Building a Price Tracking App

LToast76 on 31/01/2020 - 11:01

Hi Folks, I'm Alan one of the founders of UsabilityHub, BugHerd and RightGIF (three products you've never heard of!).

I'm just starting out building a price-tracking app. I know there are quite a few around, but I feel like they are all a bit…s#!%. I'd love to have a conversation about what others use, what they like and don't like, and what they think could be done better.

For reference, I've been a long time CamelCamelCamel user, and have played with Keepa (https://keepa.com/) and Compass (https://www.letscompass.com/ doesn't seem to work anymore).

I'm doing a bunch of research at the moment (and have a small prototype up and running that just works with Amazon at the moment)

If you use a price tracker or comparison app, I'd love to know what it is and what you wish was done better! How do you currently shop for better prices? Are coupons where it's at? Or is it sales? Do you start with Amazon? Or should we be supporting smaller retailers? Do you expect it to work with eBay? Is Google shopping your current go-to? Or do you rely on OzBargain?

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

General Discussion

Comments

  • ShortyX on 31/01/2020 - 11:08
    +5

    I usually use these (in no particular order)… OzBargain, eBay, Amazon, https://pricehipster.com/, Google

    • Toast76 on 31/01/2020 - 11:25
      +1

      For pricehipster and google, is it problematic that stores need to list their products (as opposed to "discovery")

    • pinchies on 31/01/2020 - 14:02

      I don't like pricehipster since they promote items as "featured" which are simply sponsored advertisements. I'd much rather paid ads on the side than sneaky manipulation of listings.

      • jazoom on 01/02/2020 - 08:12

        What's sneaky? There are 2 clearly-marked featured listings.

        Anyway, I'm thinking of removing them. But I think they are the opposite of sneaky.

      • WilliamPowerfish on 04/02/2020 - 21:08
        -2

        You pay zero for the service and complain that they try and make some cash to cover the cost of you using the free service.

        The entitlement is pathetic.

        • pinchies on 04/02/2020 - 22:31
          -1

          I do not "begrude a worker their wage", I resent being manipulated. There is a saying: when the service is free, you are the product being sold, not the customer. I would be willing to donate or pay to get a "premium" account if it meant not dealing with this kind of algorithmic manipulation. Notice how I gave a suggestion of an alternate income source in my comment? Gee, I really am so entitled.

  • z z on 31/01/2020 - 11:22
    +4

    http://www.staticice.com.au/ , CamelCamelCamel, PriceHipster, Google, BrickHawk …

    An all-in-one option would be great.

    • Toast76 on 31/01/2020 - 11:25

      When you say all-in-one, what is the "dream" functionality there?

      • pinchies on 31/01/2020 - 14:04
        +4

        The dream…

        Automatic notifications like Camelx3
        Broad range of stores like Staticice / Pricehipster
        Simple interface like Static ice
        Clear product listings like pricehipster
        Comparison of same product from different vendors like camelx3

        • leiiv on 04/02/2020 - 14:36
          +1

          Track lowest price from ozb posts.
          Ability to add arbitrary store and product that is not in the list yet. (Eg: input can be a URL to the product page and HTML element pattern of the price info)

  • monchee on 31/01/2020 - 11:27
    +5

    For me it's OzB, Price Hipster and StaticIce.

    With apps, UI is a big factor for me, I hate seeing badly designed apps. That's just me. I love a plain minimal, stock-ish looking app.

    • Toast76 on 31/01/2020 - 11:33
      +5

      My goal is to have a minimal inline interface. The most important thing for me is it should always be available and give me the most important information (i.e. is this cheap? and if it's not, where is it cheaper?)

      prototype screen

      • monchee on 31/01/2020 - 11:41
        +2

        That's great! It's like the Chrome extension that I use called AugmentedSteam. All inline and uses the same design as Steam so it felt natural.

  • z z on 31/01/2020 - 11:35
    +2

    The trick is to not have too much 'noise'. My utopian dream is a single search field, enter in a model number, e.g. Sony WH-1000XM3, and get a few things…
    -Current top 3-5 prices
    -Stock availability
    -Links to said top prices
    -a graph of price trends (in the vain of CamelCamelCamel or PriceHipster)

    I'd suggest a search of OzB in the mix somewhere (another option — a link to do a search in OzB), but this is where the noise comes in. If you were to search OzBargain for WH-1000XM3, you'll see a variety of hits, including for people looking to trade or go shares in a deal. So you either have to filter out the noise (with boolean type search terms), or scan through what you're looking for.

