Facebook Marketplace saved search notifications: how to set them up and why they stop
A Facebook Marketplace saved search is an alert on a search, created with Notify me, that tells you when new listings match. It is not the same as a saved item, which is a single listing you bookmarked. This page shows how to create the alert, how to get it by email, the reasons the notifications stop, and how to get new listings within minutes.
Saved search or saved item: which one notifies you?
Only the saved search. Facebook uses “save” for two different things, and most search results for “saved search” explain the wrong one.
- A saved item is one listing you tapped Save on. It sits in your saved list so you can find it again. It never tells you about other listings.
- A saved search is an alert attached to a search: a search term, a price range and a location with a radius. Facebook notifies you when a new listing matches. It is created with Notify me on the search results, not with Save.
If you have been saving listings and waiting for notifications about similar ones, nothing is broken; it is the other feature you want.
How to create a Facebook Marketplace saved search alert
- Open Marketplace and search for the item, using the words a seller would write: “couch” as well as “sofa”, “bike” as well as “bicycle”.
- On the results, choose Notify me. Facebook opens a dialog for the alert.
- Check the search term, set the price range, and set the location and radius to the area you actually shop in. These are the alert's own settings, separate from the filters on the results page.
- Choose Create alert. From now on, new listings that match arrive as Facebook notifications.
How to get Facebook Marketplace saved search notifications by email
- Open Settings & privacy → Settings → Notifications in Facebook.
- Open Marketplace. This is where Facebook keeps the delivery choices for Marketplace notifications.
- Turn on email for the Marketplace notifications you want in your inbox. While you are there, check that the notification types you rely on are switched on at all.
Creating the alert does not turn on email by itself. If you never see Marketplace emails, this screen is the reason, not the alert.
Why Facebook Marketplace saved search notifications are not working
- Marketplace notifications are off inside Facebook. The switches above decide whether an alert is delivered at all, and to which channel. Push off and email off means the alert exists and reaches nobody.
- Your phone is holding them back. Notifications for the Facebook app can be off in your phone's settings, or paused by a Focus, Do Not Disturb, Low Power Mode or battery saving. The phone-by-phone steps are on Facebook Marketplace notifications not working.
- The alert was created for a different location. The Notify me dialog has its own location and radius. If you searched while traveling, or Facebook's location differed from where you shop, the alert watches the wrong area while the results page looks right.
- You are waiting for email that was never switched on. The alert delivers in the app by default; email is the separate setting above.
- The search is too narrow. An alert for “west elm mid-century walnut sofa” misses the listing titled “couch”. Run the search by hand: if new listings appear there but no notification came, the search is fine and the delivery is the problem.
- Facebook has not checked yet. Facebook does not publish how often it checks a saved search, and it does not promise a notification for every matching listing. A quiet alert can mean no new listings, or a check that has not happened.
How often does Facebook check a saved search?
Facebook does not say. There is no published interval for Marketplace saved search alerts and no promise of a notification for every matching listing, which is why the same question gets different answers everywhere it is asked. We are timing Facebook's own alerts against the moment a listing appears; results will be published here when the test is complete.
New listings on your phone, within minutes — with Pouncify
If you want each new listing within minutes rather than whenever Facebook gets to it, Pouncify checks your search itself. It is a free Windows and macOS app that watches Facebook Marketplace from your own computer, on the schedule you choose, and sends each new match to your phone within minutes of it going live, with the photo, the price and where it is.
- Every new match, delivered — photo, price, location and a link straight to the listing.
- A search you can edit — change the words, price range or radius and the next check uses the new version.
- Alerts where you want them — the free Pouncify app for iPhone and Android, or Telegram, email or Discord.
- Facebook login is optional — Pouncify watches Marketplace without one; signing in finds more, fresher listings over a bigger radius, and the session stays on your computer.
- One search, every marketplace — Facebook Marketplace together with Craigslist, plus OfferUp in the United States and Kijiji in Canada.
Pouncify runs on your Windows or Mac computer and pairs with your phone by scanning a QR code. It is free to start: the free plan watches one search per marketplace. More on the Facebook Marketplace alerts guide.
Questions about Facebook Marketplace saved searches
What is the difference between a saved search and a saved item on Facebook Marketplace?
A saved item is one listing you bookmarked with the Save button; it never notifies you about other listings. A saved search is an alert on a search, created with Notify me, that tells you when new listings match the search term, price range and location you set. Only the saved search sends new-listing notifications.
Does Facebook Marketplace send saved search notifications by email?
Only if email is switched on for Marketplace. Creating the alert with Notify me sets up the in-app and push notification; email is a separate choice under Settings & privacy, Settings, Notifications, Marketplace, where you pick which Marketplace notifications also go to email.
Why are my Facebook Marketplace saved search notifications not working?
Check, in order: Marketplace notifications are on inside Facebook; your phone allows Facebook to notify you and no Focus or battery mode is holding them back; the alert was created with the location and radius you actually shop in; and the search is broad enough to match what sellers write. If every setting is right, remember that Facebook does not publish how often it checks a saved search.
How often does Facebook check a saved search?
Facebook does not say. There is no published interval for Marketplace saved search alerts, and no promise of a notification for every matching listing. We are timing Facebook's own alerts against the moment a listing appears and will publish the results here.
Does Pouncify need my Facebook login to watch a search?
No. Pouncify watches Facebook Marketplace without a login. Signing in is optional and finds more, fresher listings over a bigger radius; you do it once inside the app, and the session stays on your computer.
Download Pouncify Free to start · no account · Windows and macOS
Related: Facebook Marketplace alerts · Facebook Marketplace notifications not working · all guides · about Pouncify. Last reviewed: October 6, 2026.