Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find garage sales near me?

Enter your address, city, or zip code into MapMySales, choose your date range and search radius, and tap Search. We simultaneously query every major garage sale source — classified listings, social listings, estate sale databases, community event sources, regional aggregators, and local directories — then deduplicate and return every garage sale, yard sale, estate sale, and community event in your area.

The whole process takes seconds. Results appear on an interactive map and in a sortable list. Free to use — no account or credit card required to view results.

What types of sales does MapMySales find?

We find: garage sales, yard sales, estate sales, moving sales, church rummage sales, school fundraiser sales, neighborhood association sales, HOA community events, city-wide garage sales, multi-family sales, and regional highway corridor sales. If it's a sale happening near you, we're looking for it.

Does MapMySales work in my city?

MapMySales works across the United States. Enter any US city, suburb, or zip code. Since we search local listing networks that operate in virtually every US market — including all relevant local subdomains for your area — coverage is broad, from Houston and Columbus to smaller towns and rural areas that host weekend sales.

Why does MapMySales find more sales than other apps?

Most garage sale finders search one or two sources. MapMySales searches every major source simultaneously, including sources that competitors skip entirely — listings from sources individual apps don't reach, dedicated community event discovery, and local listing networks across all relevant subdomains for your area. More sources means more sales in your results.

How does MapMySales handle duplicate listings?

The same sale is often posted on multiple platforms. We run a 3-pass deduplication process: exact URL matching (catches same-source duplicates), street address normalization (catches cross-source duplicates), and title + zip code matching (catches fuzzy duplicates). The result is one clean listing per sale, never the same sale three times.

What is a community sale, and how does MapMySales find them?

Community sales are organized events where many sellers participate in the same location or neighborhood. These include city-wide garage sales, church rummage sales, school fundraisers, HOA events, and neighborhood association sales. They're typically announced in local newsletters, church websites, city recreation pages, or community boards — places that standard listing sites don't index.

MapMySales specifically searches for these events using multiple discovery methods, including sources that specialize in community announcements. We surface events that most garage sale finders miss entirely.

What types of community sales do you cover?

City-wide garage sales, neighborhood association sales, HOA events, church rummage sales, school fundraiser sales, multi-family events, regional highway corridor sales (like large annual multi-day corridor sales), and any other organized community sale with multiple participants. If dozens or hundreds of sellers are participating in a single event, we want to find it.

What does "individual seller detail" mean for community events?

Pro subscribers get a feature that's unique to MapMySales: for large community events, we extract the individual seller listings within the event and map each one as a separate pin with its own address and description. So a city-wide sale with 80 participating households doesn't appear as one generic event card — it appears as 80 addressable stops you can browse by interest, select individually, and add to your route. You can see exactly what each seller is offering before you drive there.

How does the route planner work?

Once you've browsed results and tapped your favorite sales to select them, tap "Build My Day." MapMySales calculates drive times between stops based on real distances, estimates browse time per sale type (estate sales get more time, since they're typically larger than single-family yard sales), and sequences your stops into an optimized route. The output is a complete arrival-by-arrival timeline.

Route planning is available on Plus and Pro plans.

What route optimization modes are available?

Four modes: Efficient Loop minimizes total driving distance and returns you home. Closest First visits the nearest sale first, then the next nearest. Priority First sequences your highest-match or favorited sales first. Cluster groups geographically close sales and visits each cluster in sequence — best for sales spread across a wide area.

What is the gap-fill feature?

If there's a gap of more than 20 minutes between two stops in your route, MapMySales automatically identifies nearby unselected sales that would fit within that time window and suggests adding them to your plan. This keeps your Saturday productive without any dead driving time between stops.

Can I set a start time and end time for my route?

Yes. In the Day Plan settings, you can specify your departure time, an "arrive-first-by" time for early-bird sales, and an end-shopping-by time. MapMySales uses those parameters when building your timeline so you don't miss sales with early cutoff times and you're done when you want to be done.

Can I save my route and come back to it?

Yes. MapMySales automatically saves your day plan so it's waiting for you when you return. Your selected sales, route order, and timeline persist across sessions and devices.

What is the DNA match score?

The DNA match score (0–100%) is MapMySales's proprietary relevance engine, available on the Pro plan. It scores every sale result against the interests you've set in your profile — tools, vintage items, furniture, kids' items, electronics, outdoor gear, clothing, and general household goods.

A sale listing full of power tools, workbenches, and Craftsman equipment will score high for someone who listed "Tools" as a top interest. A sale mentioning pyrex, mid-century furniture, and vinyl records scores high for a vintage collector. Results with the highest match scores rise to the top of your list.

How do I set my interests for match scoring?

During onboarding, MapMySales walks you through selecting your preferred sale types and categories. You can update your preferences at any time in Settings under Profile. Changes apply immediately to your next search.

What is an "auto-select" threshold?

In your profile, you can set a match score threshold (default 80%). Any sale scoring at or above that threshold is automatically marked as "Recommended" in your results — a quick visual signal that this sale matches your taste strongly. You still choose which sales to add to your route; auto-select just flags the best matches for you.

What does the free plan include?

The free plan includes up to 3 searches per month, viewing all results on the interactive map, basic sale details (title, address, dates, description), and access to all sale types including community events. No credit card required.

What does Plus add over Free?

Plus ($5.99/month or $49.99/year) adds unlimited searches, full route optimization with turn-by-turn directions, drive time and browse time estimates, the gap-fill feature, premium source coverage — listings from sources individual apps don't reach — and weekly email sale alerts personalized to your interests.

What does Pro add over Plus?

Pro ($11.99/month or $89.99/year) adds the DNA match score on every search result, full community event seller detail (individual addresses and descriptions for large events), complete keyword filtering, weekend sales prep email alerts delivered Thursday and Friday, and a pre-departure briefing summary. Pro is for serious garage sale hunters who want maximum intelligence before they leave the house.

How do I cancel my subscription?

You can cancel anytime from Settings in the app. There are no cancellation fees. You keep access through the end of your current billing period.

Can I use MapMySales on my phone?

Yes. MapMySales works in any mobile browser on iOS and Android. You can also install it as a Progressive Web App (PWA) — in your mobile browser, tap "Add to Home Screen" and MapMySales installs like a native app with its own icon. No app store required. Once installed, it supports offline access to your saved day plan.

How do I add a sale to my day plan?

In the results view, tap any sale card. It highlights and is added to your day plan queue. Selected sales show a checkmark on the map pin. Tap again to deselect. Once you've picked your favorites, tap "Build My Day" to generate your route and timeline.

Can I add a sale that MapMySales didn't find?

Yes. Use the "Add a Sale" option in the app to manually enter a sale's address, dates, and details. User-submitted sales appear in your results immediately and can be added to your route like any other listing.

What do I do if I'm not interested in a specific sale?

You can dismiss any sale by tapping "Not Interested." Dismissed sales are hidden from your results and won't reappear in future searches. Your dismissals are saved to your account so they persist across devices and sessions.