List Mantis alerts you to new listings across Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Gumtree, AutoTrader and Vinted the moment one matches your saved search. This page walks through the minimum path: account, first search, first alert.
1Sign in
List Mantis is launching on the App Store first. Download it on iOS, then sign in using whichever option you prefer:
- Sign in with Apple — one-tap on iOS, no password to manage
- Sign in with Google — one-tap on iOS and web
Sign-up is iOS-only at launch — start your 7-day free trial through the App Store. Web subscriptions follow shortly after. You can sign in on the web with the same account once you're set up.
2Create your first search
Tap the Searches tab at the bottom of the app, then tap the + button to create a new search. You'll see four fields:
- Keywords — what you're looking for. Plain words work best: solid oak dining table, vintage Singer sewing machine, Sony WH-1000XM5.
- Location — a UK postcode or town. We use it to filter listings by distance.
- Radius — how far you're willing to travel, in miles.
- Max price — we'll skip anything above this. Set it to 0 if you only want free items.
Below those four basics, you can pick which marketplaces to include. By default all five are enabled — turn off any you don't care about to keep the feed tidy.
Tap Save. Your search is now live and we'll start looking for matches.
3Receive your first alert
The first time you save a search, there's a 24-hour warmup window before alerts start firing. This is so a brand-new search doesn't bury your phone in notifications the moment it goes live — after warmup, alerts fire on genuinely new listings only.
After the warmup, alerts arrive in two places:
- Push notifications — the fastest channel. Tap one and it deep-links you straight into the listing.
- The Alerts tab — the in-app feed. Every alert lands here, whether you saw the push or not.
If you'd rather receive a daily summary by email instead of (or as well as) push, head to Settings › Notifications and turn email alerts on.
4Act on an alert
Each alert card shows the listing title, price, source (Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Gumtree, AutoTrader or Vinted), location and distance, plus a thumbnail. Tap View listing to open the listing in the marketplace's own app or website — that's where you message the seller, make an offer or buy. List Mantis doesn't broker transactions; it just helps you get there first.
Two icons sit beside the View Listing button:
- Save (bookmark) — keeps the alert in a separate Saved list so you can come back to it later.
- Bin (trash) — archives the alert so it stops cluttering your feed. We won't show it again.
5Install on iOS
Install List Mantis from the App Store — this is where new sign-ups happen at launch, and where the 7-day free trial is set up through Apple. The iOS app is the fastest way to receive push notifications and to get alerts while your browser is closed.
Once installed, sign in with Apple or Google. You can also sign in on the web at listmantis.com/web/login with the same account — searches and saved alerts sync across both.
What's next?
- FAQ — quick answers to the questions people ask most.
If something here doesn't match what you're seeing, or you've got an idea for the next feature, drop a note at hello@listmantis.com. Every email shapes what we ship next.