# Price check my gift list

Last checked Nov 5, 2026 . Published Nov 4, 2026
Category: home . About 15 minutes . Topics: Money and bookkeeping, Home and family

## Prompt

```
FILL THIS IN (then copy everything into your AI chat)
My list (the things you want to buy, in any format: commas, one per line, or rough names): AirPods Pro 3, Kindle Paperwhite 16 GB black (2024 model), Stanley Quencher H2.0 FlowState Tumbler 40 oz, Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle
Need it by (optional, the date it has to arrive): December 20, 2026
My ZIP code (optional, so it can check delivery dates): 10001

--- Don't change anything below this line ---

You are my deal checker. Your job is to find where each item in "My list" really costs the least at a store I can trust, and to tell me what to order now and what can wait. Don't buy anything. Use web search, then open each store's product page yourself and read the price there; a price seen only in a search result or snippet is "unverified".
The list can be in any format: commas, lines or rough names. If an item could mean more than one version, pick the most common current version, name it, and keep going instead of asking me. If "Need it by" or "My ZIP code" is blank, skip that part and don't ask me for it.

For each item:
1) Check many well-known stores (Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, the brand's own store, and others that sell this item). Open each product page yourself. Every store you consider needs a price and a link to that item's own product page (not a homepage, category or search page). If a store blocks you or only gives you a search page, skip it and keep checking others. If a page shows both the store's own price and a marketplace seller's price, use the store's own. For any store that isn't a big national name, say in a few words why it's trustworthy.
2) Make sure it's the same item at each store (model, size, color). If it isn't, say what's different.
3) Next to each price, write "checked" only if you opened that product page just now and saw the price. Otherwise write "unverified".
4) From every store you checked, pick only the top 2 or 3 deals for that item to show me. Rank them: best first. When prices tie (or are within about $1), pick the winner with one short reason, drawn from what you saw: longer return window, sold and shipped by the store itself, lower shipping cost or faster shipping, arrives before "Need it by", or a store that is easier to deal with. Never make an out-of-stock listing the top pick. If an out-of-stock listing would otherwise have ranked high, mention it in one short line under the table (store, price, "out of stock") and still put an in-stock deal first.
5) Good price? Say so only from what a page shows (a "was" price, a sale label, or a lower price at another store you listed). Otherwise say nothing about it.

Lay it out as ONE table, with no notes before it. Show each store once, only in the table. Nothing in the table is repeated anywhere else. No paragraphs.

The table has one row per item in "My list", in list order, and exactly these 4 columns: Item | Best deal | Why it wins | Also checked
- Item: the item name (the version you picked).
- Best deal: **[Store] $[price]**, checked|unverified, [link]. Then the checks you saw, in a few words each, using ✓ for yes and ✗ for no: ✓/✗ In stock; ✓/✗ Sold by [store]; ✓/✗ Ships free (or the cost; a posted free-over-$X minimum counts, and if this item alone is under that minimum write "✗ Ships free (over $X)"); and, if "Need it by" has a date, ✓/✗ Arrives by [date] only when the page shows a delivery date for "My ZIP code" if given. Leave out any check you could not see; do not write "unknown" or "not shown".
- Why it wins: a few words (cheapest, or the tie reason). Add here, in a few words, any good-price note from step 5, any difference in model, size or color, and why a store that isn't a big national name is trustworthy.
- Also checked: the next 1 or 2 stores from your top 2 or 3, each as [Store] $[price], checked|unverified, [link]. If there are none, write "none found".
Keep every cell short.

Under the table, only these short lines, one line each, in this order:
- Out of stock seen: store, item, price, link, for any strong out-of-stock listing. Skip this line if you saw none.
- Deadlines (only if "Need it by" has a date): each store's own posted holiday order-by date, linked to that page (not a homepage), for the stores in the table. List only stores where you found a posted date. If you found none, write "Deadlines: no posted holiday order-by dates found."
- Order now: an item goes here only if it's low or out of stock, or its delivery date is close to or past "Need it by"; give the reason in a few words. If nothing qualifies, write "Order now: nothing" and don't list items there anyway.
- Can wait: every other item, by name.
- Fewer than 2 stores: any item you couldn't price at 2 stores, with how many you found; don't claim more. Skip this line if there are none.
- 2 follow-up prompts I can paste next (for example: recheck these prices in a few days, or find a cheaper alternative to one item).

Don't buy anything, add to a cart, create accounts, sign me up, connect apps, ask for card or payment details, or set reminders or scheduled checks.
```

## Why it works

Paste your gift list and get 2 or 3 store prices for each item in one table, with links, what to order now and what can wait.

Some stores block AI page reads; the prompt marks those prices unverified, so open the link before you buy.