I spent the past year creating Price Hipster, a product search engine and price watching website for the OzBargain community!

Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 01/11/2015 - 11:45
Last edited 13/11/2015 - 12:45

Update 13/11/15: Thanks everyone for the support and feedback! I realise there are heaps of comments here and no one wants to read through them all. If you have a suggestion, it has probably already been raised. I'm currently working on a big update and I'll be sure to let you all know when I release it. I'll be keen to get further feedback and suggestions then. :-)

Hi fellow OzBargainers!

I've spent the past year creating a powerful tool for you all.

https://www.pricehipster.com.au/

These are the reasons I created Price Hipster:

Searching for products across multiple stores is painful. Sometimes you don't even know which stores to check for a product. Wouldn't it be great to conveniently search all stores from one place?
Even if you want to find a product in one particular store, most store websites are very bad at searching their own products, and they're slow at it.
There is no convenient way to find out the previous prices of products, making it difficult to hold vendors accountable for false claims of discounts. Some products vary wildly in price. Some change price nearly every day. For example:

https://www.pricehipster.com.au/product?id=NJNmxsZ3k5n

I really appreciate those OzBargainers who have taken the time to use internet archives to dig up previous prices, but it's less than ideal, and hopefully will now be a thing of the past!

Price Hipster currently includes 5 websites in its index. That will expand in the near future.

Questions for you all:

Which stores should be added next?
OzBargainers in Western Australia, how is the search latency for you? The search servers are in Sydney. I live in Brisbane and the search is pretty much instantaneous here.

If you find any issues with the website or have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

General Discussion

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Price Hipster

Comments

batrarobin on 02/11/2015 - 08:59

I am in WA and the website loads superfast for me. The product search was very convenient. The website layout is great. Just a feedback that there should be an option to see results in grid view, tile view etc.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:27
  
  What do you mean? They are in a grid and in my mind a "tile view" is the same as a "grid view".
  - batrarobin on 02/11/2015 - 17:31
    
    Sorry I meant : grid view and list view.
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 17:41
      
      I can't imagine why anyone would want this in list view, except on mobile devices, and that is exactly what Price Hipster does. Am I not considering a particular use case?
    - Jayphen on 02/11/2015 - 18:24
      
      I'm guessing by list view he means a traditional 'media component' view — image left-aligned with text next to it. On my iPhone 6s+ I can only see 2 results at a time in the stacked tile view, so it's not possible to quickly scan
Nerdis on 02/11/2015 - 09:11

+1

Hi OP! Please add chemists warehouse next.
- spaij on 02/11/2015 - 10:03
  
  It's added to the to do list
  - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:28
    
    Yup. But it's good to know which ones are more popular, cos it takes time to add new stores.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:34
  
  +1
  
  Hi Nerdis, just updating you that there are now 15 stores, but pharmacies didn't make the cut this time around. Maybe soon :)
tp0 on 02/11/2015 - 09:45

If possible showing unit pricing in the search would be a massive help. Doesn't necessarily have to be sortable as the current sorting seems quite smart but definitely showing it would be a massive improvement. Thanks for the site, looks great, shows a tonne of potential.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:29
  
  Thanks!
malouphix on 02/11/2015 - 09:57

+3

Nice site, I don't like the name though, sorry.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:29
  
  +1
  
  No need to apologise for having an opinion.
DavoW on 02/11/2015 - 09:58

Hey Jazoom,

Site looks great, pretty damn fast too! Thanks so much for an entire year of your life, top work.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:30
  
  Haha thanks. Hopefully I can dedicate many more years for the benefit of shoppers everywhere.
frankfu1122 on 02/11/2015 - 10:16

+1

Well done! I love how responsive and lean the website is.

