Craigslist curb alerts: free stuff, and how to hear about it first

A curb alert is a Craigslist post that says something is sitting at the curb, free, first come first served. No messaging the seller, no haggling, no appointment. You drive over and it is either there or it is not. They live in Craigslist's free stuff section (the "free" category under "for sale"), and the whole game is seeing the post before the next person with a truck does. Here is where to look, the searches that work, what is worth the trip, and how to get the post on your phone instead of finding it the next morning.

Where curb alerts are on Craigslist

1. Go to craigslist.org and pick your city.
2. Under for sale, click free. The address bar will show /search/zip, which is Craigslist's name for the free section.
3. Type curb alert in the search box. Most people who leave something out write those two words in the title. Some write "curbside" or just "curb", so a second search for curb catches the rest.
4. Sort by newest. A curb alert from this morning is a lead. One from Tuesday is a photo of an empty lawn.

That is the free section for one Craigslist area. If you live between two areas, check both; Craigslist does not combine them.

The same pile usually gets posted to Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp too, often by the same person with the same photo, so the free sections there are worth a look as well.

Searches that catch the good ones

• The item, not the word "free". In the free section everything is free, so search for what you actually want: "dresser", "lawn mower", "firewood", "moving boxes", "pallets". A good share of free posts never say "curb" at all; the giver just wants it gone today.
• "Curb alert" as its own search. Keep it separate from your item searches. It is the one that finds the surprise: a patio set, a kayak with a crack, a whole garage of shelving.
• Cut the noise with a minus sign. Craigslist's search box takes exclusions: couch -wanted -broken -parts. Go easy on them. "Broken" also cuts the mower that only needs a carb clean, which is exactly the one you want.
• Has image, posted today. Two filters on the left side of the results. A free post with no photo is usually scrap, and a free post from yesterday is usually gone.
• Tight on distance. Free stuff is not worth a forty-minute drive to find an empty curb. Keep it to your side of town.

Craigslist's own alert for the free section

Craigslist will email you when a saved search has new results. Save the "curb alert" search in the free section, open your account's searches tab and tick the alert box. It is free with a Craigslist account. The catch is in how it works: email only, sent on a schedule Craigslist sets by how busy the search is, up to 20 results per message. For curb alerts that is a real problem, because a free couch on a Saturday morning is gone in an hour and the email can land after lunch. The full setup is in how to set up Craigslist alerts, and the fixes for emails that stop arriving are in Craigslist alerts not working.

The rules of the curb

• First come, first served, and that is the whole rule. Do not message asking the poster to hold it. They put it on the curb so they would not have to talk to anyone.
• Check the post is still up before you leave. Posters delete or mark it gone when it is gone. If the post is still live, you have a chance.
• Take what is offered, nothing else. The post says "dresser and two lamps", so the grill next to them is not yours. If the item is in the yard or on the porch rather than at the curb, it is not a curb alert.
• Bring what the job needs. Straps, a blanket, a second person for anything heavy, a tarp if rain is coming. A curb alert comes with no help loading.
• Leave it tidy. If you take the good drawers out of a broken dresser, do not leave the carcass in pieces for the homeowner. Take it all or leave it as you found it.
• Post your own when you are done with something. Curb alerts work because people keep posting them.

Worth the trip, and not

Worth it: solid wood furniture (dressers, dining tables, bookcases), a push mower or snowblower that "won't start" (nine times out of ten it is old gas and a dirty carburetor), bikes with good frames, moving boxes, pallets, firewood, lumber from a torn-out deck, patio furniture, scrap metal if you have somewhere to take it, kids' bikes, filing cabinets, and anything with a known brand on it.

Leave it: mattresses and upholstered furniture you cannot inspect for bugs (the checks are on buying used furniture), car seats and cribs (recalled models and expired seats end up at the curb for a reason), particleboard furniture that has been rained on, and any cord-and-plug appliance that has sat out in the weather.

The free thing that costs money

A real curb alert never asks you for anything. If a "free" post wants a deposit to hold it, a delivery fee paid up front, a shipping charge for a free piano, or a code texted to your phone to "verify you are real", it is a scam. Too good to be true means it is. The versions that go around are on Facebook Marketplace scams; they run the same on Craigslist.

Getting curb alerts on your phone

The email arrives when Craigslist gets to it. Deal Scanner is a phone app that watches Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp for a search you set, from our servers, around the clock, with the app closed, and buzzes you when a listing is posted. Every alert shows when it found the listing, so you know whether to grab the keys.

For curb alerts: set a search for "curb alert", type your town, keep the radius short, and leave both price boxes blank. Free posts usually carry no price at all, and a price limit would hide them. Then add a search for the one thing you are actually waiting for ("dresser", "snowblower") so you hear about it whether or not the poster wrote "curb". You type your town and Deal Scanner picks the Craigslist area for you. No Craigslist account, no Facebook login.

Three searches are $3.99 a month, cancel anytime in your phone's subscription settings. Pay for the month you're looking. Cancel when you've got it. More on Craigslist alerts, and the same for Facebook Marketplace alerts and OfferUp alerts.

FAQ

What does "curb alert" mean on Craigslist?

It means the item is sitting at the curb, free, for whoever gets there first. The poster is not going to answer messages or hold it. If the post is still up, it is probably still there.

Where is the free stuff section on Craigslist?

Under for sale, click free. The URL for your city ends in /search/zip. Search "curb alert" inside it, sorted by newest.

Can Craigslist notify me about free stuff?

Yes, by email. Save a search in the free section and tick the alert column on your account's searches tab. Emails come on Craigslist's schedule, not yours, and hold up to 20 results each. For a push notification on your phone, you need an app such as Deal Scanner.

Do I need to message the poster for a curb alert?

No. That is the point of a curb alert. Check the post is still live, drive over, and take it if it is there.

Can I get alerts for curb alerts on Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp too?

The same items get posted to all three, often by the same person. One Deal Scanner search watches Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp at once and buzzes your phone when a match is posted.

Why does my free-stuff search show the same post again?

Craigslist's alerts include renewed and reposted listings. The poster renewed it, usually because the item is still sitting there.

Sources checked

craigslist.org free stuff section (/search/zip) in several cities; craigslist's Search Alerts help page. Checked October 28, 2026.