Newest first on every search, with a NEW badge on what you haven’t seen
Quick answer
On Facebook Marketplace, search, then set Sort by to Date listed, on a computer or in the app, and check it on each new search, because it slips back to Suggested. On a computer, Sift, a free browser extension for Facebook Marketplace, can open every search newest first, on Marketplace and on Kijiji, mark what’s new since your last visit, show each listing’s age and hide older listings.
Siftjust now
1 new, iphone 13, Toronto
$480, iPhone 13, 128 GB, unlocked
| What it does | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Opens every search newest first | No more resetting Sort by on each new search |
| Puts each listing’s age on its card | You see how fresh a listing is without opening it |
| Marks listings new since your last visit | You see what turned up while you were away |
| Hides listings older than an age you choose | Stale listings stay out of your way |
| Shows only what’s new since your last visit | A clean slate for a search you check often |
| Marks items deleted and posted again | An old listing can’t pass itself off as new |
Getting there first takes four things Facebook doesn’t give you together: a sort that stays put, each listing’s age, a mark on what’s new since you last looked, and a way to spot old listings posted again.
Why Marketplace doesn’t show the newest first
It isn’t built to. Meta’s explainer says Marketplace listings are “selected, ranked and delivered to you by an artificial intelligence (AI) system”, using how you have interacted with earlier listings and other Facebook content, your location, and details such as category, condition and price. How recently something was listed is one reason it may be included, with no promise about the order.
That order is Suggested, the default. You can change it: run a search, open Sort by and choose Date listed. But Suggested comes back. A new search, another category or a fresh visit tends to start from the default again, and Marketplace in a phone’s browser often has no Sort by at all. The native steps for a computer and the app, and the fixes when newest first seems broken, are in how to sort Facebook Marketplace by newest.
Always newest first
Sift can put every search in posting order. Turn it on once in Sift’s settings, then search for anything on Facebook Marketplace, or on Kijiji once you switch on Kijiji in Sift, and the newest listings lead.
It only steps in when the site would otherwise show its own ranking. A sort you chose yourself, such as lowest price or distance, is left alone, so Sift never fights you. It works on keyword searches and on category browsing, on both sites, and it keeps working as you move from one search to the next, which is exactly where Facebook’s own sort lets you down.
How old is each listing?
Facebook’s search grid doesn’t say when anything was posted; you find out by opening the listing. Sift puts the age on the card instead: <1h, then 3h, 2d, 1w, 1mo and 1y. Point at it for the full wording, such as “Listed about 3 hours ago”, and on Facebook the exact date and time in your own time zone. An item Sift has seen before as another listing says “first seen” with that date.
The badge shows whenever the site says when a listing was posted, on Facebook and on Kijiji.
NEW since your last visit
The NEW badge answers a different question: “have I seen this before?” Its tooltip says “First time this listing has shown up for you”. In practice:
- A listing is NEW if it is showing up for you for the first time since your last visit.
- On your very first visit everything is new to you, so nothing is marked. From then on, NEW picks out what turned up while you were away.
- Facebook and Kijiji are kept separate, so a visit to one doesn’t clear the other.
- Listings you have opened, your Saved items page and reposted items never show it.
Check a road bike search at 8 a.m. and again at 12:30, and at lunch every bike that turned up since breakfast wears NEW. Because NEW is about you, a two-week-old listing you never scrolled to is NEW too. Read the two badges together: NEW with 2w is old but unseen, NEW with <1h is a listing to message now.
Only fresh listings: which control to use
Sift has four ways to deal with stale listings. They sound alike, but each counts from something different.
| Control | Counts from | What happens to the rest |
|---|---|---|
| Listed within | When the listing was posted | Hidden once older than the age you choose |
| New only | What you have already scrolled past | Hidden, so only what’s new since your last visit stays |
| Already viewed | Listings you have opened | Dimmed or hidden, your choice |
| NEW badge | Your last visit | Nothing hidden; new ones marked |
Listed within suits most searches: a day for things that go fast, like bikes in spring, a week for furniture. Some cards never say when they were posted, and you can choose whether to show or hide those.
New only ignores posting dates and shows only what’s new since your last visit. Everything you have already scrolled past drops out, and the pill in the corner counts them, so you can peek at what went at any time. For what you clicked and passed on, see hiding sold and seen listings.
Relisted doesn’t mean new
Sellers know newest first rewards a fresh post, so an item that sat for a week gets deleted and listed again, back at the top as “Listed 1 hour ago”. Facebook doesn’t say it has been up before. Sift remembers the listings it has shown you, on your computer, and marks a comeback ↻ Reposted.
- It is careful about it, so a different item that happens to share a title isn’t marked.
- Point at the badge for when and at what price Sift first saw it, such as “First seen Sep 12 as another listing at $450”.
- If you would rather not see reposts at all, you can hide them in Sift’s settings.
