Complete guide to using SourceScout's professional eBay monitoring tools
SourceScout requires an account to save your preferences and deliver personalized results. Account creation takes less than two minutes.
Your trial begins immediately and includes full Pro features. No credit card is required to start.
After signing in, you'll see the SourceScout dashboard with three main sections:
The Live Feed updates automatically without page refresh. New listings appear at the top within 60 seconds of being posted.
Setting up your first eBay search takes just a few steps:
Results will begin appearing in your Live Feed within 60 seconds. The feed updates automatically as new matching listings are posted to eBay.
The Live Feed is the heart of SourceScout. Unlike manual eBay searches that require constant refreshing, the Live Feed uses real-time technology to push new listings directly to your screen as they appear.
New listings matching your criteria appear at the top of the feed within 60 seconds of being posted on eBay. You don't need to refresh the page or click anything. Background scanning runs automatically, and results are delivered instantly via persistent connection.
The feed displays up to 250 listings at once. As new items arrive, older items are removed from the bottom to maintain performance. You can dismiss individual listings by clicking the "×" button to keep your feed clean and focused.
Search Configuration determines what eBay listings appear in your Live Feed. SourceScout supports up to 3 simultaneous search queries.
Search Terms: Enter keywords that describe what you're looking for. Use eBay's advanced search syntax with parentheses for OR groups and minus signs for exclusions. For example: ("solid gold",k18,k14) -(gp,ge,overlay)
Search in Description: Enable "Also search in description" to find items where your keywords appear in the listing description, not just the title.
Multiple Search Queries: You can add up to 3 separate search queries, each with its own settings. All matching results appear in your unified feed.
SourceScout provides powerful eBay-specific filters to refine your results:
Categories: Select up to 3 eBay categories to narrow results. This is useful when your search terms could apply to multiple product types.
Listing Format: Filter by Buy It Now (Fixed Price), Auctions, or both. You can also filter to show only listings with Best Offer enabled.
Condition: Select from all eBay condition categories: New, New Other, New with Defects, Certified Refurbished, Seller Refurbished, Like New, Used, Pre-owned, and For Parts/Not Working.
Price Range: Set minimum and maximum prices to focus on your target price point.
Item Location: Filter by seller location including United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Germany.
Free Shipping: Show only listings that offer free shipping.
Content filtering is how you eliminate noise from eBay results. Instead of showing you everything and forcing you to sift through junk, SourceScout filters out unwanted listings before they reach your feed.
Title Exclusions: Block keywords from appearing in listing titles. For example, if you're searching for real gold jewelry, add exclusions for "plated," "filled," and "tone" to hide gold-plated or gold-tone items.
Description Exclusions: Remove listings with specific words in the description. This catches items that might pass title filters but reveal issues in the full description.
How to Use: Enter exclusion terms in the Content Filtering section of Settings. Separate multiple terms with commas. Exclusions apply immediately to new listings.
In addition to API-level filters, SourceScout provides client-side filters for eBay results:
Seller Feedback Score: Set a minimum feedback score (e.g., 100) to only show established sellers.
Seller Rating Percentage: Require a minimum positive feedback percentage (e.g., 98%) to filter out problematic sellers.
Maximum Shipping Cost: Hide items with shipping costs above your threshold.
Top Rated Sellers Only: Show only eBay Top Rated sellers for extra buyer protection.
Hide Auctions with Bids: Exclude auctions that already have bids to avoid bidding wars.
Professional resellers quickly learn which sellers are worth monitoring and which ones waste time. SourceScout's seller management tools let you curate your feed by blocking time-wasters and prioritizing trusted sellers.
Blocking Sellers: When you block a seller, their listings are automatically removed from your feed and will never appear again. This is permanent and applies to all future listings from that seller.
To block a seller, right-click their name in any listing and select "Block this seller." You can also manually add sellers to your blocked list in Settings → Seller Management.