Sending PM through
lemontree on 02/11/2015 - 10:35

I'm liking the speed. When more comparative sites are added this will be great.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:30
  
  I agree. This is only the beginning.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:35
  
  hi lemontree, just updating you that there are now 15 stores, along with many other new features. :)
  - lemontree on 10/12/2015 - 23:42
    
    Thanks for keeping us updated. Great work!
cktftw on 02/11/2015 - 10:37

Awesome! Search almost instantaneous.
Time to add a lot more stores!
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:31
  
  Yup :-)
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:35
  
  A lot more stores added. :)
andyken on 02/11/2015 - 10:52

amazing site and the speed? just wow, im in vic, and still, VERY FAST.
Good luck for the site.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:32
  
  Thanks. Getting it snappy on non-flagship mobile devices was a little bit of a challenge.
macca on 02/11/2015 - 11:09

In WA and can I say holy crap that website is fast. Predictive input? start typing PS4 or xbox and it's already got the images ready to go….
Very nice
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:34
  
  Thanks. :-)
carkell on 02/11/2015 - 11:22

+1

This is awesome. Love the price history graph. Any chance you could clearly display the lowest price its been listed at. And maybe a rolling average price?
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:36
  
  I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "rolling average price". As it currently stands, "normal price" is not RRP, since here on OzBargain I think most of us agree RRPs are useless. The "normal price" is actually the price that the site actually normally sells it for. I have a bit of an algorithm that calculates it, and I suppose it is "rolling".
  - carkell on 03/11/2015 - 10:47
    
    I mean the average price over the last x days, say 30. So an average price much lower than the 'normal' price indicates it is regularly on sale. An average price very close to normal price would mean it is rarely reduced.
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 03/11/2015 - 16:46
      
      Since you can quickly and easily tell from the chart just how often the item is on sale, I'm not sure the value added (none?) would be worth the (small) increase in clutter.
Spending2Much on 02/11/2015 - 11:24

Super cheap auto
Spotlight

Both stores with continuous specials catalogues…… Sometimes the same special items in catalogue vary from week to week and the discount/reduction.

Repco
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:37
  
  Added. Thanks!
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:41
  
  Hi albanyson, just updating you that there's been a big update, and Spotlight is one of the new stores in the database :) Thanks for the suggestion!
  - Spending2Much on 10/12/2015 - 18:02
    
    Hope it all continues and goes well.
    
    All the best
    
    About to check out a few items after work……..
    
    Cheers
Kapinny on 02/11/2015 - 11:43

man, big props to you for creating this website :) im sure alot of people will benefit congratulations
also, from perth here the load times are acceptable!
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:38
  
  Thanks. Maybe one day I'll get a server over that side of Australia and you guys can bask in the speed in all its intended glory!
CrushJelly on 02/11/2015 - 11:44

Woah this site loaded results faster than I had expected. Nice.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:38
  
  :-)
bongom on 02/11/2015 - 12:16

Great job. How do I reset the keyword search? Most website have a cross icon to clear the text.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:39
  
  Either backspace the whole way
  
  OR
  
  Just click the logo
johnno07 on 02/11/2015 - 12:26

Works extremely well. Have bookmarked it and can't wait to see it grow!
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:40
  
  Thanks!
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:42
  
  and grown it has :)
happychild100 on 02/11/2015 - 12:38

Neat site. Though getting issues on the front page (without searching) when just continuously scrolling, just keeps flipping out, jumping back up the top and sometimes freezing for a little bit. Not sure if that's just me or not. Cool site though, will use it.
- happychild100 on 02/11/2015 - 12:49
  
  +1
  
  Ah yep, now i see why. Everytime your placeholder text comes on, it scrolls back up the top. Not sure if that's intentional or not haha.
  - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:41
    
    Wow that must be annoying! Would you be so kind as to let me know which browser and operating system this happens on? I've not heard of this issue yet.
    - happychild100 on 02/11/2015 - 17:46
      
      It's not a huuuuge issue, it was just the front page from what i saw, just a random thing that seem to happen. IE11 on Windows 7.
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 18:33
      
      @happychild100: Man I hate IE. At least Edge is doing better.
      
      I just checked on IE11 on Windows 10. I get the same issue. I guess I never tried scrolling on the front page with IE 11. I'll fix it.
      
