FAQ

Boom or Bust: Sales & Shops  ·  A smarter weekend hunt — find it, rate it, go again

Category paywalls and in-app subscriptions activate when billing ships. TestFlight builds may unlock Plus/Pro features so we can test the full hunt. Answers below describe the intended product.

Empty map

Why don’t I see sales (garage, estate, etc.) on my map?

Most curb-sale energy is weekend mornings; midweek and night look quieter by design. Dense downtown cores often have fewer garage/estate pins than suburbs and exurbs. Pins are community-reported — coverage grows as more hunters use your area. And please don’t trade driving safety for pin accuracy: report or drop a sign when pulled over or as a passenger.

Also try zooming in, Hunt near me, or Search here after panning. Short-lived sales and signs clear after about ~3 days (and Gone marks) on purpose. Shops from Google Places still load as you explore.

Read the full explanation

Getting started

What is Boom or Bust?

A community map for weekend finds — garage and estate sales, thrift, pawn, markets, and shops. Spot a stop, rate it Boom or Bust, and go again. It is a hunter map, not a classifieds feed or ad scroll.

Do I need an account?

Yes. Sign in with email (confirm via the link we send) or Continue with Google when it’s configured. Reporting sales, rating stops, and syncing saved routes all need a signed-in account.

Why does the app ask for location?

To show you on the map, find nearby sales and shops, drop drive-by sale signs, detect arrival on a trip, and (if you turn them on) nearby-sale alerts. Location is used on-device and sent to our servers only when you take an action that needs it. We do not keep a continuous location history.

Where do pins come from?

The basemap is OpenStreetMap. Community pins are sales hunters report (garage, estate, popup, liquidation, curb free, sale signs). Shops and outings (thrift, pawn, antiques, wineries, parks, and so on) come from Google Places. Sale-type pins can cluster; shops stay individual.

What is Place info?

On Google Places pins you can open hours, photos, reviews, phone, and website when that data is available.

Signs & reporting

How do I report a sale or a sign?

Use the map report button (tap alone does not create a pin). You must be signed in. Sale signs can be dropped Left or Right of your heading at street zoom. Found sales walk through category, location, and what’s there; curb free asks what inventory is out. Don’t report while driving — pull over or let a passenger do it. More on empty maps: Why don’t I see sales?

How long do garage-sale signs stay in the system?

Drive-by “?” sale signs are temporary hunt tips, not permanent listings of your home. They expire from the shared map after about 3 days without activity, and anyone can mark a sign Gone when it’s no longer there. We keep this short on purpose so signs don’t linger and create a privacy worry for homeowners.

The same ~3-day window applies to other short-lived community sales (garage, estate, popup, liquidation, curb free) unless hunters keep them active. Full empty-map context: Why don’t I see sales?

Boom or Bust

What does Boom or Bust mean?

After a stop you can rate the haul. Boom reasons include great finds, good prices, worth the drive, unique items, friendly sellers, hidden gem. Bust reasons include overpriced, picked over, not worth stopping, wrong info, long wait, already gone (shops: out of business). Rating is free. Community summaries can show overall, 30-day, and today.

How does navigation work?

The app hands off to Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze — pick your default in Navigation settings. There is no in-app turn-by-turn.

Is pedestrian / walk mode free?

Yes. Navigation → Walk when I Navigate sends walking directions when you Navigate to any pin. City hunts don’t need an upgrade. Waze is drive-only, so walk falls back to Maps.

Categories

Why are Parks, Markers, and Kids / Family off by default?

They’re free for everyone, but Google returns a lot of them (parks, markers, splash pads, playgrounds). They work like every other category — turn any combination on — they’re just off at first so the hunt map stays focused on sales and thrift. See also Why don’t I see sales?

What’s Free vs Plus vs Pro on the map?

Free (design): Garage Sale, Estate, Sale signs, Thrift, Pawn, Farmers, Recurring, Popup, Liquidation, Curb free, plus Parks, Kids / family, and Historical markers (those three start off).

Plus: Antiques, Clothing / resale, Mercantile, Gift, Gallery, Museum, Music, Bookstore.

Pro: Winery, Brewery, Pub / bar, Festival / fair.

Sale signs stay on the map and are not category-filtered. Until billing ships, TestFlight may show every category.

Visited & filters

Visited, skipped, and today’s run?

Free: mark a stop visited or skipped (and leave a Boom or Bust). Plus filters: hide visited or skipped, boom-only (hide your busts and community net-negatives), today’s remaining vs done, open now / known open, and preferred interest matches.

Verification

Why isn’t my new sale showing for everyone?

Far-away reports stay unpublished until you’re within about 300 meters — you still see your own draft. Community sales look like treasure / UNVERIFIED until they get at least 3 confirmations or they’re still unpublished. Sale signs are always published (they expire quickly). More context: Why don’t I see sales?

Trips (Pro)

What do multi-stop trips do?

Pro: plan several stops, order them, save and resume routes, recalculate from GPS, and share a route code with other hunters. Arrival can auto-advance (~35 m by car). Sign in to sync routes across devices; signed-out saves stay on this device only.

What is the Pedestrian chip on a trip?

On a Pro multi-stop trip, Pedestrian uses walking directions for each leg and tighter curb-scale arrive / auto-next (~30–35 m). That is separate from free Walk when I Navigate on a single pin.

Alerts, spy & offline (Pro)

How do nearby sale alerts work?

Pro can watch a radius (5 / 10 / 25 / 50 miles, default 10) and optional map areas, with quiet hours. Alerts fire as local notifications while the app is open on the hunt. Background server push is expanding — don’t rely on it yet.

What is spy / UNVERIFIED?

Pro spy mode can show unpublished community sales as UNVERIFIED before they’re confirmed on-site. Free and Plus see published pins plus your own drafts.

Can I hunt offline?

Pro can download the current map area (up to 5 packs, 2–50 mile radius, hundreds of community and Google pins per pack). Online pins replace the same ids when you’re back.

Plans & billing

What do Free, Plus, and Pro cost?

Free map, report, Boom/Bust, walk Navigate, and free categories. Plus ~$4.99 / month — map filters plus Plus shop categories. Pro ~$9.99 / month — everything in Plus, plus trips, alerts, offline, spy, and outing categories.

Prices may vary by store and region. In-app Subscribe / Restore may still show as coming soon until StoreKit / Play Billing ships.

How do I manage or cancel a subscription?

Billing is through Apple or Google — not this website. Refunds go through the store.

Account & privacy

How do I delete my account?

Email support@getboomorbust.app with the subject Delete my account from the address on your account. We process requests within 30 days. See the Privacy Policy for what we retain.

Who do I contact?

support@getboomorbust.app — bugs, billing questions, abuse reports, or launch notes. We aim to reply within two business days. Full contact options are on Support. Legal: Privacy · Terms.