- A repost never gets NEW, so NEW always means new to you.
A relist is often good news: the seller has waited and is more likely to take an offer (how to negotiate on Marketplace shows what to send). Sift’s price tracker keeps the dated price history.
Price history
$300−21%
Tracked since Sep 8, lowest $300
Fair price
Below typical
Typical range $340 to $455
Median $400, 18 listings on this page
What the newest-first hacks miss
The best-known workaround is a YouTube tutorial on bypassing the Marketplace algorithm, with more than 140,000 views. It has you bookmark a search address with sortBy=creation_time_descend (newest first), daysSinceListed=1 (the last day) and deliveryMethod=local_pick_up (local pickup) added. The creator has since warned it may no longer work, and Facebook can rename those settings whenever it likes. Even when it works, a bookmark only covers the one search you saved.
| Sort by: Date listed | Bookmarked address | Sift, on a computer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stays set on a new search | Often resets | Only for that bookmark | Yes, every search and category |
| Shows each listing’s age in the grid | No | No | Yes |
| Marks what is new to you | No | No | Yes |
| Spots reposts | No | No | Yes |
| Keeps sponsored listings out | No | No | Yes, with its own switch |
| Works in the Facebook app | Yes | No | No |
On your phone, set the native sort after each search.
Be first without refreshing
To hear about new listings without refreshing, open a newest-first search and press Watch in Sift. Sift checks the searches you watch in the background and sends a desktop notification when a new listing that passes your filters is posted, on Facebook Marketplace and on Kijiji. With Sift Pro, it goes to your phone too.
One click sets Sift up for a car, a bike, LEGO, trading cards or a phone, and Sift then offers that search newest first on Facebook and on Kijiji, ready to watch. More in new-listing alerts and Kijiji alerts.
Where it works
Sift runs in Chrome, Edge and Brave on a computer. It is free, needs no account and takes about a minute to set up; Sift’s privacy policy covers what stays on your computer. Sift also covers the gaps in the sort itself:
- Sponsored and “Ships to you” cards ignore Facebook’s sort. Sift hides sponsored listings, and local only clears the shipped ones.
- Kijiji says its Top Ads ignore the sort too. Sift hides them as well.
- A price cut doesn’t move a listing up, because the sort goes by when it was posted. Sift’s price-drop badge catches those.
On a phone, the Facebook app keeps its own sort. For alerts on your phone, Sift Pro sends the new listings from your watched searches by Telegram, ntfy or email, and Marketplace notifications covers Facebook’s own options.
Everything else Sift can hide or mark is in Sift’s Marketplace filters.
Questions people ask
How do I always see the newest listings first on Facebook Marketplace?
Facebook has no setting that keeps it. Set Sort by to Date listed after each search, on a computer or in the app, because it tends to slip back to Suggested. On a computer, Sift can open every Marketplace and Kijiji search newest first, and it leaves alone a sort you picked yourself.
Why does Facebook Marketplace keep going back to Suggested?
Suggested is the default, and a new search, category or visit usually starts from the default again. Meta says that order is chosen by an AI system from your past activity, your location and details such as category and price, so it favours what it expects you to click. A bookmark keeps one sorted search; Sift re-sorts every search.
What does the NEW badge mean in Sift?
New to you, not newly posted. NEW marks a listing that is showing up for you for the first time since your last visit, so you can see at a glance what turned up while you were away. Listings you have already opened and reposts never get it. The age badge is the one that says when it was posted.
Can I hide listings older than 24 hours?
With Sift on a computer, yes. Choose how old a listing can be in Sift’s settings, a day for example, and anything older is hidden on every search. You can also choose whether to show or hide cards that don’t say when they were posted.
How can I tell when a Marketplace listing was posted without opening it?
Facebook shows the age only inside the listing. On a computer, Sift puts a small badge on each card, such as 3h, 2d or 1w, and pointing at it gives the full wording and, on Facebook, the exact date and time.
How does Sift know a listing was relisted?
Sift remembers the listings it has shown you, on your own computer. When the same item comes back as a fresh post, it gets a Reposted badge, and pointing at the badge shows when and at what price Sift first saw it. A different item that happens to share a title isn’t marked.
Does Sift’s newest-first sorting work in the Facebook app?
No. Sift is a browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Brave on a computer, so in the app, set Sort by to Date listed after you search, and check it on each new search. With Sift Pro, the new listings from your watched searches come to your phone by Telegram, ntfy or email.
Sources
- 01Meta Transparency Center Facebook Marketplace (how listings are ranked, updated 30 September 2026)
- 02Meta Help Centre Sort by distance or new listings on Facebook Marketplace
- 03Kijiji Help Centre Sorting search results
- 04Justin Resells on YouTube How to bypass the Facebook Marketplace algorithm to see the most recent listings
- 05Sift Privacy policy