How we score deals
Every store screams “DEAL!” next to a slashed “was” price. The problem: that “was” is often fiction, and the part may have been cheaper last month. So we don’t trust it. We track what each part actually costs over time and score today’s price against its own real history.
The Real Deal Score
Every day we record the lowest legitimate price for each part from trusted retailers. Over time that builds a real price history. When you look at a part, we compare today’s price to that history and give a plain verdict:
| GREAT DEAL | At or below the lowest price we've recorded recently. |
| GOOD DEAL | Within a few percent of its recent low. |
| FAIR PRICE | Around its typical price — fine, but not a standout. |
| ABOVE TYPICAL | Priced above where it usually sits — worth waiting if you can. |
| NOT ENOUGH DATA | Too new to judge honestly — we say so instead of guessing. |
Ranked by “% below typical,” not “% off”
Our deals feed is sorted by how far a price sits below that part’s own typical price — not by the discount a retailer claims off an inflated MSRP. A “40% off” sticker on a fake list price means nothing. “18% below what this card actually sells for” is the number that matters, and it’s the one we rank on.
Buy now or wait?
Once a part has a few weeks of history, we also read its trend (is the price drifting up or down?) and its volatility (does it bounce around a lot?) to suggest whether to buy now, wait for a likely drop, or set an alert on a bouncy price. Until there’s enough history to be trustworthy (about two weeks), it simply says it’s still learning— no guessing.
When we don’t know, we say so
This is the rule the whole product is built on. If a part is too new or we don’t have enough price history, we won’t invent a verdict to look smart. A part with no real history simply won’t appear in the deals feed at all — because we can’t honestly call it a deal yet. A worse screenshot; a far more trustworthy tool.
Where the data comes from
Prices are collected daily from trusted retailers and filtered to remove mis-listed accessories, used items, and pricing errors before they enter a part’s history. Prices shift constantly, so always confirm the live price on the retailer’s site before buying.
As an Amazon Associate, ShopSmartAI earns from qualifying purchases. Retailer links may be affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. Our scores and verdicts do not depend on affiliate relationships.