How to set up Facebook Marketplace alerts

Facebook Marketplace can notify you when a search you saved gets new listings. You run a search, save it, and turn on notifications for saved searches in the Marketplace settings. The alerts are free and they arrive as Facebook notifications. In our use they arrive hours late and sometimes a day or more after the listing, the filtering is loose, and they turn themselves off until you re-save the search. The steps for each device are below, then what the alerts actually do, then the option that works.

On iPhone or Android

1. Open the Facebook app and tap Menu (bottom right on iPhone, top right on Android), then Marketplace. If you don't see it, tap See more.
2. Search for the item. Be specific: "Milwaukee M18 drill" finds the drill; "drill" finds everything with a cord.
3. Set the filters you care about (distance, price range, condition) before saving. The alert uses the same filters.
4. Tap the bell or Save search control next to the search bar and confirm. Facebook labels this "Notify me" on some versions.
5. Make sure the saved-search notifications are switched on: tap Marketplace profile, then Settings, then Notifications, and turn on the Saved searches category. Facebook lists updates, saved searches and tips for sellers as the categories here.
6. Check your phone allows Facebook notifications at all: iPhone Settings → Notifications → Facebook → Allow Notifications; Android Settings → Apps → Facebook → Notifications.

On a computer

1. Go to facebook.com and click Marketplace in the left column.
2. Run the search and set the filters.
3. Click Notify Me under the search bar. Facebook saves the search and will notify you in the Facebook notifications bell and, depending on your settings, by email.

What the built-in alerts do and don't do

• They work only for searches you saved. A new search with no save gets no alert.
• They arrive as Facebook notifications, mixed in with everything else Facebook sends. On a phone, that means a buried banner unless you have turned the other Facebook notifications down.
• They are late. Facebook does not publish how often a saved search is re-checked, and in our use the notification lands hours and sometimes a day or more after the listing was posted, usually after it has sold. Every "faster Facebook Marketplace alerts" thread on r/Flipping says the same.
• They stop. A saved search that notified you last week goes quiet this week with no warning, and you only find out by checking by hand.
• Meta's AI does not fix this. Meta AI's shopping mode and the Muse agent can search Marketplace listings when you ask, in a chat. Nothing stands watch between questions.
• There are no negative keywords. A saved search for "Aeron chair" also alerts you about "Aeron-style" chairs and office chairs listed with the word in the description.
• One search covers one marketplace. If the same item is also on OfferUp or Craigslist, those need their own alerts in their own apps.

When the alerts stop arriving

Three places a Marketplace notification can be switched off: your phone's notification settings for the Facebook app, Facebook's own notification settings, and the saved-search category inside Marketplace settings. Our Facebook Marketplace notifications not working page walks through them in order, with the steps from Apple's, Google's and Facebook's help pages.

The faster option

Deal Scanner watches Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Craigslist for a search you set once, and buzzes your phone when a matching listing is posted. It runs with the app closed, needs no Facebook login, and puts a Deal Score on each find so you can see at a glance how far under the typical price it sits. It starts at $3.99/month, cancel anytime. See Facebook Marketplace alerts for what it adds to Facebook's own notifications, and compare it with other alert apps.

FAQ

Can Facebook Marketplace notify me when something is listed?

It can. Save the search and turn on the saved-searches notification category in Marketplace settings. Facebook then notifies you when the saved search has new results, on its own schedule, which in our use means hours to days late, and sometimes not at all until you re-save the search.

How do I get Facebook Marketplace alerts for a specific item?

Search the exact item name with the filters you want, save the search, and keep the saved-search notifications on. The more specific the search, the fewer wrong alerts you get.

Why am I not getting Facebook Marketplace alerts?

Usually one of three switches is off: the phone's notifications for the Facebook app, Facebook's notification settings, or the saved-search category inside Marketplace. Check them in that order.

Is there a free Facebook Marketplace alerts app?

Facebook's own saved-search notifications are free and, in our use, hours to days late. Deal Scanner is $3.99 a month for three searches, and it is faster because watching Marketplace is the only thing it does.

Sources checked

Facebook Help Center, "Turn your Marketplace notifications on or off" and "Turn your Facebook Marketplace notifications on or off"; How-To Geek, "How to Set Up Facebook Marketplace Alerts". Checked October 24, 2026.