Here we are again, playing a game of whack-a-mole at retail stores and online shops to score the latest and best tech! Every time a new console is released, gamers and bots take up arms for the chance to purchase one. Of course, bot infested waters make the playing field uneven for those without their own bots. It’s never just about video game consoles, though. Most consumers find themselves empty-handed when seeking Funko Pops, action figures, and PC graphics cards. They are left to the mercy of conflated prices on eBay. That’s why I’m here to tell about a stock tracker – I hope to circumvent some scalpers, so players can get fairly priced items!

NowInStock – My favorite Stock Tracker

The first place I’d like to talk about is NowInStock. It is a free web service that watches online retailers for incoming stock. The moment they see available stock, they send alerts to your chosen device; You may choose e-mail alerts, text alerts, browser alerts, and the Telegram Channel. They make you register, but that’s a necessity in order for them to know what items to alert you about. The tracker auto-updates every minute, so keep the page open if you’re going for browser alerts.

In the context of next-gen systems, they cover places such as Sam’s Club, GameStop, Best Buy, Playstation Direct, etc. There’s the main tracker that shows the status of stock, the last price, and the date and time of the last stock’s arrival. In this, we’re able to conclude whether or not there’s a certain release pattern. Luckily for us, we’re not left to do a lot of guess work – The moderators often update their comments section with extended information.

Zoolert

Now, Zoolert operates nearly the same as NowInStock. There isn’t much variety between inventory checkers, to be honest. You must create an account to set custom alerts, and there are three ways receive them: e-mail, text message, and a Discord channel they reliably use to speak to one another.

From personal experience, Zoolert doesn’t seem to keep a great record of last available stock. That’s isn’t the worst, as there’s no guarantee of a restocking pattern, and it often just reminds us when we could have had our coveted item.

BrickSeek

I don’t use BrickSeek because its functionality isn’t meant to act mainly as a tracker. This website is, instead, a markdown site that has an inventory checker. However, you must individually check a store’s inventory by searching the SKU or UPC of the item. If this sounds like a worthwhile tactic, employ it!

Will it help?

Whether you’re searching for the newest gaming consoles or something unrelated, there are numerous sites like those above. I’ve listed two I’ve used, and a third with functionality that I don’t get much use out of. If I’m going to use a tracker, it’s often NowInStock. Unfortunately, bots reign supreme currently – It’s hard to beat the haste with which these apps operate. Hopefully, this will give just enough of an advantage to you product hunters! Happy gaming!