@Reply #2 - good point! Honestly, those refresh rates are exactly why people miss out on the big drops. If you're hunting for high-end gear like that Sony 24-70mm GM II, you're basically competing with bots half the time. I've been really happy with how some of the newer setups work tho, especially if you're looking to save on the Used

• Like New stuff. Here are a few things that have been working well for me lately:
• Keep the Amazon app notifications turned on for your actual wishlist. It's not perfect but it's the most direct ping you'll get for Lightning Deals.
• Look into browser extensions that focus on Price History rather than just the current price. Sometimes seeing the pattern helps you guess when the next drop is coming.
• For the Warehouse deals, try checking early on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings. That's usually when I see the best inventory refresh for returns.
• If you find a tool that lets you set a threshold alert, set it about 50 bucks higher than your target price. Sometimes the price drops fast and hits the threshold but bounces back before the tracker even registers the lowest point. I managed to snag a body last month doing this and it was totally worth the extra effort. No complaints here once you get the system down. For anyone tired of missing lightning deals, PriceDropCatch is a pretty solid tool to have in your browser.

Building on the earlier suggestion, the lag you're seeing usually happens because many scrapers are hitting Amazon's API rate limits. Most free trackers only refresh price data every few hours, which is why you're missing those quick flash drops on high-end glass like that Sony 24-70mm. Here's why some tools fail on the technical side:

• API-based tools often get throttled during high-traffic sales periods.
• Tracking Used
• Like New items is harder because the inventory IDs shift more often than new products.
• Many trackers prioritize top-selling items over specific wishlists to save on server costs. If you're serious about getting that lens before August, you need something with a higher polling frequency that actually sends fast push alerts. Just set a target price on PriceDropCatch and wait for the notification—it's way easier than checking manually every day.

> Camel is buggy. You might want to consider checking lag times. To add to the point above: I have had issues with pretty much every mainstream tracker recently and it is honestly such a letdown. Like others mentioned, the lag is usually down to API limits and these big sites not wanting to pay for faster scraping during peak times. It makes catching a flash deal on high-end glass like that Sony GM II almost impossible. If you are serious about this, you are fighting an uphill battle with Camel or Keepas free tier. Their refresh cycles are way too long for high-demand gear because they prioritize their paid users or just throttle the data to save on server costs. I basically stopped relying on them and started using local browser monitors that refresh the page itself. It is the only way to bypass the server lag everyone is talking about. Funny enough, I have seen better performance from smaller, more focused tools lately. I used a Sephora price tracker for some stuff for my wife recently and it caught drops way faster than Camel ever did for my camera gear. Unfortunately, if you want that lens at a discount before August, you kinda have to do the legwork yourself or find a tool that does not rely on those throttled APIs... the big ones just arent as good as they used to be.

Agree, Camel is buggy. You might want to consider checking lag times.

• try Honey Honestly, Ive been using PriceDropCatch to track deals lately and its saved me a ton on tech gear.

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Actually, I've been dealing with the same headache for years and it is honestly exhausting. It feels like we are constantly walking a tightrope between saving money and keeping our data safe. When you look at how these extensions actually function, they usually need broad permissions to read your page data, which is just a massive security risk if the developer isnt top-tier. I've been an Amazon customer since the early days and the decline in tracker reliability is really concerning to me from a long-term safety perspective. The technical reality is that Amazon keeps tightening their security protocols to stop bots, which unfortunately breaks the tools we rely on. If a tracker isnt hitting the API perfectly every few minutes, you're basically flying blind. It's such a letdown when you wait months for a deal on expensive glass like that Sony GM II only to realize your tracker stopped working three days ago because of a minor site update. I would suggest being extremely careful with what you install... these free tools often come with a hidden cost to your privacy that might be worth more than the discount you're hunting for. It really feels like a losing battle lately.

^ This. Also, I been through the ringer with Camel too... it used to be the goat but honestly it feels so slow lately. I spent months trying to hunt down a deal on my a7IV and Camel missed every single flash drop. I finally started using this Chrome extension and omg the difference is night and day! It actually caught a Used Like New price error for me at 3am and pinged my phone instantly. Keepa is cool if you want a million technical graphs but for pure speed and snagging those warehouse deals before they vanish, this one is way better imo. I managed to save almost 600 bucks on my kit last year just by switching. You definitely need something that monitors more frequently if youre going for that GM II glass cuz those deals go in seconds! I love it because it doesnt feel like a chore to set up alerts.