If you’re scanning Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for flips, you already know the biggest time-suck: endless junk alerts. The cure isn’t just better apps (though they help) — it’s smarter search filtering. Add negative keywords to your toolkit and you’ll cut noise, speed up scouting, and land more true opportunities.

Negative keywords let you tell a search engine or alert tool “don’t show me anything with these words.” For resellers who run lots of searches, the payoff is huge: fewer false positives, less app fatigue, and more time to act on listings that actually match your buy-box. Useful for both Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace (and central tools that monitor both).

• Start broad, then refine — watch what still comes through and add terms.
• Use categories, not single phrases. Group words you never want to see.
• Be careful with single short words (e.g., "free") if they might exclude real deals.
• Test for a week and adjust — you’ll likely find 5–15 high-impact negatives per search.

Below are practical sets you can drop into your watchlists. Tailor them to your niche and local slang.

• "lot"
• "bulk"
• "bundle"
• "children" "kid" "baby"
• "stained" "rip" "hole"
• "uniform"

• "parts" "repair" "broken"
• "free" (or use more specific: "free -" to exclude only if you never want free items)
• "diy" "project" "refinish"
• "sofa bed" if you don’t want convertible pieces

• "broken" "not working" "for parts"
• "charger only" "no battery"
• "replica" "knockoff"
• "cracked" "water damage"

• "missing" "pieces" "parts"
• "mold" "stain" "bacteria"
• "lot" "collection" "bundle" (if you don’t want multi-item lots)

• "salvage" "as is" "not running" "for parts"
• "engine only" "transmission" (if you’re not buying major components)

• "poster" "print" "replica"
• "handmade" "etsy" (if you’re not reselling handmade goods)

• "free" (again, use carefully)
• "pickup only" (if you need delivery-ready items)
• "seller moving" "estate sale" (often bulk, not single-item deals)

1. Pick one watchlist or search and run it for a few days without negatives.
2. Scan the false positives. Note words that repeatedly appear in junk listings.
3. Create a negative keyword list grouped by theme (e.g., "parts", "kids", "bulk").
4. Add the list to your watchlist tool (look for a negative/exclude field). If your tool supports list presets, save it as "No-Parts" or "No-Bulk."
5. Monitor for 3–7 days. Remove any negatives that blocked good finds, and add new ones for remaining noise.

Example search: "vintage lamp"

• Without negatives: you’ll see posters, prints, bundles of décor, broken lamp parts.
• Negative list: "poster" "print" "parts" "bundle" "electrical"
• Result: fewer decor-only listings and fewer posts selling parts, more actual lamps.

Example search: "Nintendo switch"

• Negative list: "joy-con only" "charger" "screen" "broken" "for parts"
• Result: fewer accessory-only or broken-device listings so you see full consoles.

Craigslist is keyword-heavy and literal — negative words are powerful. Facebook Marketplace listings often include longer descriptions and misspellings. Use broader negatives there (and watch for synonyms).

If your alert tool (like a centralized marketplace watcher) supports AI filtering, combine AI with negative keywords: AI can catch phrasing you didn’t anticipate, while negatives clean up recurring, obvious junk.

• Don’t ban single short words used widely. For example, blocking "case" could remove phone cases and other useful listings.
• Prefer phrase-level negatives when the platform supports them ("for parts" vs. just "parts").
• Use test runs after big changes — give each tweak a few days to show results.

Modern marketplace monitoring apps let you save multiple watchlists, apply negative keyword presets, and get push notifications when a true match appears. If you’re juggling several niches, using a centralized tool that monitors both Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace cuts the overhead of logging into multiple places.

Flipify is one example of a tool that centralizes feeds, supports custom watchlists, and uses AI to further reduce noise — which pairs nicely with curated negative keyword sets. Learn more: Flipify. For tips and case studies, see the Flipify blog: Flipify Blog.

• Pick one active search.
• Run it for 48–72 hours to gather junk examples.
• Create a 10–20 term negative keyword list (grouped by theme).
• Apply it and monitor for a week.
• Refine and save as a preset for similar searches.

Small changes to your search filters can save hours each week. Negative keywords aren’t sexy — but they’re the backbone of efficient thrifting.

Want a faster way to manage multiple watchlists and negative keyword presets across platforms? Check tools that offer centralized feeds, AI filtering, and minute-level search intervals to catch the best deals first. Happy hunting — and may your alerts be useful, not annoying.