eBay Instant Notification App - Item Search Alerts

[davecandystore]

I have been missing out on items to other buyers that must get notified in seconds.  Is there an app/website/software that constantly searches eBay listings?  I have seen some that check every 30 seconds or a minute, but that doesn't seem fast enough.  Are these individuals using software that they wrote or is there something out there that is instant? 

Example.  I made a deal with a seller.  They put the item up as a buy it now and told me to bid.  When I went to look at their items, I couldn't find it.  When I did a general search for it, I couldn't find it.  I asked the seller to send me a link, but by that time the item had already been sold.  

How are people grabbing getting notified of searches so quick?  

Please let me know what software them are using.  Thanks!!

[disneyshopper]

The seller should have given you the item number when s/he notified you that the item was listed.

That is what I do when a buyer asks if I will be relisting an ended item.

[davecandystore]

Buy how was the other buyer notified so quickly?  They must be using some type of app.

[disneyshopper]

I am unaware of any apps, but it's possible.

That buyer could have created a SAVED SEARCH and just ran it and discovered the item.

I've seen posts where a buyer runs across a listing, sees the photo, then makes the purchase.  Later s/he reads the description and it was NOT what s/he really wanted.  Is it possible it was just "dumb luck" that someone else saw the listing and made the purchase immediately?  My default SORT is Time: ending soonest .  Maybe that is also the case for that other buyer.

[davecandystore]

Definitely not dumb luck.  It has happened multiple times.

I contacted one seller after I missed an item, they said that the items sold in seconds.  

There must be some notification app that is alerting the other buyers.  

I haven't seen any app that give you instant alerts.  I guess it's possible that these buyers wrote their own code.

Any insights?

[eburtonlab]

@davecandystore 

There are automated searches available online -- google "automated searches ebay" for some examples. The one I am most familiar with offers 500 free searches per day, meaning you can search 500 items once per day, or five items 100 times per day, or any combination that does not exceed 500 total searches. I believe that once every 15 minutes is the limit for the free searches, but you have the option to pay for additional searches if you really want to.

I don't know how many people use such searches. Most of the items I find are found using a standard (non-automated) eBay search. For items that I am constantly on the lookout for, I craft a targeted search on eBay and then bookmark it. I have a folder of many bookmarked searches on my browser toolbar so that I can "Open All in tabs", scan the resulting pages, adding items to my watch list, closing tabs as I go. It doesn't take very long to check the results of many searches if they are refined to the point that they get few false positives.

I generally run most of my searches once per day if I can. For the sort of items I am looking for, that works pretty well.

[eburtonlab]

@davecandystore 

I have been missing out on items to other buyers that must get notified in seconds.

It's possible that you are up against one person who is constantly checking for the same item in near real-time. Possible, but not terribly likely, unless you notice the items you are interested in all being bought by accounts with very close but increasing feedback numbers.

Chances are you are up against a hundred people who check once per day -- that averages out to about one search every fifteen minutes. Or a thousand people who check once per week. Or some combination of all of these, plus a random assortment of folks who just happened to be doing a search at that moment.

[eburtonlab]

@davecandystore 

I asked the seller to send me a link, but by that time the item had already been sold.

The next time you are in this situation, ask the seller to create that listing, but put a much higher price on it, with a "make offer" option. The higher price should discourage others who happen to find the auction, and since only you know the true amount that the seller has agreed to accept, you should be able to make the deal, unless someone else submits a higher offer and the seller chooses to accept it.