Saved Sellers: Save sellers who consistently list profitable inventory. Listings from saved sellers are highlighted in your feed, and you can optionally receive Telegram notifications when they post new items.
To save a seller, right-click their name and select "Save this seller." Saved sellers are stored in your account and can be managed in Settings.
Highlighting helps you quickly identify important details in listing titles and descriptions without reading every word.
Green Highlights: Configure positive keywords that indicate opportunity. Examples: "vintage," "rare," "authentic," "NOS" (new old stock). Green highlights draw your attention to listings with these terms.
Red Highlights: Configure warning keywords that indicate risk or irrelevance. Examples: "replica," "damaged," "custom," "reproduction." Red highlights help you quickly dismiss problematic listings.
Highlighting is applied on your device in real-time and doesn't affect which listings appear—it only changes how they're displayed. Configure highlight keywords in Settings → Visual Highlighting.
Telegram integration delivers instant mobile notifications when new eBay listings match your criteria, so you can act immediately even when you're away from your computer.
SourceScout uses a modern pairing system with one-time codes. You don't need to configure chat IDs or bot tokens—just scan a QR code or tap a link.
Connecting Telegram:
Once connected, you can enable notifications for each search query individually. Notifications include item title, price, seller, and a direct link to the eBay listing.
One-time codes expire after 15 minutes for security. If your code expires, simply generate a new one in Settings.
SourceScout allows you to run up to 3 search queries simultaneously. All configured queries run in parallel, and results from all searches appear in your unified Live Feed.
Each query can have its own search terms and "search in description" setting. Results are combined in your feed and sorted by time posted.
Your filters and exclusions apply to all searches. Blocked sellers and content filters work across all search queries.
The difference between amateur and professional sourcing is precision. Too broad and you waste time on junk. Too narrow and you miss opportunities.
Start Broad, Then Narrow: Begin with general search terms and minimal filters. Watch your feed for a few hours and note patterns in unwanted listings. Add exclusion keywords based on what you actually see.
Use Layered Filters: Combine title exclusions, description exclusions, seller blocks, condition filters, and price ranges together. For example, exclude "plated" from titles, block specific sellers who list overpriced items, and filter to show only Used condition items.
Test and Iterate: Filters are not set-and-forget. Markets change, sellers adapt, and new patterns emerge. Review your feed weekly and adjust filters to maintain signal quality.
Each listing in your Live Feed includes:
Listings are sorted by time posted, with newest items at the top. The feed auto-scrolls to show new arrivals.
Set Up Notifications for Key Searches: Don't rely on checking the feed manually. Connect Telegram and enable notifications for your most important search queries. You'll be notified instantly on mobile when matching listings appear.
Use Auto-Scheduling for Business Hours: Configure auto-scheduling to start monitoring at 8 AM and stop at 6 PM (or your preferred hours). This keeps your feed active during buying hours and pauses at night.
Block Aggressively: Time is money. If a seller consistently lists overpriced or low-quality items, block them immediately. Your feed quality improves exponentially as you build a robust blocked list.
Export Results for Analysis: Use the CSV export feature to analyze pricing trends, seller patterns, and market timing. Export weekly to track which search terms drive the most profitable opportunities.
All settings are stored in your account and synchronized automatically. Changes you make in the Settings panel are saved immediately and apply to future searches.
Display Options: Choose between table view and grid view, configure image expansion size, and set your timezone for accurate relative timestamps.
Notification Preferences: Control when and how you receive notifications. Configure Telegram alerts for specific search queries or disable notifications entirely.
Auto-scheduling allows you to define specific hours when SourceScout should automatically start and stop monitoring. This is useful if you source inventory during set business hours and don't want to manually start searches each day.
To enable auto-scheduling:
SourceScout will now automatically start monitoring at your specified start time and stop at your stop time each day. Times are based on the timezone configured in your account settings.
Your settings represent hours of optimization work. SourceScout provides backup and restore functionality to protect your configuration.
