Best Sneaker Restock Alerts in 2026

What to Look For in a Sneaker Alert Service

Not all alert services are created equal. The best sneaker restock alert tools share a few key characteristics:

• Speed: Alerts need to arrive within seconds, not minutes. In the sneaker world, a 5-minute delay means the listing is already gone.
• Accuracy: You want alerts for the right shoe, the right size, and the right condition. Keyword-only matching creates too much noise.
• Coverage: Monitoring only one platform means you miss deals on others. The best tools cover multiple marketplaces.
• Price intelligence: Simple "new listing" alerts aren't enough. You want to know when prices drop below your target.

The Tools Compared

1. RestockScout

RestockScout is built specifically for deal hunters and collectors who want simple, reliable alerts without the complexity of enterprise monitoring tools.

What makes it different: RestockScout uses AI to understand what you're looking for, not just keywords. Tell it "Nike Dunk Low Panda size 10 under $100" and it will match listings regardless of how the seller titles them. It monitors eBay and Mercari simultaneously, with more marketplaces coming soon.

• AI-powered matching (catches misspellings and alternate titles)
• Real-time alerts via email and Telegram
• Multi-marketplace monitoring
• Free tier available (1 alert)
• Starting at $19/mo for 5 alerts

2. Social Media & Discord Bots

Twitter/X accounts and Discord servers that post sneaker restocks have been popular for years. They're free and community-driven, but come with trade-offs.

• Free to use
• Community-driven information
• Mostly focused on retail drops (SNKRS, Foot Locker, etc.)
• Not personalized — you see every alert, not just yours
• No price drop monitoring on resale platforms

3. eBay Saved Searches

eBay's built-in saved search feature is the simplest option. Save a search and eBay emails you when new listings match. It works, but slowly and imprecisely.

• Free and built into eBay
• Keyword-based only (misses alternate titles)
• Alerts delayed by hours
• eBay only — no Mercari, StockX, etc.
• No price intelligence

4. Manual Refreshing

We're including this because it's what most people actually do. Refreshing search results on your phone while waiting in line, before bed, during your lunch break. It works sometimes, but it's exhausting and unreliable.

• Free
• Time-consuming and unsustainable
• Easy to miss deals between refreshes
• Not viable for tracking multiple items

Our Recommendation

For most sneaker buyers, a combination of approaches works best. Use free Discord communities for retail drop news, and use RestockScout for automated monitoring of the resale market. This way you catch both initial releases and aftermarket deals without spending all day on your phone.

If you're serious about finding the best prices on the resale market, the AI-powered matching and real-time alerts from a tool like RestockScout will pay for itself with a single deal — the Plus plan costs $19/mo, less than the savings on one pair of sneakers bought below market.

Getting Started

The fastest way to start catching sneaker deals is to sign up for RestockScout's free tier. You get one alert — enough to test it on the exact shoe you're hunting. If it works for you (it will), upgrade to Plus for 5 simultaneous alerts.