If you hate hearing about a great garage sale after it ends—especially an unlisted one you would have gone to—don't worry about it, do something about it. Check out the five best ways to learn about yard sales in your area. Be one of the first to know.

Craigslist

If your city is big enough to have its own Craigslist page (or if you live in the suburb of one that does), that's usually where you'll find the most garage and yard sale listings. Craigslist lets sellers advertise yard sales for free and post photos of the merchandise.

Finding garage sales on Craigslist is easy. Go to the main Craigslist page, find your city page, then, click on "garage sale" under the "for sale" heading.

If your city has lots of sales, you can even search the Craigslist garage sale listings for mentions of specific neighborhoods or merchandise types.

Newspaper Classified Listings

If your town is too small for Craigslist, your local newspaper is the prime place to find upcoming yard sales. Most papers have a designated section in the classifieds just for garage sale listings.

And, even if your city has Craigslist, you should still check the newspaper classifieds, too. You will see some duplicates, but you will probably find exclusive listings. Computer-savvy folks are not the only people who hold yard sales.

If you can, map your yard sale route in advance. Find a bunch of sales in a neighborhood and plan your time wisely. Get a jump on listings in the newspaper as fast as you can.

You can check for an online version of your newspaper's classifieds. You may be able to view the listings the night before they run, or even a few days in advance. Or, if you prefer print, call the newspaper to ask how early the paper is available and where you can get it. Yours might just hit the streets around midnight the night before.

Yard Sale Signs

Keep an eye out for garage sale signs for sales that are not already on your yard sale shopping route. When you see one, make a detour and go to it.

If it is not on your list, there is a good chance the seller did not place any ads. Unadvertised garage sales do not get as many shoppers. Fewer shoppers mean you have a better shot at finding something good. Some of the best finds (at the lowest prices) came from unlisted yard sales.

You are most likely to see yard sale signs on big streets and busy intersections. You may also see signs for unlisted sales near the homes of advertised sales, especially in non-Craigslist towns. Sellers too frugal to pay for their listings sometimes throw a sale together when someone else on their street places an ad.

Facebook Online Yard Sale Groups

You probably know that Facebook is used for more than just keeping up with people you know. But, did you know you can use Facebook to find local yard sales?

Some of the Facebook online yard sale groups are essentially virtual yard sales where you buy and sell items on the groups' pages. But, lots of those also let you list your real-life yard sales. Other groups are created just for listing upcoming local yard sales.

To find groups for your area, enter your neighborhood, county, or city name combined with an online garage sale, online yard sale, or resale into the Facebook search bar. Try different combinations to find lots of groups to join. Even if your town is tiny, there is probably more than one group.

Yard Sale Websites and Apps

Don’t rely solely on the listings generated by garage sale websites and apps, but do check them. You might find a few sales that are not listed elsewhere. Good options include Yard Sale Search, GSalr, Garage Sales Tracker, Garage Sale Finder, and Garage Sale Hunter.

Check for local listings on EstateSales.net as well, and then narrow it down to those being held by individuals rather than companies. Professional estate liquidators typically know what things are worth and price them accordingly. At some (though certainly not all) DIY estate sales, the pricing is similar to yard sale pricing.