Frequently Asked Questions

BidWatch is a browser-based eBay auction tracker that gives you live countdown timers, price change alerts, and smart notifications for the listings you care about. It runs entirely in your browser as a single-page application, so there is nothing to install and no account to create. You paste in an eBay listing URL, and BidWatch pulls the current price, bid count, time remaining, and item image so you can monitor everything from one dashboard.

Click the Add button in the toolbar, then paste a full eBay item URL into the input field. BidWatch accepts standard listing URLs from any supported eBay domain as well as shortened links such as ebay.us/... format. Once you paste the URL, BidWatch fetches the listing details from the eBay API and creates a card with the item image, title, current price, bid count, and a live countdown timer. You can also choose between Automatic end time (pulled from the API) or a Custom end time if you want to set one manually.

BidWatch supports 14 eBay country sites including the United States (ebay.com), United Kingdom (ebay.co.uk), Germany (ebay.de), France (ebay.fr), Italy (ebay.it), Spain (ebay.es), Australia (ebay.com.au), Canada (ebay.ca), Austria (ebay.at), Switzerland (ebay.ch), Ireland (ebay.ie), Netherlands (ebay.nl), Belgium (ebay.be), and Poland (ebay.pl). You can set your preferred eBay country in Settings, and BidWatch will adjust affiliate links and form placeholders to match your chosen domain.

No. BidWatch does not have user accounts, logins, or registration. Everything runs locally in your browser using localStorage. Your tracked listings and settings are saved on your device and never tied to any account on our end. This means you can start using BidWatch immediately without providing any personal information.

Yes, BidWatch is completely free. The service is supported by advertisements displayed outside the eBay content area. We ask that you keep your ad blocker disabled while using BidWatch so that the project can remain free for everyone. If an ad blocker is detected, you will see a brief notice with a short trial period before access is restricted.

Each listing card shows a live countdown that ticks down every second until the auction ends. The timer calculates the difference between the current time and the auction end time provided by the eBay API, so it stays accurate regardless of your timezone. When a timer reaches zero, BidWatch automatically refreshes the listing after a short delay to fetch the final sale price and status from eBay. The countdown colour changes as the auction nears its end to give you a clear visual cue that time is running out.

Snipe alerts are sound and notification warnings that fire in the final moments of an auction. BidWatch offers a 30-second snipe alert and a 10-second snipe alert, both of which can be toggled independently in Settings. These are designed for bidders who prefer to place a last-second bid. When enabled, you will hear a distinct sound and optionally receive a browser or push notification at the 30-second and 10-second marks so you know exactly when to act.

BidWatch checks the current price each time it refreshes a listing. If the price has changed since the last check, the card displays a visual indicator: a green arrow for a price decrease and a red arrow for a price increase. This makes it easy to spot bidding activity at a glance. You can also enable push notifications for price changes, which will alert you even when the BidWatch tab is closed, so you never miss a sudden spike in bidding.

Yes. Enter multi-select mode and tap two listing cards to assign them numbers 1 and 2. Then press the Compare button to open a side-by-side overlay. The comparison view shows both items with their images, prices, bid counts, and live countdown timers updating every second. Arrow indicators highlight which item has the lower price, fewer bids, or more time remaining, helping you decide between similar auctions quickly. On mobile screens, the comparison stacks vertically for easier reading.

BidWatch supports Web Push notifications that work even when you have closed the browser tab. When you enable push in Settings, a Service Worker is registered and your browser generates a push subscription. This subscription is stored on our server so that the background cron job can send you alerts for price changes, time warnings (5-minute and 1-minute), snipe alerts, and auction-ended events. Push notifications are delivered through the standard Web Push protocol and do not require any personal information beyond the browser-generated subscription endpoint.

Auto-refresh periodically fetches updated data for all your tracked listings without you having to click anything. You can enable it from the toolbar or the overflow menu on mobile. BidWatch uses a smart refresh schedule that adapts to how much time is left on each auction: listings ending within minutes refresh more frequently, while those ending in over an hour refresh at longer intervals. This keeps the data fresh when it matters most while reducing unnecessary network requests for distant auctions.

All of your tracked listings and application settings are stored locally in your browser using localStorage. Nothing is saved in a remote database tied to your identity. The only server-side storage involves public eBay listing data cached temporarily to reduce API calls, and push notification subscription endpoints if you have opted into push alerts. No personal data, browsing history, or eBay credentials are ever stored on our servers.

When you add or refresh a listing, BidWatch sends the eBay item ID and marketplace identifier to our API proxy. The proxy fetches the public listing data from the eBay API and returns it to your browser. If you enable push notifications, your browser-generated push subscription endpoint is also stored so that the background process can deliver alerts. We do not collect, store, or transmit any personally identifiable information, eBay login credentials, or browsing activity.

BidWatch itself does not set any cookies. However, the Google AdSense advertisements displayed on the page may set cookies for ad personalisation purposes, such as the __gads, __gpi, IDE, and NID cookies. These are managed entirely by Google and are subject to Google's own privacy policy. You can manage your ad personalisation preferences through the consent dialog provided by Google when you first visit the site.

Yes. BidWatch has a built-in export feature that lets you save all your tracked listings and settings as a JSON file. You can use this to back up your data or transfer it to another browser. To delete your data entirely, you can clear your browser's localStorage for the BidWatch domain, which removes all tracked listings, settings, and preferences. If you have push notifications enabled, disabling them in Settings will also remove your subscription from our server and clean up all associated data.

No. BidWatch never asks for your eBay username, password, or any authentication token. It only reads publicly available listing data through the official eBay Browse API. BidWatch cannot place bids, make purchases, or access any part of your eBay account. It is a read-only monitoring tool that works entirely with public auction information.

BidWatch works in all modern browsers including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Brave, and Opera. For the best experience with push notifications and Service Worker support, Chrome or Edge on desktop and Android are recommended. Safari on iOS supports the core tracking features but may have limitations with background push delivery depending on your iOS version and settings.

Yes. BidWatch is designed with a mobile-first responsive layout. The interface adapts to smaller screens with a compact toolbar, an overflow menu for secondary actions, and vertically stacked cards. Touch interactions are fully supported, including swipe-friendly multi-select and a mobile-optimised comparison view. You can add BidWatch to your home screen on Android or iOS for a more app-like experience.

Browser notification permission is required for two features: in-page alerts that appear when the BidWatch tab is in the background, and Web Push notifications that work even when the tab is closed. If you decline the permission prompt, BidWatch will still function normally for tracking and timers, but you will not receive any visual notification pop-ups outside the tab. Sound alerts work independently of notification permission and will play as long as the tab is open and not muted.

When a countdown timer reaches zero, BidWatch waits a few seconds and then automatically refreshes the listing to retrieve the final price and sale status from the eBay API. The card updates to show the final result. If you have the ended sound or push notification enabled, you will be alerted at that moment. You can also enable auto-delete in Settings to automatically remove ended listings from your dashboard after they have been refreshed, keeping your view focused on active auctions.

BidWatch requires an internet connection to fetch listing data from the eBay API and to receive push notifications. If you lose connectivity, the countdown timers on already-loaded listings will continue to tick down based on the previously fetched end times, but prices and bid counts will not update until the connection is restored. The application interface itself will remain visible and responsive even without a network connection.