You’ve been watching a pair of headphones for three weeks, waiting for the price to drop. You check the product page every few days, and the price hasn’t moved. Then one morning you wake up, the headphones are 30% off, and by the time you see it the deal is gone. Or worse — you never notice the drop at all, and you end up paying full price a month later.
Price tracking solves this. Instead of manually checking product pages, you set an alert and get notified the moment a price drops below your target. The problem is that most people think price drop alerts only work on Amazon. They don’t realize you can track prices on virtually any online store — Shopify sites, direct-to-consumer brands, specialty retailers, even small niche shops.
Here’s how to set up price tracking that actually works, regardless of where you shop.
Why Most Price Tracking Only Covers Amazon
The most popular price tracking tools — CamelCamelCamel, Keepa, and Amazon’s own Wishlist — only work with Amazon. That made sense in 2015 when Amazon was the default for online shopping. It makes less sense now that a growing share of purchases happen on brand websites, Shopify stores, and specialty retailers.
If you only shop on Amazon, those tools are fine. But if you buy running shoes from a brand’s website, kitchen equipment from a specialty retailer, or electronics from Best Buy or B&H Photo, you need something that works everywhere — not just on one marketplace.
Method 1: Browser Extension That Works on Any Site
The most practical approach for most people is a browser extension that can track prices on any product page, regardless of the retailer.
Very Big Price Tracker is a Chrome extension that tracks prices on any website. When you’re on a product page, you click the extension, it detects the current price, and you set a target price. When the price drops to or below your target, you get an email alert.
How to set it up:
- Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store.
- Navigate to any product page — Amazon, Best Buy, Nike.com, a Shopify store, a niche retailer.
- Click the Very Big Price Tracker icon in your browser toolbar.
- The extension detects the product name and current price.
- Set your target price (e.g., “alert me when this drops below $75”).
- Done. You’ll get an email when the price drops.
What makes this approach different from Amazon-only trackers: It works by reading the price from whatever page you’re on, not by connecting to a specific retailer’s API. This means it works on:
- Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy — the big retailers
- Brand websites — Nike.com, Apple.com, Dyson.com
- Shopify stores — thousands of DTC brands use Shopify
- Specialty retailers — B&H Photo, REI, Sephora, Wayfair
- International stores — as long as the price is displayed on the page
The free plan lets you track up to 5 products simultaneously, which is enough for most people’s active shopping list at any given time.
Method 2: Retailer-Specific Price Tracking
Some retailers have built-in price tracking or price guarantee features. These are worth knowing about even if you use a general-purpose tracker.
Amazon Wishlist + price watches: Add items to your Amazon Wishlist and Amazon occasionally emails you when prices drop. The notifications are inconsistent — Amazon controls when and whether they send them — but it’s free and automatic.
Best Buy price match guarantee: Best Buy matches its own price drops within 15 days of purchase. Buy at full price, and if it drops within two weeks, contact support for a refund of the difference. This isn’t a price alert, but it reduces the risk of buying at the wrong time.
Google Shopping price tracking: Search for a product on Google Shopping, and you’ll sometimes see a “Track price” option. Google sends you an email when the price drops. Coverage is hit-or-miss — it works well for electronics and popular consumer goods, less reliably for niche products.
Honey (browser extension): Primarily known for coupon codes, Honey also has a price history feature called “Droplist.” Add items to your Droplist and Honey emails you when prices drop. It works on many major retailers but doesn’t cover every site. Also, Honey is owned by PayPal and tracks significant browsing data — worth knowing if privacy matters to you.
| Tracker | Works on any site | Free | Privacy | Alert method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very Big Price Tracker | Yes | Free tier (5 products) | Minimal data | |
| CamelCamelCamel | Amazon only | Yes | Low tracking | |
| Keepa | Amazon only | Freemium | Moderate tracking | Email / browser |
| Google Shopping | Major retailers | Yes | Google data ecosystem | |
| Honey | Major retailers | Yes | Significant tracking |
Method 3: Manual Price Tracking (Spreadsheet)
If you’re tracking prices for business purchases — equipment, software licenses, bulk supplies — a spreadsheet might actually be the best approach.
