Not getting Facebook Marketplace alerts? Here is why, and the fix

A five-minute diagnosis for Facebook Marketplace alerts that never arrive, arrive hours late, or arrive for the wrong things, and the one change that actually fixes the lateness.

"Not getting alerts" is three different problems that feel the same: alerts that never arrive (a switch is off), alerts that arrive hours or days late (that is Facebook's saved-search notifications working as designed), and alerts that arrive for the wrong things (loose matching with no price floor). Find yours below. The first one is a five-minute settings fix. The other two are why Deal Scanner exists.

Which one is yours?

What you see	What it is	Fix
Nothing, ever, for any saved search	A switch is off: your phone, Facebook's settings, or the saved-searches category inside Marketplace	Section 1
Alerts used to come, then stopped	The saved search quietly stopped, or a phone update turned on Scheduled Summary, a Focus, or battery optimization	Sections 1 and 2
Alerts come, but hours or a day after the listing, usually after it sold	Facebook's saved-search notifications, as designed	Section 3
Alerts come for accessories, lookalikes and the wrong model	Loose matching, no price floor, no negative keywords	Section 3
Message alerts missing, listing alerts fine	Messenger's notifications, not Facebook's	Section 1, for the Messenger app

1. Never arriving: the three switches

In order:

Your phone's settings for the Facebook app. iPhone: Settings → Facebook → Notifications, Allow Notifications on; take Facebook out of Scheduled Summary; check Focus. Android: Settings → Apps → Facebook → Notifications on and set to Alerting; Battery → Unrestricted; Data Saver off for Facebook. Details on the iPhone and Android pages.
Facebook's own settings. Menu → Settings & privacy → Settings → Notifications → Marketplace, push on.
The saved-searches category inside Marketplace. Marketplace → Marketplace profile → Settings → Notifications → Saved searches on. Then confirm the search is saved with the bell or Notify me.

Source: Facebook Help Center, "Turn your Marketplace notifications on or off" and "Turn your Facebook Marketplace notifications on or off". Checked October 26, 2026.

2. Used to work, then stopped

Two causes. A phone update turned on something that holds or silences notifications: on iPhone, Scheduled Summary or a Focus schedule; on Android, battery optimization after the app sat unused for a few days (Samsung's Sleeping apps list). Or the saved search itself stopped notifying, which Facebook's saved searches do, with no warning. Turn the bell off and on, or delete and recreate the search; it usually restarts for a while. Our page on saved search notifications not working has the details.

3. Late, or for the wrong things

This is the one that no setting fixes. Facebook does not publish how often it re-checks a saved search. In our use the notification arrives hours after the listing and sometimes a day or more, after the good ones have sold. The match is loose: a saved search for one model buzzes for every lookalike and every accessory, there is no low price limit to keep the $15 listing out, and no negative keyword. It covers Facebook only, so the same item on OfferUp and Craigslist goes unwatched. Meta's AI (Meta AI's shopping mode, the Muse agent) can search listings when you ask, in a chat, and nothing stands watch between questions.

Deal Scanner is the fix for this one. It watches Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Craigslist for a search you set, on our servers, around the clock, and buzzes your phone when a listing is posted, with the time we found it on every alert. A low price limit, a radius from your town, and a relevance filter keep the junk out. A Deal Score on each find says how far under the typical price near you it sits. Searches run until you pause them. No Facebook login, no account. $3.99 a month for three searches, cancel anytime. Set a search, close the app, and the next alert you get is a listing that is actually new.

FAQ

Why am I not getting Facebook Marketplace alerts?

Either a switch is off (your phone's notification settings for Facebook, Facebook's own Marketplace notification settings, or the saved-searches category inside Marketplace), or the alerts are arriving hours to days late, which is how Facebook's saved-search notifications behave even when every switch is on.

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

Save a search for the exact item with the bell or Notify me, with the saved-searches category on in Marketplace settings. Expect loose matches and late notifications. For alerts that match the item, respect a price range, and arrive when the listing is posted, use Deal Scanner.

Can I get Facebook Marketplace alerts faster?

Not from Facebook; it does not publish or let you change how often a saved search is re-checked. An app that watches Marketplace for you, like Deal Scanner, buzzes you when the listing is posted and shows when it found it.

Why do I get Marketplace alerts for things I didn't search for?

Facebook's saved-search match is loose, with no negative keywords and no low price limit. Deal Scanner's relevance filter and price range are the fix.

Sources checked

Facebook Help Center, "Turn your Marketplace notifications on or off" and "Turn your Facebook Marketplace notifications on or off"; Apple and Google support on notification settings. Checked October 26, 2026.