From an authorized catalog record to a useful price comparison.
PriceFlock is a referral and comparison service, not a store. The service receives product information from authorized retailer feeds, official APIs, and approved affiliate catalogs. It turns those source records into shopper-facing product pages without inventing missing specifications or taking control of checkout.
- 1. A provider supplies a catalog record.
The source may provide a product name, brand, GTIN, model, category, image, price, currency, availability, retailer destination, and timestamps. A source is not made public merely because technical access exists; PriceFlock also requires permission for the intended comparison use.
- 2. PriceFlock checks product identity.
Identifiers and structured variant fields are used to avoid comparing different products as if they were interchangeable. A valid exact GTIN can unite eligible offers from distinct retailers. Products without sufficient identity evidence stay separate.
- 3. Current offers are organized for shopping.
Accepted in-stock offers appear in catalog, search, category, and product comparison views. Product pages show the retailer, current item price, availability supplied by the source, and the time the offer was observed. Shipping, taxes, membership requirements, and final terms must still be confirmed at the retailer.
- 4. Prices are periodically verified.
PriceFlock verifies prices during periodic authorized-provider refresh runs. Refreshes do not follow one universal interval and may be paused for maintenance, provider limits, or data-budget controls. Each accepted observation records when PriceFlock saw that offer. “Last checked” is the evidence available to the shopper, not a promise that another refresh has already occurred or that price and stock will remain unchanged until checkout.
- 5. Price history grows from observations.
Price history is not a forecast. It is built from verified observations PriceFlock has actually recorded for the product and currency. A new product may have one point or no chart. As additional valid observations arrive, the page can show recorded lows, highs, and how the current offer compares with the observed history.
- 6. The shopper chooses a retailer.
PriceFlock links to the retailer-provided destination. The retailer controls payment, fulfillment, returns, warranties, and customer service. PriceFlock does not reserve inventory or complete the transaction.
Why an out-of-stock product page may remain
When a product has no current in-stock offer, it is removed from active shopping, search, and category results. The underlying product page may remain so its last verified image, recorded price history, favorites, and price alerts do not disappear. The page is not presented as an active deal and is not included in the public product sitemap while no active offer exists. Keeping the record allows the same product to return cleanly if an authorized feed reports availability again.
How retailer comparisons become useful
A comparison is strongest when multiple retailers supply the same valid GTIN. PriceFlock keeps one lowest current offer per normalized merchant for an exact-GTIN comparison, then shows the lowest and highest current retailer prices and the difference between them. Duplicate rows from one merchant do not count as extra stores. GTIN-less products do not receive an exact-GTIN claim.
How affiliate links affect the shopper
Some retailer destinations are affiliate links. PriceFlock may earn an affiliate commission when a shopper follows an eligible link and completes a qualifying action. The commission does not increase the price the shopper pays. It also does not alter the source record, exact-match requirement, observed check time, or price-history calculation. The retailer still sets the final price.
Where to read the detailed rules
The Editorial & Data Methodology documents source fields, exact GTIN comparisons, “Last checked,” price history, and ranking limits. The Affiliate Disclosure explains compensation and retailer responsibility. Report a specific product or link problem through Contact.