Stuff Alert! How you can find stuff on Ebay without even looking!

In previous articles, I touched on the best ways to set up Ebay searches and how to periodically check for items so that you make sure you catch those great deals when they pop up before anyone else does. I was thinking a while back, when I was setting all these searches up, that it would be nice if this messaged you much more often that new items matched your search. Then I wouldn't have to refresh the page 100 times.

So I set out on Google to try to find something that did that very thing. My search was rewarded (don't we all love Google) with a website called Stuffalert.com! On this site you can set up Ebay searches and then it will periodically let you know throughout the day when it finds new items that match the search. It is also free to sign up!

When you access the site for the first time, you can quickly sign up by clicking the register button at the top of the page. Once you input an email and password and verify your account you are ready to set up your searches!

Once you have this set up, log into the website and then press the big “Search Now” button in the middle of the main web page. This will take you to a page titled “Create Ebay alert” where you can simply create a new alert. This keyword function is the same as the Ebay search function – you can use any of the Ebay syntax we have discussed in other articles in there. You can also select which Ebay site to use depending on your country.

A note about the search function: StuffAlert is a really cool website, but it is not amazingly sophisticated either. Because of the way they search Ebay, they want you to keep the the search under a limit of 100 items initially – This is so they aren't sending you email every 5 seconds. The problem with this is they only have the ability to limit the search in a few ways: using the search syntax, selecting and narrowing down the category, and selecting Buy it Now or Auction (if you leave it off it is both). This may mean you need to split up some of the searches you have on Ebay. For example, I halve my UCS SW set search so that I am only searching for half the sets.

Once you have the search set up, click the “find” button and it will search. If your search returns more than 100 items, it will ask that you limit your search better. When you have gotten your search under 100 items, it will show you the items it found so you can make sure you are finding the correct items. Once you are done here press “next”.

On the next page, you can name your search and let the site know how frequently you want to be contacted. I have this always set to “standard”. I believe in this they check several times a day and email you.

Once done here, press “Finish”. This will bring you to your “Alerts Page”. Here you can manage your alerts.

One really nice function to this is the “pause” buttons. You can pause a search without deleting it if you want to stop seeing the emails while your bank account recovers for awhile . Another really great part about the website are the emails it sends. Instead of having to click to see items, it shows you the listings right in the email! Just simply open the email and then you are browsing the new listings. If you see one you like, you can click on immediately. I receive emails on my phone and it alerts me when I receive a new one. Even if I am out, I can quickly browse some new Ebay items and then take care of any good purchases I need to.

So there you have it! Give it a try and let me know how you like it. Make sure to report any good deals you get back to us!

Note: All of the information here are my own opinions and are pulled from my experiences. You may or may not have success with these methods.