Just saw this thread and figured id weigh in because I spent way too much time testing different tools for my own audio rack setup. I used to be in the same boat, just staring at my watchlist and hoping for a miracle. I ended up comparing a few different methods and here is what actually works without breaking the bank:

• Distill Web Monitor: This was the winner for me. You can set it to monitor just the price element on the eBay page. The local browser version is free and works well, but I eventually paid for their basic cloud plan to get the SMS alerts on my phone. No complaints at all, it picked up a 50 dollar drop on a Sansui amp within 10 minutes.
• Google Alerts: Tried this first because its free, but honestly its useless for specific eBay listings. It takes forever to index and by the time you get an email, the item is usually gone... definitely not fast enough for high demand gear.
• Manual checking via the eBay app: This is what most people do but it kinda kills your productivity. Plus, the app notifications are notoriously laggy for price changes compared to bid endings. My advice is to stick with Distill. It feels much cleaner than those random tracking sites that ask for your eBay login info. Just set the refresh interval to something reasonable like 15 minutes and youll be the first to know. Works like a charm and keeps things simple. I have been very satisfied with it for over a year now.

Building on the earlier suggestion, I have unfortunately had a lot of issues with most trackers lately. Many of them felt kinda like spyware, which just isnt worth it. Are you tracking a specific listing or a general search query? I eventually settled on a tool called Visualping. It checks the actual page source for changes. Its not as fast as Id like on the free tier tho, but it stays away from my personal data.

Yeah, I totally agree that the native eBay alerts are basically useless for hunting vintage gear. My experience trying to track down a specific Pioneer turntable was pretty much the same, and I missed a mint condition one because the notification arrived hours late. It felt like the system was just fundamentally broken. You might want to consider using a dedicated third-party tracker, but honestly, be careful with any tool that asks for your eBay login info. I would suggest staying away from those. One service I tried seemed super sketchy and I started seeing weird login attempts from other countries, so I had to reset everything. Using a public-facing price checker is much safer than giving away your password just to save a few bucks on a Marantz receiver.