The ad already shows your address.
A garage sale ad has to say where the sale is. The phone number is the one part you can choose, so make it a number you can end.
A number for your garage sale ad
Get a phone number for garage sale ads that you can burn after the sale.
Put an ExpressNumber number on your garage sale ad instead of your own. Shoppers call it with questions, your phone rings, and you burn the number once the last table is packed up.
$0 todayLive in about a minute
The garage sale ad
The ad shows a number you can burn, not your own.
Garage sale
Big garage sale this Saturday morning
- Furniture, kitchen things, tools and kids clothes.
- Cash only. Early birds, please wait until we open.
Call with questions about an item(414) 555-0166
(414) 555-0166On the ad, named Spring sale
Your own numberStays off the ad
Burn the numberBurn it when the sale is over.
This is how you get a number for your garage sale ad.
- Start your 7 days free and open Create a number.
- Name it after the sale, such as Spring sale.
- Put the number on your ad, on the city calendar notice and on the post in each local group.
- Shoppers call it and your phone rings. Burn it in one tap when the sale is over.
9:41
Your numbers
Spring sale
(414) 555-0166
Forwarding
Neighborhood group post
(859) 555-0138
Texts only
Last year’s sale
(303) 555-0195
Blocked
People put a second number on a garage sale ad for three reasons.
Some cities ask for a phone number on the notice.
A city calendar may want a contact person and a phone number before it lists your sale. A burnable number gives the city something real to print and keeps your own off a public page.
The ad is read long after the sale.
Classifieds and group posts get shared and saved. Burn the number when the sale is over and a stray call a month later reaches nothing.
How a call reaches you
The shopper calls the number on the ad. Your phone gets the call.
A shopperReads your garage sale ad and calls the number on it.
Calls and texts
Spring saleYour number for this sale.
Forwards
Your real phone ringsLike any other call
Texts land in your inboxUnder the name Spring sale
The caller only ever sees the number you gave them.
Burn the number when the sale is over.
One number for one sale, from the day the ad goes up to the day the tables come down.
- 1The ad goes upWith the Spring sale number on it
- 2Shoppers callYour phone rings like any other call
- 3The sale runsA friend helps at the tables
- 4Burn the numberCalls and texts to it stop at once
This is what two cities, a sheriff and Craigslist say about garage sale ads.
Read October 31, 2026, with a link to each page.
One city asks for a contact person, an address and a phone number on every calendar notice.
The City of Sterling Heights, Michigan, says a contact person, address and phone number must be provided with all requested messages, with specific dates and times for starting and stopping the sale.
City of Sterling Heights, Michigan: Garage SalesThe same city limits a household to two sales a year.
Its page says there is a limit of 2 garage sale message requests per year per household, and that recurring or continual sales are not permitted.
City of Sterling Heights, Michigan: Garage SalesAnother city says to remove your signs as soon as the sale ends.
The City of Pontiac, Illinois, says no sign may be attached to a tree or a utility pole, and that anyone who placed signs must remove them immediately after the sale.
City of Pontiac, Illinois: Garage Sales, Rules and SignsA sheriff’s office says to keep a phone near you and lock the doors into your home.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department says to keep a phone near you at all times, to lock the doors into your home and to enlist a friend or family member to help with the sale.
Lexington County Sheriff’s Department: 4 steps to staying safe during your next garage saleCraigslist lets a seller show a phone number on a post.
Its help page says you can provide a phone number so that people contact you by calling or texting.
Craigslist help: Phone and text contact information
Try it free for 7 days.
Then pick the plan that fits how many numbers you hand out.
Basic
7 days free$9.99/mo
- 5 numbers, one for each site, store or dealer
- 100 forwarded minutes a month
- Burn a number in one tap
- Extra numbers $1 a month each
Pro
7 days free$29.99/mo
- 100 numbers
- 1,000 forwarded minutes a month
- A number per vendor, client or listing
- Extra numbers 50¢ a month each
$0 today. Monthly plans, cancel any time.
People ask these questions about a number for garage sale ads.
More in the full FAQ.
Create a number in your dashboard and name it after the sale, such as Spring sale. It is live in about a minute. Put it on your ad and on every post. Calls ring the phone you already carry, and the caller only ever sees the number you gave them.
It can. Signs are covered on the page for sale signs, and many cities have their own rules about where they may go. The ad is where a shopper reads the details, so the number matters most there.
Burn it in one tap, and calls and texts to it stop at once. Take your signs and the posts down on the same day.
No. Your numbers are receive-only: they take calls and texts, and they never make them. You answer calls on your own phone, and you cannot reply to a text from the inbox.
Yes. Every number has three modes: Forward rings your phone and lets texts in, Texts only stops calls and keeps the texts coming, and Block stops both. You change the mode from your dashboard.
Closest to a number for garage sale ads
More ways to use a number
Every rule on this page comes from a public page you can check.
Each one is linked where it is quoted, and all of them were read October 31, 2026.
Put a number on your garage sale ad that you can burn.
Hand out a number you can burn. Keep the one your family calls.
Try it free for 7 days