Marketplace notifications are off inside Facebook
Facebook has its own Marketplace notification controls. An iPhone can allow Facebook notifications while the Marketplace category is turned off inside the app.
Facebook Marketplace alerts not working?
Check the settings that control whether Notify Me reaches your phone.
Start by checking the Marketplace switch inside Facebook and Facebook’s notification permission on your phone. They are separate settings. Then check Focus, Scheduled Summary, and the alert control on the saved search itself. Here is the shortest useful troubleshooting order.
Why this keeps happening
Four places a Marketplace alert can disappear.
Work from the settings you can inspect. Meta does not expose an alert-delivery log, so claims about its internal notification priority cannot be verified from outside Facebook.
iPhone notification permission is off
If Facebook is disabled under iOS Settings → Notifications, Marketplace alerts cannot reach the lock screen. Check this separately from Facebook’s in-app setting.
Focus or Scheduled Summary is delaying the alert
iOS can hold non-urgent notifications for a scheduled summary or silence them while a Focus is active. The alert may exist without appearing when you expected it.
The saved search has no new matching listing
Facebook does not provide a delivery log for Marketplace search alerts. A search with no new match and a notification that failed to arrive can look the same from your side.
Native fixes to try first
Run these five steps before you switch tools.
Most "alerts not working" issues are fixable inside Facebook itself. Work through these in order. If notifications start arriving again, you are done.
- Check Facebook’s Marketplace settings. Open Facebook → Settings & privacy → Settings → Notifications → Marketplace, then turn on the notification types you want.
- Check iPhone permission. Open iOS Settings → Notifications → Facebook and enable Allow Notifications, Lock Screen, Notification Centre, and Banners.
- Check Focus and Scheduled Summary. Allow Facebook through the active Focus, or remove it from Scheduled Summary while you test.
- Open the saved search and confirm its alert control is still enabled. Facebook changes the label and placement between app versions, so look for Save, Notify Me, or a bell control on the results page.
- Update Facebook, restart the iPhone, and test with a new, specific saved search. Reinstall only if the settings above are correct and Facebook still sends no notifications.
When to stop trying to fix Facebook
If alerts still go silent, the problem is Facebook, not you.
If you have walked through the native fixes and alerts are still inconsistent, a separate watcher gives you another path to new listings. These are practical signs that the native setting is no longer enough:
- You have re-toggled Notify Me more than twice and alerts still go silent for days at a time.
- You only find out about good listings hours after they were posted, even on the same saved search Facebook is supposed to monitor.
- You are competing against resellers who clearly hear about listings before you do.
- You want a deal verdict and price context on the lock screen instead of a vague "new listing" ping.
The reliable alternative
Spottable runs the watcher Facebook never built.
Spottable monitors Marketplace searches on its own schedule, separate from Facebook’s notification settings. After the next scheduled check finds a match, the iPhone alert includes the item, price, area, and available deal context.
Starter and Pro check hourly. Max can check as often as every minute, subject to available watch points.
- Hourly checks on Starter and Pro; checks as often as every minute on Max.
- iPhone push notifications with item, price, and pickup area on the lock screen.
- AI Deal Checker scores the asking price against over a million observed Marketplace listings.
- First-message draft so you can reply in seconds instead of typing from scratch.
Spottable plans and pricing
3 free AI analyses per day in Chrome
The iPhone app requires an active trial or subscription. Plans start at US$4.99/month. Chrome includes 3 free AI analyses per day. Starter and Pro check hourly. Max can check as often as every minute, subject to available watch points.
Download SpottableAnalyze listings in ChromeFAQ
Common questions about Facebook Marketplace alerts not working.
Why have my Facebook Marketplace alerts stopped working?
Check two separate switches first: Marketplace notifications inside Facebook and Facebook notification permission in iOS. Then check Focus and Scheduled Summary, confirm the saved search alert is still enabled, update the app, and test with a new saved search.
Does Facebook send push notifications for saved Marketplace searches?
Facebook can send Marketplace notifications, but Meta does not publish a saved-search delivery guarantee or a user-facing delivery log. A quiet search and a missed notification can therefore look identical. A separate watcher gives you another notification path.
Why are some of my Marketplace alerts late?
First check whether iOS Scheduled Summary or a Focus delayed the notification. Facebook does not publish the scheduling rules for Marketplace search alerts, so do not assume the delay proves the saved search ran late.
What is a reliable alternative to Facebook’s Notify Me button?
Spottable is built for this. You configure the Marketplace query and location in Spottable; it does not use your Facebook login or import your Facebook saved searches. Starter and Pro check hourly, Max can check as often as every minute, and matching iPhone alerts include the item, price, and area.