      Thanks!
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 19:27
      
      @happychild100: I just made it so the placeholder text won't change on IE. The updated website will be online soon. Thanks again for the bug report!
    - happychild100 on 02/11/2015 - 19:58
      
      @jazoom: Thought it might of been a quick change! No worries.
llllllllllllll on 02/11/2015 - 12:38

Looks like it's built on React? Nice work :)
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:41
  
  Yup. Thanks :-)
tap on 02/11/2015 - 12:42

Price graph is good. Finding what you want, not so great if you don't know what it's called exactly.

You might want to do some UI design development and maybe think about a secondary way of cataloguing items for people to browse and discover (as opposed to scrolling endlessly and becoming frustrated in seeing irrelevant items).
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:43
  
  Yes, if you don't know what to call the product you are looking for Price Hipster isn't going to help you a whole lot at the moment, unless you want to just see random deals.
Eeples on 02/11/2015 - 12:57

+1

The price-history graphs look store-specific.

Can they be made item specific (across stores)?
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:43
  
  Maybe. That would require quite a bit of sophisticated AI to get it right all the time.
  - tap on 02/11/2015 - 23:43
    
    -1
    
    It wouldn't require any "AI". Just graph the price history of each store for that item on the one graph.
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 03/11/2015 - 15:59
      
      Do you know how a computer would determine if it's the same product? Hell, I have trouble sometimes, especially when there are different SKUs that are almost identical but slightly different for different retailers.
      
      That's called AI. And this AI would have to be smarter than me.
    - tap on 04/11/2015 - 13:24
      
      @jazoom:
      
      Hardly AI.. Artificial intelligence implies the capability to learn and adapt through experience (something capable of intelligent behavior). All you need is a few if statements to reference SKU's and maybe the title and/or description.
      
      <?php
      similar_text(sku,sku2,$percent);
      if($percent>80){
      //put it on the same graph
      echo '<a href="report.php?item="'. $sku .'" >Report item does not belong</a>';
      };
      ?>
      
      You're welcome.
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 04/11/2015 - 15:22
      
      +1
      
      @tap: Hey thanks! Now please tell me where to get all the SKUs.
tivoenator on 02/11/2015 - 13:05

+1

wiggle
cell bikes
chain reaction cycles
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:44
  
  Thanks
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:45
  
  hi tivoenator, bike stores didn't make the cut this update, but they're still on my list for consideration.
bratgirl on 02/11/2015 - 13:55

Not sure if it is a glitch, but I looked up something and the "special" price is larger than the normal price.

https://www.pricehipster.com.au/product?id=EkKkRUC1x

I'm sure it's just a "this was the price last week and now it's this price" thing on the thumbnail, but when I click it, the item page says "$599 - normal price $509" which is kinda misleading because the normal price is not $509.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:46
  
  According to the graph that is a new product, so there really isn't a solid "normal price" yet, so it just assumes the first price is the normal price. It'll get more meaningful as time goes on. I, like most of the OzBargain community, don't believe in RRPs.
slix_88 on 02/11/2015 - 13:58

Great job

I assume you're using a python based web crawler/scraper? I had preliminary plans to launch a similar site; got into the coding side of it and wrote up a few scripts. I've been crazy busy with work lately and the project has been on the back-burner for a year now.

Wouldn't mind exchanging some ideas.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:48
  
  I don't use Python.
  
  Everything that has gone into making this website work as consistently and reliably as it does has taken a surprising amount of work. I've never made anything quite like this before so it's definitely been an experience!
  - slix_88 on 02/11/2015 - 21:42
    
    If I may ask, what language are you coding in?
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 21:55
      
      Mainly JavaScript.
jar-unit on 02/11/2015 - 14:01

Nice site! How about adding supercheap auto, masters, bunnings / some of the computer stores from static ice?
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:49
  
  Thanks
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:46
  
  Hi jar-unit. Just letting you know that Masters and Bunnings made it into this update. Thanks for the suggestions!
  - jar-unit on 14/12/2015 - 08:08
    
    No thank you. And may I say, your website absolutely flies! Well done!
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 14/12/2015 - 08:35
      
