Price alerts and price history: How to buy at the lowest price

Prices in online retail change multiple times a day. If you want to hit the lowest price, you don't need luck—you need two tools: a price history and a price alert.

Reading price history

A price history chart shows prices from the last weeks or months. Pay attention to three things:

1. The normal price: the line where the price stays most of the time
2. The low points: How low has it gone before, and how often?
3. The trend: Has the price been falling for weeks, is a successor expected?

If the current price is close to the previous low, it's a good deal. If it's at the normal price, it's just marketing.

Setting a price alert

With most price history services, you can enter a target price and get an email as soon as it's undercut. Set the alarm slightly above the previous low so you don't wait for an outlier that never comes back.

What price history doesn't show

Delivery time, seller changes, and condition (new or return) don't appear in the chart. Check them before buying anyway.

Our process in the magazine

Every deal we publish has been checked against price history. We always show prices with the time of last check, because they can change hourly. The price at the retailer is binding.