    So for me personally, I would still use / have OzB in the equation, but not for the same purpose. The primary function I'd be looking for in such a tool, is to get the pricing, availability, and price trend. HTH

    • abb on 31/01/2020 - 15:07

      If you were to search OzBargain for WH-1000XM3, you'll see a variety of hits, including for people looking to trade or go shares in a deal

      The default search on the main page looks like it searches deals, not forum posts. Seems fine to me?

      e.g. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/sony-wf-1000x

  • z z on 31/01/2020 - 11:39

    Oh, and maybe a function to alert me when a price hits a particular threshold (like CamelCamelCamel).

    I guess you also have to factor in shipping vs pick-up, and how to display / represent simply (without taking up excessive real estate).

  • dazweeja on 31/01/2020 - 13:01
    +2

    staticice is ideal for me, especially the minimal interface, but only works for tech products.

    I've always hated using Getprice, Shopbot, etc, and the main reason is that they always show irrelevant products that I don't care about. It's fine to offer options to expand your search but I find these ones mix irrelevant products in with the relevant products. For example, look at the number of irrelevant products that are mixed in with relevant products for the search phrase "samsung ru7100". Shouldn't all the products that match both terms be listed first? https://www.getprice.com.au/buy-best-samsung-ru7100.htm

    So I think my criteria are minimal interface and relevance.

  • Toast76 on 31/01/2020 - 13:39

    So already my assumptions are being busted! Excellent!

    I had assumed that folks surf the internet, find a price of item X (say on Amazon) and then go hunting for prices elsewhere. I, therefore, felt that putting the other prices there would be the best thing, but what I'm hearing is that folks would like a different place to go and search for the item in the first place, rather than going to a store. Interesting!

  • Doyen on 31/01/2020 - 16:15
    +2

    An app that highlights products which are % less than the average price, not the RRP or pricejacked price so you know they are a true discount to the normal price. That is my main use of ozbargin to find the normal discounted selling price and is the price i find better or worse than that. RRP or price on x-date is irrelevant.

  • astrotrain on 31/01/2020 - 17:09
    +1

    I use fashionlane.com.au for buying sneakers / clothing.

  • jazoom on 01/02/2020 - 08:25

    Hey Toast76, Good luck with your venture!

    I feel like they are all a bit…s#!%.

    I created Price Hipster and I'm always down for feedback. I'd love to know what makes it s#!%?

    • Toast76 on 02/02/2020 - 14:58

      I'd love to chat! Not sure I'm supposed to post personal info here. So I will reach out via other channels!

      My original post was referring to price trackers (camel, keepa, compass), not price-comparison sites like price hispter or getprice etc (my intent was/is not to build a price comparison app as I don't feel like competing against google shopping on the SEO front). Would definitely love to hear about your journey to date!

  • Bargainbloke37 on 01/02/2020 - 12:56
    +1

    I'm a bit old-fashioned in that I actually visit store sites individually (as well as eBay) and then compile prices in a spreadsheet. This template has fields for Cashreward or Shopback cashback amounts/percentages or any special discounts being applied via other avenues. I can add notes to each entry as well which are useful if there's something to be mindful of, like the item being international as opposed to local. The cheapest option is highlighted from the summary and I can refer to the notes to see if there are any concerns listed. If not, I will pull the trigger on the purchase.

    Mind you, this is only for more significant purchases like electronics, photography gear etc. I don't bother for consumables, accessories, clothing, food, household items and so on.

    I've never really been a fan of price comparison websites because there are always stores excluded from the results. In saying this, I would welcome an app that was reliable and comprehensive with its results.

    Thanks Toast76 for trying to help and I wish you all the best with it.

  • coolminty on 02/02/2020 - 10:44

    My favourite price compare for European orders has to be idealo.

    Idealo.co.uk or idealo.de(use chrome translate)

    They also do flight comparison which is really good and easy to use. By far the best tool I've ever found.

    I wish they were brought to Australia.

    • Toast76 on 02/02/2020 - 14:59

      I hadn't seen this one, thanks for sharing!

      • coolminty on 02/02/2020 - 17:31

        Looking at their company profile it sounds like it's quite a large company so that explains the quality of the product and the challenging problem it solves. Good luck on your adventures.

  • ffhound on 15/06/2020 - 20:30

    HI

    There was a recent post about a spreadsheet comparing using Shopback or Cash Rewards vs using gift cards available from a number of sources. The gift cards can often be purchased for 5% less than their face value.

    The ideal app would allow you to input the name of the product. The product (e.g. ipad 7) would then be identified on a list of similar products so you select the correct one so the computer known that you want an Ipad 7 not an accessory for an Ipad 7.

    The app then displays a list of stores with prices.

    This is displayed as a spreadsheet. Each store entry will have the following:

    1. Price of article (Ipad 7) eg $529
    2. Discounted gift cards savings for that store expressed as % and links to the discount card sellers
    3. Shopback/Cashrewards cashback expressed as % or amount
    4. Possible store codes for that store

    cheers Peter

    (1) search for

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