Backing Up Settings: Open Settings → Management → Settings Management and click "Backup Settings." A JSON file containing all your preferences, filters, and saved sellers will be downloaded to your device.
Restoring Settings: Click "Import Settings" in the same section and select your backup file. All settings will be restored exactly as they were when the backup was created.
Backups are useful when switching devices, recovering from accidental changes, or duplicating configurations across multiple accounts.
SourceScout offers a 3-day free trial followed by a single Pro plan at $69/month. Simple, straightforward pricing with all features included.
Free Trial: New accounts automatically start with a 3-day trial that includes full Pro features. No credit card is required to start your trial.
Pro Plan ($69/month): After your trial, subscribe to Pro for $69/month and get unlimited access to eBay monitoring, unlimited results, real-time updates, auto-scheduling, Telegram notifications, advanced filtering, and email support.
Subscribing: Click "Upgrade to Pro" in your dashboard to subscribe. You'll be directed to the pricing page to complete payment through Stripe. Your subscription activates immediately.
Managing Subscription: Access the Stripe Customer Portal from your account settings to update payment methods, view invoices, and manage billing details.
Canceling: Cancel anytime from your account settings. You'll retain access through the end of your current billing period, and your settings are saved for 90 days in case you reactivate.
Your SourceScout account is secured with industry-standard authentication provided by Supabase. Email and password authentication is used for all sign-ins.
Password Reset: If you forget your password, click "Forgot Password" on the sign-in page. A reset link will be sent to your email address. Click the link and create a new password.
Email Verification: All accounts must verify their email address. If you didn't receive a verification email, check your spam folder or request a new verification link from the sign-in page.
Data Security: All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe—SourceScout never stores credit card information.
If your Live Feed is empty after starting a search:
Background scanning runs automatically at your configured refresh interval (1, 2, or 5 minutes) when you have an active search. New listings matching your criteria appear in your Live Feed within 60 seconds of being posted to eBay.
You don't need to manually refresh or restart searches. As long as your search is active (toggle is on), the background workers are continuously scanning for new listings.
If you're not receiving Telegram notifications:
Listings can disappear from your feed for several reasons:
No. Once a listing is dismissed, it's permanently removed from your feed. Dismissed listings won't reappear even if they match your search criteria.
If you accidentally dismiss a listing, you'll need to search for it manually on eBay. The listing title and seller name are your best reference points.
Toggle the search switch off in the header to stop monitoring. Background scanning will stop immediately, and no new listings will appear in your feed until you toggle it back on.
Your filters and settings are preserved when you stop a search. Listings already in your feed remain visible until you dismiss them or clear the feed.
Your search configurations, filters, blocked sellers, saved sellers, and preferences are retained for 90 days after subscription cancellation. If you reactivate your subscription within 90 days, all your settings will be restored exactly as you left them.
After 90 days, your settings may be archived or removed. If you want to preserve your configuration permanently, export a backup before canceling.
It's easier to loosen filters than to tighten them. Start with aggressive exclusions to ensure you only see high-quality results. You can always remove filters if you feel you're missing opportunities.
SourceScout supports eBay's advanced search syntax. Use parentheses for OR groups: (gold,silver,platinum). Use minus signs for exclusions: -(plated,filled,tone). Combine them for powerful queries.
Your best deals come from a small number of high-quality sellers. Once you identify them, save them and consider enabling notifications. Being first to see their new listings gives you an insurmountable advantage.
Export your feed to CSV once per week. Analyze which search terms are producing profitable results and which ones are generating noise. Adjust your configuration based on data, not gut feeling.
Don't tolerate time-wasters. If a seller consistently lists overpriced items, block them immediately. Your feed quality improves dramatically as you build a robust blocked list over time.
Don't search for "$1-$10000" if your target range is "$20-$100." Narrow price ranges reduce noise and improve feed relevance. Configure price filters in Settings.
Can't find what you're looking for? Visit our FAQ or contact support.