How to get an alert when a competitor drops their price on Amazon
Updated November 14, 2026
To get an alert when a competitor drops their price on Amazon, pick the listings you compete with, set a drop size worth hearing about (5% is a good start), and use a tool that checks those prices for you and emails you when they move. Free shopper tools like Keepa and CamelCamelCamel can do this for a few listings; seller tools do it for your whole catalog. This page compares the options and explains what to do when an alert arrives.
Why an alert beats checking
Competitor price cuts rarely come with a warning. You usually find out days later, when your sales slow or you lose the Buy Box.
- Checking by hand misses the timing. A price that drops on Tuesday and recovers on Thursday never shows up if you only look on Fridays.
- Small cuts add up. Three 4% cuts over a month move the price floor by more than 10%, and none of them looks big on its own.
- An alert gives you the choice. You see the drop the same day and decide whether to match, hold or wait, instead of finding out from your sales report.
The goal isn’t to react to every move. It’s to hear about the ones that matter while there’s still time to decide.
Your options for price-drop alerts
The right option depends on how many listings you watch and whether you want a person or software to decide what happens next.
| Option | Cost | What triggers the alert | Best for | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keepa alerts | Free; about €29/month for its paid plan | A product's price falls below a target you set | Watching a handful of listings closely | You set a target price per listing, by hand; it doesn't compare against your own price |
| CamelCamelCamel alerts | Free | A product's price reaches a target you set | Occasional checks on a few listings | Email only, can arrive late, and has no view of your own price or rank |
| A repricer | Usually a monthly fee | A competitor's price changes on a listing you sell | Sellers who want prices changed automatically by rules | It acts for you: a bad rule can cut your price too far, fast |
| A seller alert tool such as Pithies | From $29.99/month after a 14-day free trial | A competitor drops by more than the % you choose, or drops below your price | Sellers with 10 to 100 products who want to decide themselves | Not instant: prices are checked three times a day, not every minute |
Keepa and CamelCamelCamel both offer free alerts that work the way a shopper’s would: you set a target price for each listing and get an email when it is reached. That works for a few listings but gets slow to manage across a catalog, and neither knows what your own price is (Keepa review, RevenueGeeks, Aug 2026; CamelCamelCamel guide, EcomCircles).
Repricers watch competitor offers through Amazon’s systems and change your price automatically by rules you set. They are fast, but they decide for you.
Pithies checks your competitors’ prices three times a day and emails you when one cuts its price by more than the percentage you choose (2% to 20%), or moves from above your price to below it. Every Friday you also get a short summary of the whole week.
Setting an alert that’s worth getting
An alert you get ten times a day soon gets ignored. A few choices keep it useful:
- Start at 5%. Drops smaller than that are often a competitor testing prices or a short sale. Lower it to 2–3% for low-margin products; raise it to 10% for cheap items where cents don’t matter.
- Watch the right listings. Three to five competitors per product that a buyer would really choose instead of yours: same or close model, sold new.
- Leave out renewed and used offers. They sit lower for a reason and will trigger alerts you can’t act on.
- Also watch for a competitor crossing below your price, even by a small amount. That is often when the Buy Box moves.
- Get alerts by email, in the inbox you already read, not a separate app you have to remember to open.
What to do when an alert arrives
A price-drop alert is a prompt to look, not an order to cut. Before you change anything, run through these five questions:
- Is it a true like-for-like offer? Same model, new, in stock. If not, ignore it.
- Has it lasted? Wait a day. Many drops are back to normal within 24 hours.
- Did it take the Buy Box? If you still hold it, there’s usually no rush.
- Can you afford to match? Check your margin at the new price, after Amazon fees and shipping.
- Is anyone running low on stock? A competitor cutting price to clear its last units will be gone soon.
If the answer to the first four is yes, match or come close. Otherwise, hold and watch it in next week’s numbers.
Common questions
- Does Amazon tell sellers when a competitor changes its price?
- Not by email. Seller Central shows whether you hold the featured offer and flags offers that can't win it, but it doesn't send an alert when a competitor cuts its price. Repricers and alert tools fill that gap.
- How fast do I need to know?
- For most products, the same day is fast enough. Minute-by-minute alerts matter mainly if you sell high-volume items where the Buy Box changes hands many times a day.
- Should I lower my price every time I get an alert?
- No. Use the five questions above. Matching every cut starts a race to the bottom that nobody wins.
Get alerts without the setup
Pithies watches up to five competitors for each of your Amazon products and emails you when one cuts its price by more than the percentage you choose, or drops below yours. Every Friday you also get one short summary of the week. Start with a 14-day free trial of up to 10 products, no card needed.
New to tracking competitors? Read how to track your competitors’ prices on Amazon first.