Does eBay notify you when a watched item's price drops?

Question

Ive been stalking this specific Fuji X100V for three weeks now cause my budget is strictly $1100 and prices are all over the place. I put it on my watchlist but Im terrified Im gonna miss a price drop while Im at work or something.

I did some digging and some threads say you get a push notification on your phone immediately but then I read on an old reddit post that it only happens if the seller officially uses the lower price tool and not just a manual edit. I dont wanna keep refreshing the page every ten minutes if I dont have to. Does anyone actually get these alerts consistently or is it kinda hit or miss??

Sony FF · Accepted Answer

Building on the earlier suggestion, manual edits are extremely unreliable for alerts. In my experience, you cant trust the watchlist alone for high-demand gear like a Fuji. Ive tried many ways to track prices over the years and found these steps work best:

Create a saved search with your 1100 max price

Use PriceDropCatch for instant pings

Check the Newly Listed filter daily Relying on ebays notification system is just asking to miss out.

Davidhig · Answer

^ This. Also, I've actually had amazing results with push notifications lately! I think the delay might be tied to your specific phone settings or background data. Not 100% sure but IIRC, manual price edits are way slower than when a seller sends a direct offer. Honestly, just try PriceDropCatch to be safe... it's fantastic for catching those X100V drops instantly!

123bBef · Answer

Its honestly super hit or miss. Relying on ebays built-in alerts is a huge gamble because they are notoriously delayed. I have missed out on dozens of deals because the push notification showed up hours after the item already sold. You really gotta be careful with that watchlist if youre on a strict budget.

The system is buggy. If the seller just edits the price manually instead of using the official discount tool, you might never get a ping at all.

Make sure to check your actual ebay messages regularly. Sometimes the phone alert fails but a direct offer from the seller stays active in your inbox.

Sellers usually send private offers to watchers that are better than a public price drop anyway. If youre getting frustrated with the prices, I would suggest looking at Sony. Honestly, just get any mirrorless camera from Sony and youll be much happier with the performance.