How to get notified when a new item is listed on eBay

Can eBay notify you when an item is listed?

Yes. Save your search on eBay and, by default, eBay emails you when new items match it. You can also get Saved Searches notifications in the eBay app. If you want more filters than that, or notices about price drops and auctions ending, a separate service can watch the search for you. The three options are below.

Start with a search worth watching

Every option below is only as good as the search behind it. Before saving anything, run the search on eBay and look through the first page of results. Whatever junk you see there is what you'll be notified about later.

• Use the exact name or number. A set number, model number or reference number, such as lego 75192, finds that item however the seller words the rest of the title.
• Search the way sellers write titles. Try the common abbreviation as well as the full name, since many sellers use only one of them.
• Sort by newly listed. eBay's Advanced Search has a "Time: newly listed" sort, which shows you the kind of listing you'd be told about, and roughly how many.
• Decide your price first. A maximum price saves you from reading about listings you'd never buy.

Option 1: an eBay saved search by email

This is the option built into eBay. Run your search, then select Save this search at the top of the results page. eBay's saved searches help page says that by default it emails your registered address when new items match, and that your searches also appear in your feed when you're signed in.

• To stop or restart the emails for one search, select the envelope icon on it on the Saved searches page.
• To change a search, open it, change its filters and save it again. eBay creates a new saved search when you do, so you may want to remove the old one by selecting its blue heart.

It needs nothing beyond an eBay account. The help page doesn't say how soon after a listing goes up the email is sent, so try it on your own search before relying on it for something that sells quickly.

Option 2: notifications in the eBay app

eBay's push notification help page lists Saved Searches as its own kind of notification. On your phone, allow notifications for the eBay app in your device's settings. Then, in the app, go to My eBay, Settings, Notifications and choose the ones you want.

The same page lists shopping updates, which cover items you're interested in and listings that are ending, so the app is also useful for auctions you're already following. As with the emails, the page doesn't say how soon saved search notifications are sent.

Option 3: an alert from Snipe Finder

Snipe Finder is an independent service that watches eBay for you. It checks each alert every few minutes and sends each new match once: as a notification in your browser, in an email at most once an hour, or in a private Discord thread for each alert. The Discord setup guide walks through that option.

It suits searches that need more filtering than a saved search, or notices besides new listings: excluded keywords with exceptions, a separate price limit for Best Offer listings, price drops, and a reminder in an auction's last 15 minutes. In Discord, alerts are posted in the Snipe Finder server, not your own. The comparison goes through the differences.

Which one to use

You can use more than one. They don't interfere with each other, and a saved search on the same words is a simple way to check whether an alert's filters are hiding something you wanted.

Once the notifications start

• Keep searches narrow. One search per item is easier to read than one broad search for everything, and you're less likely to start ignoring it.
• Deal with noise early. If the same kind of junk keeps coming, filter it out instead of scrolling past it.
• Be ready to buy. Being signed in to eBay on your phone, with your address and payment method saved, means fewer steps once you've decided.
• Still check the listing. A notification tells you a listing exists, not that it's a good one. Read the description, photos, seller feedback and returns policy first. For collectibles, see how to avoid resealed packs and fake graded cards.