https://automatedsearches.com/
that site is incredible. seriously incredible.
anyway, the keys for ebay searches are to use () and -
so if you only want 1981 cards, for example, put
(1981) in parenthesis. you will need to possibly tweak it to remove things. for example, if a 2009 set included a 1981 throwback insert or something, you'd want to use
(1981) -2009
to remove all the 2009 results.
include separate parenthesis for things that are required
(1981) (donruss) (checklist)
if you use that, it will only return results that include ALL of 1981, Donruss, and checklist in the thread title.
I have 1000+ automated searches set up using that website, and I get text alerts to my phone when something new is listed, and it updates every minute (with a premium account, every 15 mins with a free account), and you can use it for both BINs and auctions.
I've spent hours on that site creating and tweaking searches. Also, I think that site is MUCH easier to tweak and update existing searches than using ebay's saved searches feature, but thats just my opinion. its also easier to organize your saved searches into folders.