Cloud alerts or a monitor on your own PC?
Marketplace tools split into two camps: services that search from their servers, and software that searches from your computer with your accounts. Neither is right for everyone.
How each approach works
Cloud services run searches on the vendor's infrastructure around the clock and push results to a phone app, email, or a web dashboard. You sign up, set your searches, and you're done.
Desktop monitors run on your computer. They search Marketplace through Facebook accounts you connect, over your own network or proxies, and send alerts wherever you choose. Pounce works this way on Windows 10 and 11.
The trade-offs
| Cloud service | Desktop monitor (like Pounce) | |
|---|---|---|
| Uptime | Runs without your computer | Runs while your PC is awake and connected |
| Setup | Minutes, usually on a phone | Install, connect accounts, add searches, test alerts |
| Accounts and sessions | Vendor-managed; messaging features need access to your account | Your accounts, with sessions stored on your machine |
| Proxies and multiple accounts | Usually not user-configurable | You choose accounts, assignments, and proxies |
| Search capacity | Fixed by plan; fastest checks often limited to some searches | Fixed by plan slots; speed depends on your setup and scan load |
| Where alerts go | App push, email, sometimes Discord | Discord, Telegram, Windows notifications |
| Marketplaces | Often several | Pounce: Facebook Marketplace only |
Why resellers choose a desktop monitor
Control. You decide which accounts search, where they search from, and how hard each one works. Scan Delay, account assignment, messaging hours, and daily opener limits are your settings, not the vendor's.
Your sessions stay local. With Pounce, Facebook sessions, saved Facebook passwords, and proxy credentials stay on your computer. Enabled cloud features use the listing, search, and conversation information they need. The Privacy Policy has the details.
More than alerts. Because it runs with your accounts, Pounce can message sellers from the account that found the listing and publish a relist from the account you choose.
Why resellers choose the cloud
No hardware. If you don't have a PC you can leave on, a cloud service is simpler.
Phone-only life. Cloud apps are usually built phone-first.
More marketplaces. Several cloud tools also watch Craigslist, OfferUp, eBay, and others. See the comparison.
Running a desktop monitor well
- Use a PC you can leave on during your buying hours. Turn off sleep for those hours.
- Send alerts to Discord or Telegram so your phone gets them while you're out.
- Start with one or two searches, check Search History, then scale up.
- Plan your required Quiet Hours around the times sellers in your area post least.
- Keep searches on secondary accounts if you run a lot of them.
The Docs walk through a first setup, and here's how alert timing works.
Comparing specific cloud apps? See Pounce vs. Swoopa, Pounce vs. Flipify, or all eight Marketplace alert apps.
Common questions
Does a desktop Marketplace monitor need my computer on all the time?
It needs to be on, awake, and connected during the hours you want to monitor. If the PC sleeps or the app is closed, nothing is scanned. Pounce also pauses for required Quiet Hours of at least eight hours a day.
Can I get desktop monitor alerts on my phone?
Yes, if the alerts go somewhere your phone can see. Pounce sends alerts to Discord and Telegram as well as Windows notifications, so you can act from your phone while the PC does the scanning.
Is a cloud Marketplace monitor safer for my Facebook account?
Not automatically. Some cloud tools search without your account, which keeps it out of the picture for monitoring. But if they message sellers for you, they need access to your account. A desktop tool keeps the session on your own machine. Account risk depends mostly on volume and behavior.