Honestly, I used to be just like you, refreshing my browser every ten minutes during my lunch break. I once tracked a high-end mirrorless camera for months and the one time I didnt check for three hours, the price dropped 300 bucks and sold out instantly. I felt like such a total dummy. That camel thing people mentioned is definitely real, its actually a website called CamelCamelCamel and it is basically the gold standard for this kind of stuff. Amazon doesnt actually have a built-in alert me when cheap button because, well, they want you to just pay full price lol. If you are gonna start using trackers, just be a bit careful with a few things I learned the hard way:

• Always check if the low price is for a used or refurbished unit because sometimes those alerts can be misleading and you dont want a used gift for a wedding.
• Make sure the item is still being shipped by Amazon even if the price is low, as some third-party sellers are super sketchy with shipping times.
• Set your alert for maybe 510 or 520 instead of exactly 500, just so you have a heads up before it hits your absolute limit and sells out. I would suggest taking it slow and double-checking the seller ratings before you pull the trigger on a big gift like that. Its way better to be safe than to end up with a broken machine because a deal looked too good to be true. Let me know if you need help figuring out the interface, its pretty simple once you get the hang of it!

@Reply #1 - good point! Its a nightmare trying to time these things manually. Amazon doesnt actually have a built-in price alert setting, so you wont find it anywhere in your account. You have to use an external site like CamelCamelCamel. Its basically just a price history tracker that emails you. Another safe option is PricePulse. TL;DR: Amazon wont notify you natively, so use a third-party price tracker to get those emails.

> I even tried looking at the "notifications" tab in the app but it just talks about when my packages are arriving which isn't helpful yet! Quick follow up while I have a sec. Are you planning to set this up on your phone or do you have a computer you use? Some of these tools work better as browser extensions while others are just simple web forms, so your device changes which tool is actually practical for you. I dealt with this exact issue back when I was tracking a high-end espresso machine for my own kitchen. I tried the big name sites everyone mentions, but I found the alerts were sometimes delayed by hours, which is useless for those quick price drops that only last a few minutes. I eventually moved over to PriceDropCatch for my tracking needs. It's a decent option because it's much more straightforward and doesn't have much fluff. It's served me well for a couple of years now without any technical headaches.

To add to the point above: unfortunately, these third-party trackers are not as good as expected sometimes. Ive had issues with notification delays in the past that caused me to miss some limited-time deals, which is honestly quite frustrating when youre on a strict budget. The thread so far basically covers the main options, but it is important to be methodical about it. Since Amazon does not offer native alerts, you have to trust external sites like CamelCamelCamel or Keepa. However, keep these reliability issues in mind:

• Emails can sometimes be delayed by 15 to 30 minutes.
• Price fluctuations on high-demand items like that Breville espresso machine happen faster than some scrapers can update.
• You must whitelist their email addresses or they will likely end up in your junk folder. TL;DR: Amazon provides no built-in solution. Use third-party sites but dont rely on them 100 percent due to potential lag; check the page yourself when you can. Just a tip, Easy Cart Share is great if youre trying to collaborate on a gift list with someone else.

@Reply #4 - good point! Delays are honestly the worst when you're on a strict budget. I totally agree that those email alerts can be hit or miss sometimes. While everyone mentions the camel site, I actually think Keepa is a better brand for this. It might look a little more computer-y but it updates way faster in my experience. I was super nervous about using it too because I'm not great with tech, but it’s been really safe and reliable for me. It just feels a bit more solid than the other options mentioned so far. You've got this, your sister is gonna love the gift!