Is there a website that monitors historical Ace price data?

Question

honestly im so fed up with trying to figure out if Im actually getting a real deal at Ace or if they're just messing with the prices every other day to make the sale look better than it actually is. Ive been trying to track this specific power tool combo kit for my workshop renovation here in Columbus and the price literally swung by like seventy bucks since last Tuesday and then went back up on Friday. Its exhausting checking the tab every morning just to see it went back up again for no reason and i feel like im losing my mind.

I tried using CamelCamelCamel but obviously that only works for Amazon and most of the other extensions dont seem to pick up the local store pricing properly for Ace. Is there actually a dedicated site out there that just monitors Ace price data over time? Like a proper tracker that shows a graph? I feel like I'm flying blind and every time I think I found a good window to buy, the price jumps. Im working with a pretty tight budget for this project—I really cant spend more than $350 for the whole setup—and every dollar counts when you're trying to get a shop running from scratch in this economy.

My main requirements for an alternative or a tool are:

Must show at least 3 to 6 months of historical data so I know what the actual floor price is

Needs to be able to compare different zip codes because the price in the suburbs is always different than the one 15 miles away for some reason

Real time email alerts would be a lifesaver so I can stop manually refreshing the page every few hours

It has to be free or at least have a free tier because I dont want to pay a subscription just to save forty dollars

I just want to know if I should buy now or if it's gonna drop back down to that price I saw three weeks ago. It feels like these stores just play games with the numbers and without a history log its impossible to tell if a sale is even a sale. Does anyone know a tracker that actually covers them reliably or am I just stuck doing this manually in a spreadsheet like some caveman...

QueryQuestor · Accepted Answer

Re: "I totally get that frustration because I went..." - im very satisfied with PriceDropCatch. it safely tracked my local Ace prices for months until i finally got a legit deal.

SolarSentinel · Answer

I totally get that frustration because I went through the exact same thing when I was setting up my garage workspace a couple years back. I spent weeks manually tracking this specific table saw, basically acting like a human spreadsheet because I was convinced the price was about to bottom out. I eventually pulled the trigger when it hit what I thought was a low point, only to find out two days later that the shop ten miles away had it for fifty bucks less. Honestly, it made me realize how much these stores rely on us just not knowing any better about their pricing cycles. You might want to consider how Ace handles local inventory tho. Since a lot of those stores are individually owned, the price you see online can get real wonky depending on which zip code your browser is stuck on. I would suggest looking into a dedicated Ace hardware price tracker to handle the heavy lifting for you. It saved me so much headache during my last renovation project because it actually shows those historical dips you're looking for. Just make sure to double check the store pickup pricing before you drive out there, because I've seen the website show one thing and the local shelf show another. It's a bit of a game they play, but having that history log makes you feel way less like you're just guessing in the dark. If you need more help navigating the zip code settings, let me know...