Hi everyone! Mihai here 👋 - the project creator. A long-time admirer of Product Hunt and a first-time poster! Happy to share the story behind this project and how I came to build it. Hope it helps someone. What was the problem? Earlier this year I wanted to buy a new gaming console, and to my chagrin, every time I saw releases being hyped in the news, I was always too late to buy it as it went out of stock very quickly. This was a major pain point for me and I had a vision that this process should be much simpler. A person should be texted as soon as an item is back in stock so that they can increase their chances of buying it. This is how the idea for the Item Tracker was born with the notion of creating a software tool that can ping us as soon as something we are seeking is back in stock. Why solve this problem now? With the onset of the global pandemic and international supply chains struggling, it has been difficult to get some items that we seek which have been out-of-stock or heavily backlogged. Some clear examples of this that always surface in the news involve the next-gen console shortages where it has been incredibly difficult to buy new PS5s, Xbox Series Xs, and GPUs. I also believe this situation will only get worse as supply chains will further get strained as we use up our planet's supply of raw materials. What have I built so far? Currently, the software I built involves sites where someone can subscribe to the new PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. If someone subscribes, they will get a text to the phone number they provide as soon as the console comes back in stock in any stores. With just a few small private and public launches in the last couple of months, these sites have seen hundreds of users, and dozens of subscribers. I can see that there is some value here and it is solving a problem, which is something I am very happy with. The ask? Right now I am providing the service for free and it costs me about $100/mo. to upkeep the servers and technology that can enable the service to work. This will likely not be sustainable for me for long unless I have some funding to justify continuing the service. What's more is that in the future I would like to expand this service to include the new Nintendo OLED, different types of GPUs, trading cards, clothes, and any other supplies that will fall into this category of items that are highly sought after, for which there is very low supply. After building the basic functionality for these services, I would like to create a tool that can help broker a place in line for people who are wanting to buy something of low supply. This way, if someone wants to buy a new item, they can simply pre-fill a request to buy and it will be purchased automatically on their behalf - completely automating the process and removing the burden of having the person vying for a slot to purchase it themselves. Finally, I plan to create a wiki with tips on how people can boost their chances of buying various items they seek that are in low supply. Given the goals above, I recently started a Kickstarter campaign at http://kck.st/3Gr93ne - and would 💖 the support if you resonate with this project and idea. Additionally, if you have any feedback for this project or want me to build something for you to track a specific item that you really value let me know in the comments, and let's start a conversation around it! Maybe I can help. Here is the timeline for the product - Tracker service for the Nintendo OLED and popular GPUs (1 - 2 months) - Item tracker tips wiki (1 - 2 months) - Tracker service for other sought after items coming from user interviews (3 - 6 months) - Fully automated item purchaser service (6 - 12 months) - Improving the services to be as quick, fair, and secure as possible (1 - 2 years) Thank you for reading this far if you have, hope you have a great day regardless of whether you support this project! Warm regards, ~ Mihai

Mihai Avram

ClearCareer

Maker

4yr ago

Metallican

I've always been subscribed to updates. Notifications about new models are sent to me by email. Tracking new products costs me $1.5 per month. It's just a pity that some emails may end up in spam. I'm waiting for an update to buy a new Xbox and try out the Best Golf Games for Xbox on it. This is the list of games that a friend sent me at the beginning of 2021. I managed to try only two of them, but even these games dragged me out and forced me to play them every night. What are you playing at? Football or golf?

3yr ago

ClearCareer

Weekly entry-level (non-technical) tech jobs in Toronto

Weekly entry-level (non-technical) tech jobs in Toronto

ClearCareer

Weekly entry-level (non-technical) tech jobs in Toronto

Weekly entry-level (non-technical) tech jobs in Toronto

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