      Thanks mate!
BloodSail Admiral on 02/11/2015 - 14:13

Well done. Speed is first and look clean to me . like to see more stores soon .
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:49
  
  More stores on the way!
  - BloodSail Admiral on 02/11/2015 - 22:56
    
    Great !
    - Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:46
      
      More stores have arrived :)
dealsucker on 02/11/2015 - 14:20

Great! Wouldn't believe but I was thinking about just the idea as this yesterday. You beat me to it. All the best with it dude :)
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:49
  
  I beat you by quite a while. ;-) I didn't make this overnight. Thanks, bud!
Olokun on 02/11/2015 - 14:40

+1

I say get rid of the 'normal' price and just have lowest(with date), highest(with date) and current.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:52
  
  +1
  
  That's a good idea. I'll consider it, though it might make more sense with some products than with others. Also, there would be a real problem with that data becoming useless over time since some site will have a product on clearance for $0.20 and then that price will be shown forever since it'll never be beaten. I'm not sure how useful that will be for shoppers.
VFM on 02/11/2015 - 14:50
A few longer term suggestions:

facilitate group-deals for items frequently found on wish lists ( which I'm sure you will implement some variant of )
(get TA or EC or MM or one of them to negotiate deals with the stores?)

auto post to OZBargain when strict conditions are met (on many wish lists, lowest historical price, reliable store, etc)

focus on selected categories. I'm bias towards electronics and stuff chosen based on relatively objective measures.

Always good to see an idea executed and deployed. As they say, it's the execution that counts.

Cheers.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:53
  
  Thanks, VFM.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:48
  
  hi VFM! Just letting you know that in this update you can now filter to the stores you like, among other things. Cross-store categories is not yet implemented.
brotherfranciz on 02/11/2015 - 15:08

Great website - love the simple and classy layout and how speedy it is! I have really slow internet but your website still runs butter smooth and search is lightning fast. :)

List of suggestions in no particular order (my apologies if someone above has already suggested):

Target
Big W
Myer
David Jones
Book Depository
Your Home Depot
Peter's of Kensington
appliancesonline
The Good Guys
Mightyape
ozgameshop
zavvi
pccasegear
centrecom
shoppingexpress

It would be handy if the front page listed top 10 bargains (in terms of % discount and/or total amount saved). Also, is there any way to find bundle deals (e.g. buy X and get Y free/discount)? Maybe it could be a separate category…
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:55
  
  The front page does do that, but it periodically cycles through other top deals, rather than strictly the top 12.
  
  Thanks for the store suggestions.
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:48
  
  Hi brotherrfranciz! Just letting you know that a few of the stores you suggested have made it into today's big update. Thanks for the suggestions!
gringo on 02/11/2015 - 15:12

something particularly targeted at shops that price beat would be good

bunnings
officeworks

they may even pay you to stop heh
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:56
  
  I don't think anything would stop an OzBargainer from finding price beat. ;-)
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:49
  
  Hi gringo, just letting you know that both of those stores made it into today's update. Thanks for suggesting them!
fomal on 02/11/2015 - 15:46

Can we have beauty products as well?

Would be very nice if you can scrape data from:

David Jones, Myer, Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, Amcal

Overall: Im so amazed with the speed of the search. Well done bro
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:57
  
  thanks, formal!
  - fomal on 02/11/2015 - 17:19
    
    Algolia ftw!
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:50
  
  Hi fomal! David Jones and Myer are now in the index, among other things. Thanks for the suggestions!
  - fomal on 10/12/2015 - 21:32
    
    brilliant thanks!
    
    Hopefully Priceline and Chemist warehouse coming soon ;)
[Deactivated] on 02/11/2015 - 15:57

+++ looks good. Love it !
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 02/11/2015 - 16:57
  
  Thanks zapy. I'm gonna earn that 4th + one day…
- Store Repjazoom @ Price Hipster on 10/12/2015 - 17:50
  
  Big update! Do I get that 4th + yet?

I spent the past year creating Price Hipster, a product search engine and price watching website for the OzBargain community!

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