How to set up your first marketplace alert

Before you start: your plan matters

What alerts can do depends on your plan, including how often searches refresh, which marketplaces you can watch and which alert types you get. New accounts start with a 7 day trial, no card needed, so you can try everything first. See the pricing page for what each plan includes.

Step 1: Create your account

Go to Botifex and start your 7 day trial, no card needed. Follow the sign-up screens to create your account.

Start your 7 day trial, no card needed

Step 2: Create your first hunt

A hunt is a saved search that Botifex keeps checking for you. The How It Works page explains how a guided setup helps you create your first hunt, and you can start from a template or build your own.

Once the hunt is saved, results show the source marketplace, how fresh the listing is, the price and a Deal Score.

Step 3: Choose a keyword that is specific

Your keyword decides what you see. A broad one like "camera" will fill your feed with noise. A specific one is better, such as a brand and model.

A few tips:

• Use brand and model when you can.
• Pick something you already know how to price. If you do not know what it resells for, you cannot tell a deal from a trap. See how to research resale value.
• Start with a few keywords, not twenty. You can add more once you see how your feed behaves.

Step 4: Set a maximum price

A maximum price keeps your feed useful. Decide the most you would pay before you look. A simple method is to take what you expect the item to sell for, subtract fees and shipping, subtract the profit you want, and use the result as your ceiling. Marketplace selling fees vary by site, so check them first.

Be honest with yourself. A ceiling set too high gives you lots of alerts and no real deals. A ceiling set too low may give you none. You can change it later.

Step 5: Choose your marketplaces

Botifex covers eight marketplaces: Craigslist, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Poshmark, Mercari, Depop and Whatnot. Which ones you can watch depends on your plan.

If you are starting out, pick the marketplaces where your item category sells best. Fewer sources means less to sort through.

Step 6: Choose how you get notified

Pick how you want to hear about matches. Depending on your plan, options can include your dashboard feed, email, text messages and push notifications. Check your settings in the app to see what is available to you.

If you pick text alerts, use a number you check often. If you pick email, make sure Botifex emails are not going to your spam folder.

Step 7: Check your first matches

Open your dashboard and look at the first results. Ask yourself:

• Is this the right item and model?
• Is the price under my maximum?
• What does the Deal Score say? It is a 0 to 100 rating that helps you decide what to research first. It is not a promise.
• Do the photos and details match the title?

Do not buy because you got an alert. An alert means "look now", not "buy now".

Tune it over the first week

After a few days, adjust:

• Too many results. Make the keyword more specific, lower the maximum price or reduce the radius.
• Too few results. Make the keyword a little broader, raise the maximum price a bit, or add another marketplace.
• Alerts at bad times. Look in your settings for options that control when you get alerts.
• Several categories. Keep each category in its own hunt, and pause a hunt you are not using.

Remember that refresh speed depends on your plan. See pricing for details.

If something is not working

• No alerts at all. Check that the hunt is active, that your ceiling is not too low and that your keyword is spelled the way sellers write it.
• Not getting emails or texts. Check your spam folder, check your phone number or email in your account, and confirm your plan includes that alert type.
• Alerts feel slow. Refresh speed depends on your plan. If speed matters for your category, compare plans on the pricing page.
• Still stuck. Reach support through the Contact page.