Simple setup:
- Create a Google Sheet with columns: Product, Store, URL, Current Price, Target Price, Date Checked.
- Check prices weekly (set a calendar reminder).
- Log the current price each time you check.
Why this works for business purchases: Business purchases often involve comparing prices across multiple vendors, tracking prices over longer time periods (months, not weeks), and documenting the purchase decision for procurement approval. A spreadsheet gives you the paper trail that a browser extension doesn’t.
When this doesn’t work: For personal shopping where you’re tracking 5-10 items across different stores, manually checking prices weekly is unsustainable. That’s where automated tracking pays off.
When Do Prices Actually Drop?
Knowing when to set alerts is as important as knowing how. Price drops aren’t random — they follow patterns.
Predictable sale events:
- Amazon Prime Day (July): Electronics, home goods, Amazon devices
- Black Friday / Cyber Monday (November): Nearly everything
- Back to school (August-September): Laptops, tablets, school supplies
- January clearance: Winter apparel, holiday leftovers, last-gen electronics
- End of quarter (March, June, September, December): B2B software, enterprise tools
Product lifecycle patterns:
- New model announcements: When a new version of a product is announced (iPhones, laptops, TVs), the current model’s price drops almost immediately.
- Seasonal transitions: Winter coats drop in price starting in February. Outdoor furniture drops in September. Air conditioners drop in October.
- Inventory clearance: Products with expiration dates or seasonal relevance get marked down as they approach the end of their useful selling window.
Set your alerts 2-4 weeks before a predicted sale event. If you know Black Friday is coming, start tracking your target items in early November so you’re ready when prices move.
Mistakes That Cost You Money
Setting your target price too low. If the headphones are $150 and you set an alert for $50, you’ll never get notified. Check the product’s price history (CamelCamelCamel for Amazon, or Google Shopping’s price history) to see what realistic lows look like. A 20-30% discount is a strong deal for most products. Holding out for 50%+ means you’re waiting for clearance-level pricing that may never come.
Tracking too many products. If you’re tracking 50 items, you’ll get alert fatigue and start ignoring notifications. Keep your active tracking list to 5-10 items you’re genuinely planning to buy in the near term. Remove items you’ve lost interest in.
Only tracking one store. The same product is often sold at different prices across retailers. A laptop might be $999 on the manufacturer’s site, $949 at Best Buy, and $929 on Amazon — and these prices change independently. Track the same product across 2-3 stores to catch the best deal regardless of where it drops.
Buying immediately when you get an alert. A price drop doesn’t always mean a good deal. Check whether the “sale” price is actually below the typical market price. Some retailers inflate prices before sales to make the discount look bigger. A 30-second search for the product name + “price history” tells you whether you’re getting a real deal or a marketing trick.
Setting Up a System That Works
Here’s a practical setup for most people:
- Install a universal price tracker (Very Big Price Tracker or similar) so you can track prices on any site with one click.
- For Amazon-heavy shopping, add CamelCamelCamel or Keepa as a complementary tool — their Amazon price history is deeper than any universal tracker.
- Keep your active list short. 5-10 items you’re actively planning to buy.
- Set realistic target prices. 15-30% below current price is a good starting point.
- Review your list monthly. Remove items you no longer want. Add new ones when you start researching a purchase.
- Before major sales events, add any big-ticket items to your tracking list 2-4 weeks early.
The Bottom Line
Price tracking isn’t just an Amazon thing. With a browser extension that works on any website, you can set up price drop alerts for products across every store you shop at — from major retailers to niche Shopify brands. The setup takes 30 seconds per product, and the return is straightforward: you buy the things you were already going to buy, but at lower prices.
Start with the 3-5 items you’re actively shopping for right now. Set a target price for each one. Then forget about them until you get an alert. That’s the entire system — and it works better than checking product pages manually will ever work.