Products
A product is a single item that you want to track the price of. This could be a pair of shoes, a book, or a computer. Basically, anything that that has a product webpage that you can visit.
Products are unique to the user who has added it, so you will only see the products that you have added to your account.
Product URLs
A Product can have many URLs. Each URL is a different place where you can buy the product. For example, a book might be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and eBay. All of these URLs would be associated with the same product and would be tracked.
When creating a new product, you start with a product URL. PriceBuddy will use this URL to get the product details and price. You can then add more URLs to the product.
You can also add a URL to an existing product.
Unit pricing
When a product comes in different pack sizes, you can add a Price Factor to a URL so PriceBuddy also shows the unit price.
Example:
- A 34-pack of tablets can use a price factor of
34 - A bundle of 3 coffee bags can use a price factor of
3
If you want, you can also add what the product is sold as, such as tablets, bags, or 100g.
PriceBuddy will then show:
- The unit price as the main comparison
- The normal retail price underneath
Availability
When supported by a store, PriceBuddy will also show the availability of each URL. This helps you tell the difference between the cheapest price and the best option that is actually available to buy.
Possible availability states include:
- In Stock
- Pre-Order
- Back Order
- Special Order
- Out of Stock
- Discontinued
Price History
Each URL has a price history. This is a list of prices that the product has been sold for at that URL. This allows you to see how the price of the product has changed over time.
When viewing a product the most recent price for each URL is displayed. The prices are listed lowest price to highest price. This allows you to quickly see where the product is cheapest.
If a URL is unavailable and there is no current price, PriceBuddy will show the availability status instead of displaying a misleading zero price.
Price history charts can also switch between retail price and unit price.
Price trends
For each URL, PriceBuddy will show the price trend compared to the previous price. This will show you if the price has gone up, down, or stayed the same. This can help you decide if you should buy the product now or wait for the price to drop.
Notifications
You can set up notifications for a product. This will email you when the price of the product drops below a certain price. This allows you to get the best deal on the product without having to constantly check the price yourself.
Unavailable items do not trigger price alerts until they have a valid current price again.
Notifications require the following settings:
Product settings
- Notify price - The price must be equal or less than this value for the notification to be sent.
- OR Notify percent - The price must be this percentage less than the initial price for the notification to be sent.
Global settings
A notification method configured, eg email smtp settings.
User settings
The user has enabled notification methods they want.