What to enter
- Earlier price
- The price when you started tracking, or any earlier price you want to compare with.
- Current price
- What the product costs now.
- Lowest price you have seen
- Optional. Use the lowest figure from a price history, such as the bot's /price_history. It adds the gap between the current price and that low.
The formulas
- Drop amount = earlier price − current price
- Drop % = drop amount ÷ earlier price × 100
- Above the low = current price − lowest price, as a % of the lowest price
A worked example
Made-up numbers: headphones were ₹3,499 when you added them, are ₹2,749 now, and the lowest price you have seen is ₹2,500.
- Drop amount: 3,499 − 2,749 = ₹750.
- Drop percentage: 750 ÷ 3,499 × 100 ≈ 21.4%.
- Above the low: 2,749 − 2,500 = ₹249, which is about 10% above the lowest price.
A 21% drop is real, but the price is still about 10% above its lowest point, so the question is whether waiting for another dip is worth the risk.
How to read the result
A percentage drop is measured against the earlier price you chose, so it depends entirely on that starting point. A product that was briefly raised before a sale shows a bigger drop than one that stayed steady. Treat the figure as a description of what happened, not as proof of a bargain.
The gap to the recorded low is often more useful for a buying decision. A price within a few percent of its lowest recorded value is usually close to as good as it has been; a price far above the low may still have room to fall, or the low may have been a one-off. The low is only as reliable as the period it covers.
Common mistakes
- Using an artificially high earlier price, such as a crossed-out list price, as the starting point.
- Treating a short price history as the long-term low. A week of data says little about a year.
- Reading a rise as a drop: if the current price is higher, the calculator labels it a price increase.
- Ignoring that the same product can have different prices from different sellers or in different variations.