How KBIndex works

This is the plan for the service. It isn't live yet, and details may change before launch.

1. Collecting listings

We use the best source each retailer offers. Where a retailer has an affiliate program with a product feed or API, we use that. Otherwise we only read pages that a site's terms and robots.txt allow, at a gentle pace. If a retailer asks us not to collect from their site, we won't.

2. Matching products

The same serum can have different names, sizes and spellings at different stores. We match listings by barcode and product codes first, then by brand, product line and size. If we're not confident two listings are the same product, we keep them separate rather than guess.

3. Prices in US dollars

Prices are shown in USD. If a retailer lists another currency, we convert it and show the exchange rate date. We only list offers that ship to the US. Shipping costs and taxes are set by the retailer at checkout and are not included in the price shown.

4. How current is it?

We aim to check each retailer about every 15 minutes, or sooner when a retailer provides faster data. Some sources will be slower. Every price shows when it was last checked. Prices and stock can change between checks, so confirm on the retailer's site before you buy.

5. Alerts

Subscribers will be able to follow products and get notified about restocks and price drops, by email and browser notification. Alerts are only as fresh as the underlying checks.