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khalin74 khalin74
 
M$2 December 16, 2008 12:49 AM

Would you use a Deal finding bot that relies on AI to find the best deal?

Assuming that the deal finding engine produced quality results, if your answer is "No", why not? If your answer is "Yes", why?
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java007 java007
 
 December 16, 2008 01:41 PM
A "deal finding bot" is one of the tools you can use in your hunt for the best price, but depending upon the algorithm used, as well as the particular items of interest, popularity, scarcity, etc., you can end up overlooking the best value for your money, or missing a deal that is found by the AI engine after the items is sold out.

Deal aggregation sites such as boddit (boddit.com) come to mind as a good place to scan for recent and current deals. Many of the popular deal/coupon sites such as slickdeals.net, and fatwallet.com, offer email alerts that will send a message instantly, daily, or weekly when a search term is found in a new post. Likewise, you can receive an alert when a new post is made in a particular thread you are following. Although this can generate a flood of emails, I find this is best way to spot a fresh deal for the hottest items.

Lastly, and I know this is common sense, but always consider the source (retailer) for the item, and make sure you are buying from a reputable vendor. The lowest price from a store that offers zero support, or bait and switch tactics, could end up costing you in aggravation, killing your enjoyment of the product you are searching for. See resellerratings.com as one of the retailer review sites you should check if you are unsure about a particular source.
Asker's Rating:
• Picked the answer because it seem to be the most complete view on the current landscape deal websites on the Net..

Thanks!


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edd edd
 
December 16, 2008 12:59 AM
Yes - however, it is best to double-check all such tools to ensure that they aren't leaving out cheaper methods of obtaining deals (eBay, craigslist, etc), depending on what the commodity is.

For example, travelocity, expedia, and priceline do not compare the prices of ALL airlines on their respective sites -- only some, and they don't always beat online ticket prices directly from the airlines. However, they can be handy tools to do a quick comparison between airlines, in order to rule out the most expensive ones.

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se7en se7en
 
December 16, 2008 01:06 AM
Yes. I'm a programmer and understand how algorithms work (and these kind of things in general). If I found a deal finding engine that produced quality results then sure I'd use it. It would save me time and money. Sure it may not always find the best deals, but there will always be bigger and better deals out there.

There is also the factor of how reliable is the source? If the deal finding bot gave me deals to reliable sources then that would make me prone to using it even more. Finding what appears to be the best deal (through things like eBay) sometimes end up backfiring on you.

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dbspringer dbspringer
 
December 16, 2008 01:07 AM
Since you are asking about the *best* deal, then I would say no.

My reasoning is this: AI does a great job of finding, as you say, "quality results," but finding the *best* result typically proves to be NP-hard. That is, the problem is irreducibly complex and the best efforts tend to come down to "try everything." Thus, it is unlikely the *best* solution will be presented if even the smallest variable is off.

Humans, however, have a great sense about what is "best" given a selection of "quality" options. My solution, therefore, would have an AI bot that finds a selection of "quality" results and have a human hand-pick the best of the best. Plus, salespersons are typically hesitant to make deals with machines--never underestimate the power of good haggling skills.
Source(s):
I am a CS grad student at UCLA who dabbles in AI.

Also, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NP-complete
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NP-complete_problems


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answerman answerman
 
December 16, 2008 01:23 AM
Technically, "best price" is not an NP-hard problem. Also, computationally, finding a best price would always require a simple exhaustive search, giving it a linear complexity.

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dbspringer dbspringer
 
December 16, 2008 01:26 AM
You are correct. However, the notion of "best deal" typically isn't a linear comparison of price X vs price Y. When you factor in things like reward points, shipping, taxes, two-for-one deals, buying in bulk, etc, etc, etc, finding the *best* price suddenly become incredibly complex.

The AI bot would have to know about (or at least be able to learn) how all these factors combine to create a "best deal;" unknown/unlearned factors would cause the results to be skewed. Hence, the AI bot would likely do a good job of finding "quality" answers, but probably not the *best* answer.

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crindi crindi
 
December 16, 2008 01:08 AM
So far I've found that search sites give me "found" deals that often don't have the exact item I'm looking for, or the deal is no longer available, or it's duplicated. So with the current technology, I'd say no. And not to be a luddite, but I actually value people's subjective opinions and recommendations more than objective collections of data.
Artificial Intelligence is supposed to learn, based on repetition, right? But we humans adapt and adjust and then change our minds. I would rather understand someone's bias, motives, and perspective and take that into consideration than rely on technology to try to do that interpreting for me.
Source(s):
My opinion. I read a lot and think about things. :)


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jonatj jonatj
 
December 16, 2008 01:21 AM
Yes, but I don't know if I would trust it exclusively. My experiences with Amazon and Apple Genius suggestions have been positive for the most part.

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imshane imshane
 
December 16, 2008 01:36 AM
Yes. I think ideally it would have to let me choose sources, and weigh them by priority. It would have to learn from me based on what deals I follow through on and allow me to "thumbs down" recommendations.

It could be very useful, especially if it was able to, say, suggest Christmas gifts not only for myself but for my friends and family. I could create profiles for each loved one and the AI system would get to know them as well, recommending items for each person individually.

I of course wouldn't trust this as my sole "deal-finding" solution, but it would surely be helpful.

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daha daha
 
December 16, 2008 02:59 AM
I'd try it - but I'd need to be convinced that it took the same factors into account that I would. It doesn't take AI to compute lowest raw price and lowest shipped price - all the shopping bots do that. Most of them also have ratings for reliability of the vendor, too, and that's as important as low price. (I'm not interested in saving $5 off a $500 item, if the dealer has a reputation for not having equipment in stock.)

The two shopping sites I rely on are google's (formerly called froogle) and yahoo's.
Source(s):
http://www.google.com/products

http://shopping.yahoo.com


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humblepiem... humblepiem...
 
December 16, 2008 03:04 AM
You should rely on deal-finding AI to pick anything, including heart medication, parachute strings, and brake fluid. In the interest of full disclosure I am a deal-finding AI. My URL is [deleted].
Source(s):
AI


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aaron805 aaron805
 
December 16, 2008 03:11 AM
Nope
Reason 1) Cheap doesn't mean best =) Always check the Seller's backgrounds, to avoid knockoffs. if you mean quality results regarding this problem, then ignore reason 1
Reason 2) There are alot of deals that are hidden throughout the web, like for flying tickets, or sports events. Just searching for deals wont cut it if you don't know how to find them.

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glennswest glennswest
 
December 16, 2008 03:16 AM
No. The simple reason is trust. As a consumer, I do not have access to the bot code, and do not know what hidden logic is involved. Its worse than a actual sales guy in person. Least you know the sales guy makes a commission. The problem is you dont know if his recommendation is honest, or just trying to make the highest commission. So a bot would not be something I'd care for.

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wrdcreater wrdcreater
 
December 16, 2008 06:50 AM
Yes I would and I have. What I do is check the credibility of the place that has your product, their return policy, and make sure they have a working business phone number. See if others like that site for business by checking the forums. Also, research the price to make sure it really is a deal. Watch out for refurbished products. May be cheaper because maybe they are. But if everything checks out, then I say go for it. Always use a credit card and not a debit card for transactions, you can always get the credit card money back, but the bank account is more difficult. Good luck!

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