Updated: 3 hours ago
When it comes to finding deals on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, there are only three ways to do it: you can dig for deals, you can refresh for deals, or you can automate the deal searching. The best method for you depends on your time, money, and patience.
I personally automate my deal sourcing, but that’s because I’m fine paying to see deals faster and more consistently. If you’re new, start with the free methods and graduate later.
Method 1: Dig through scraps (old listings + negotiation)
This is the old-school method. You search your niche, filter, scroll to older posts, and message listings that have been sitting for days, weeks, or even months.
Why it works: listings that have been sitting are usually more negotiable. Some sellers are lazy, forgot about the listing, or don’t want to bother updating the price. If you show up with a real offer and an easy pickup, you can often get a deal.
How to do it:
Search for your niche item (“tires,” “couch,” “bike,” “patio set”)
Sort by date listed, or scroll down into older posts
Prioritize listings with bad photos, vague titles, and weak descriptions
Send a simple message with a clean offer and pickup plan: “I can pick up today. Would you take $___?”
Example: I bought wheels with basically new tires because the listing was terrible (one bad photo, no details) and priced high. Nobody messaged. I offered $500, got countered at $800, waited, checked back in, and eventually got them for $550 after it kept sitting.
Downsides:
It’s hit or miss (usually miss)
You’ll deal with more weird conversations and rude sellers
It’s slower and not consistent
This method is best when you’re looking for something specific or you’re willing to negotiate hard and wait people out. How to Negotiate When Flipping covers that side of it.
Method 2: Refresh for deals (train the algorithm + be early)
This is how most successful flippers start when they don’t want to pay for software yet.
Facebook Marketplace’s algorithm is absolute garbage. Search results and alerts are unreliable. But you can still use it if you treat it like a game.
How to do it:
Search for what you want (“couch,” “sectional,” “patio set,” “Xbox”)
Click on listings in the ballpark of what you want to flip, even if you’re not buying
Do that over and over so Facebook learns what you like
Go back to the For You / local feed and refresh constantly
Once the algorithm is trained, new listings in your category show up faster in your feed, and refreshing becomes a decent way to catch deals early.
Downsides:
Your feed gets polluted easily (look up one car thing and now you’re seeing car stuff all day)
You have to refresh constantly to be early
You still miss deals while driving, working, eating, watching football, hanging with friends, at church, etc.
This works if you have a lot of time and you’re okay being on your phone a lot. It doesn’t work if you have a life, a job, or don’t want your screen time to be 10+ hours a day.
Method 3: Automate the finding (apps + push notifications)
In my opinion, this is the best method for most people who are serious about flipping.
Automation means you aren’t hunting for deals. The software hunts for you and sends a push notification the second something matching your search gets listed near you. That lets you message fast and beat the crowd.
The two main tools:
Freebie Alerts: huge user base, free to use, unlimited search terms, but it only finds free items
DealScout: finds free items too, but also finds underpriced paid items using price filters. This is the one that has made me the most money, since most deals on FB aren’t listed for free.
The setup matters a lot. Keywords, radius, and price filters are the difference between useful alerts and a phone that won’t stop buzzing. I broke the whole setup down in How to Set Up Deal Alerts That Actually Find Deals.
Why it’s the best in my book:
You aren’t stuck scrolling 24/7
You don’t miss deals while you’re living your life
You consistently see underpriced items early, before the crowd
The only downside: you still have to move fast. When the notification hits, click it and message immediately if it’s something that has any chance of being profitable. Don’t overthink it, and don’t wait. If you’re remotely interested, message first, then do your due diligence. If you decide you don’t want it, just follow up with “I’m going to pass, thanks.”
There’s no harm in being first and backing out, but there are a ton of missed dollars in being second or third because you spent 45 seconds zooming in on the pictures. What to actually say in that first message is in Facebook Marketplace Messaging: How to Get Sellers to Reply.
Which method should you use?
If you like negotiating, don’t mind waiting people out, and only want to flip once in a while: dig through older listings
If you have time but don’t want to pay for software yet: refresh and train the algorithm
If you want to see every deal and see it first (without living on Facebook): automate it with apps like Freebie Alerts and DealScout
Most great deals get listed and are gone fast. If you’re not seeing them, you’re not bad at flipping, you’re just late. Automation is the cleanest way to stop being late and see what’s really out there.
As always, feel free to email me with questions or help narrowing down what you’re searching for. I’ve been doing this for years, have helped dozens of old and new friends, and am happy to help you too.
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