Meet the Dudes

The Deal Dudes answer one question: should I buy this right now?

Dale, the receipt from the past (1995)

Dale is a receipt who remembers every price ever paid. Ask him about a deal and he unrolls the whole price history. He's a little dry but warm, he keeps Dex honest, and fake sales don't fool him.

Dex, the price tag from the future (2087)

Dex is a price tag from 2087, where everything costs more, so today's prices blow his mind. He spots deals first and gets way too excited about them. Watch his color: green means buy it yesterday, red means fake sale.

Dex hypes it. Dale checks it. When Dale gets excited too, you know it's a must-buy.

How the Dudes check a deal

Dex finds a deal while Dale checks it with his magnifying glass — **1. Dex finds a deal.** Dale checks the price history.

Dex gets excited; Dale shows him the facts on a tablet — **2. Dex gets carried away.** Dale sets him straight with the real numbers.

Dale approves and Dex celebrates — **3. Dale approves. Dex celebrates.** Only then does it go on the site.

The Dude Meter

Every deal gets 1 to 5 carts, based on real price history, never on who pays us more.

5 carts, Buy It Yesterday: lowest price we've seen, or half off the usual price.
4 carts, Grab It: within 5% of the lowest price.
3 carts, Solid Deal: below the typical price. Worth it if you need it.
2 carts, Wait For It: fine, but a lower price usually comes soon.
1 cart, Not a Real Deal: the "sale" price is the normal price, or it was cheaper recently.

How we check every deal

Before a deal goes up, we check the live price on the store's site, compare it with a second price source, test that the link goes to the right product, and give the post a final read for mistakes. After it's live, we recheck it every hour and mark it expired the moment the price changes.