How we check stock
FindMeStock checks UK retailers for stock of hard-to-find products and alerts you by push and email. This page says which retailers we cover, how each is checked, and what the words on a result mean.
Which retailers we cover
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Checked by us
We read the retailer's own product pages ourselves, with our checker. These results show when they were last checked, as "Checked … ago".
Delayed
We don't read these retailers' pages ourselves. Their stock comes from a product feed the retailer provides, or from a service that reads their product pages for us. These results can be hours or days old. Each shows how long ago it was updated, and a feed result says "Delayed feed". We show checked results first.
Link-only
We don't check these retailers' stock or prices, and we don't alert you about them. On a product page they are listed last, with a Check button that opens the retailer's page for the product, or its search, on their own website.
We don't cover every UK retailer, and a product only shows the retailers that sell it. Support says how to ask for a retailer to be added.
How a check works
For a retailer we check ourselves, our checker, FindMeStockBot, opens the product page and reads whether the product can be bought now for home delivery in the UK, and the price. It identifies itself to the retailer and keeps to a low request rate for each one. About FindMeStockBot
Where a retailer gives us a feed, we read the feed instead and don't open its pages to check those products. A price is the price of the item, without delivery.
When we check
- Products people are tracking are checked regularly. Premium and Max alerts are sent ahead of free ones.
- A product nobody is tracking is checked when someone opens its page, so it can show Checking… for a moment.
- When many products change at one retailer, or a retailer limits how fast we may ask, checks can take longer. The time on a result is always when it was really checked.
What the words on a result mean
- In stock: available to buy and have delivered now, new, and sold by the retailer itself.
- Back in stock: it was out of stock or a pre-order and has just become available. Shown for about half an hour.
- Likely in stock: the retailer's page suggests it is available, but we are less sure. Treat it as unconfirmed.
- Pre-order: you can order now, for delivery later. Shown separately, and not counted as available.
- Out of stock: not available to buy and have delivered now.
- Checking again: our last few checks didn't go through. We show the last result we could confirm and keep trying.
- Stale: we haven't been able to check for a while. Treat it as unconfirmed.
- Delayed feed: the result comes from a retailer's feed, so it may be hours old. The time beside it is when the feed was updated.
- Check: a link-only retailer. We show no status or price for it.
We don't count an item as in stock if it can only be collected, if it is on backorder, or if only marketplace sellers, used or refurbished stock are shown. Those show as out of stock, with the reason in the details.
What we can't promise
A check is a reading at one moment. Stock can sell out between our check and yours, and a retailer's price at checkout can differ, so look at the time on the result and check the retailer's page before you buy. We don't hold or sell stock. We can't see stock in shops, only what a retailer shows online.
If a result is wrong, tell us. Report incorrect stock is on every product page, and the Corrections page says what happens next.