Honest answer · Updated August 2026

SearchDome checks faster. We check deeper.

SearchDome has been free since 2004 and its free tier can check eBay every 10 minutes, which beats our hourly schedule. It doesn't do price history or tell you if a price is actually good. Here is the real tradeoff.

The short version

  1. 01

    SearchDome is a saved-search alert tool. It watches eBay for new listings matching your criteria and emails you, as often as every 10 minutes for free.

  2. 02

    FindersKeepers checks saved searches once an hour, which is slower. What we add is price history on items you watch and a score on whether an asking price beats similar listings.

  3. 03

    If speed on a single fast-moving listing is the whole game, SearchDome's free tier (or its paid Rapid Search, down to 1 minute) wins that outright.

  4. 04

    If you also want to know whether the price is good, or want a value history on something you're tracking, SearchDome doesn't do either. That's the part we built.

01 · Credit where it is due

What SearchDome actually does, and does well

SearchDome has been running free since 2004. That's two decades of uptime in a category where a lot of tools disappear.

A

Genuinely fast, for free

10 or 15 minute check intervals on the free tier, no card required. That beats what we offer at no cost.

B

Exclude specific sellers

You can block individual sellers from your results by name. We don't offer seller filtering at all.

C

Organic-only results

Pulled from the eBay API, so no promoted listings and no duplicate entries for the same item.

D

AI Search Builder

Describe what you want in plain English and it generates the eBay keyword search for you. We don't have this.

02 · The real question

What SearchDome doesn't answer

  • 01

    It tells you something new was listed. It doesn't tell you if the price is good. A fast alert on an overpriced listing just gets you to the overpriced listing faster.

  • 02

    No price history. If you want to know whether a card, a pressing, or a console has been trending up or down, SearchDome has nothing to show you.

  • 03

    Alerts are email only. No browser push option.

SearchDome answers "did something new get listed." It doesn't answer "is this actually worth buying at this price."

03 · What we add

Where FindersKeepers picks up

01

Deal scoring

Each listing is compared against similar ones in the same results. Twenty percent or more below the average asking price is flagged as a hot deal, ten to twenty percent below as a good price. It needs at least five comparable listings first.

02

Price history on what you watch

Add an item to your watchlist and the price is recorded every six hours from that point, so you can see whether it's drifting down or holding.

03

Browser push, not just email

Alerts can land as browser push on top of email, on the same hourly pass.

04

No search cap

No limit on saved searches, and we refuse an exact duplicate instead of running the same query for you twice.

04 · Coverage

What each one covers

This table is about what each one covers, not which one wins. For a lot of buyers, the honest answer is both.
FeatureSearchDomeFindersKeepers
Fastest free check interval10 minutes!Hourly
Fastest paid check interval1 minute (Rapid Search, paid)No paid tier
Alert deliveryEmail onlyEmail + browser push
Exclude a specific sellerYesNoNot supported
AI-assisted keyword buildingYesNo
Saved search limitHundreds (per SearchDome)No limit
Price history on watched itemsNoYesFrom the day you add an item
Tells you if a price is a good dealNoYesScored against similar asking prices
Collection value trackingNoYes
Free to useYesRapid Search tiers are paidYesEverything, no paid plan
eBay login or credentials requiredNoNo
05 · The decision

Which one do you need

Use SearchDome if

  • Being first to a specific fast-moving listing is the whole point.
  • You want to block a specific seller by name.
  • You'd rather describe a search in plain English than build it manually.
  • You're willing to pay for 1 to 5 minute checks.

Use FindersKeepers if

  • You want to know if a price is actually good, not just new.
  • You want price history on items you're watching.
  • You want to track what a collection is worth over time.
  • Hourly is fast enough for what you're sourcing.

For anything genuinely time-critical, run both: SearchDome to catch it first, FindersKeepers to tell you if it was worth catching.

06 · The limits

What FindersKeepers does not do

  • 01

    We check hourly, not every 10 minutes.On a listing that sells in the first few minutes, SearchDome's free tier gets there first.

  • 02

    No seller filtering, so no per-seller exclusion list.

  • 03

    No AI-assisted keyword builder.

  • 04

    Our deal score uses asking prices, meaning what comparable listings are currently listed at, not what they sold for.

  • 05

    It searches eBay US only.

07 · Questions

Common questions

Is SearchDome free?

Yes, for the 10-minute, 15-minute, hourly, and daily check intervals. SearchDome's 1, 2, and 5-minute "Rapid Search" tiers are paid. No credit card is required for the free tiers.

How often does SearchDome check eBay?

As often as every 10 minutes on the free tier, or every 1 to 5 minutes on a paid Rapid Search plan. That's faster than FindersKeepers, which checks every saved search once an hour.

Does SearchDome show price history or tell you if a price is good?

No. SearchDome finds and alerts on new listings that match your search. It doesn't track how a listing's price has moved over time, and it doesn't score whether an asking price is high or low against similar listings.

Can I exclude a specific seller on FindersKeepers like I can on SearchDome?

No. FindersKeepers has no working seller filtering at all, so there's no exclusion list and no minimum feedback threshold. SearchDome has this and it's a real feature we don't match.

Which one should I use?

If being first on a fast-moving listing is what matters most, SearchDome's free 10-minute tier (or its paid Rapid Search) beats our hourly check. If you also want to know whether the price itself is any good, or want history on items you're watching, that's what we add on top.

SearchDome and FindersKeepers solve different halves of the same problem: finding a listing first, and knowing whether it was worth finding. The full roundup of free eBay deal-hunting tools covers where each tool in this space actually fits.

Know if the price is actually good

Hourly alerts, price history, and a read on whether a listing is priced well. No credit card, no eBay login.

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eBay is a trademark of eBay Inc. SearchDome is a product of its respective owner. FindersKeepers is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by either company.