The story behind the friendly hostage situation that's helping people save money on electronics
Like most people, I used to set price alerts on electronics I wanted to buy. The problem? I'd get the alert, think "I'll check it later," and completely forget about it. Then I'd end up buying the item at full price a week later, only to see it go on sale again.
Free alerts don't work because there's no skin in the game. Your brain treats them like spam.
The idea came from behavioral economics: people pay more attention when they have something at stake. It's the same reason gym memberships work better than free workout videos, or why paid courses have higher completion rates than free ones.
By holding your $3 "hostage," we create just enough psychological pressure to make you actually wait for the deal instead of impulse buying. It's not about the money—it's about the commitment.
Everything we do is built around these core principles
We only make money when you save money. No savings, no fee.
Manual price checking, no algorithms. You see exactly what we see.
We believe good things come to those who wait (with a little nudge).
Created by someone who genuinely hates overpaying for electronics.
The final straw was when I bought a MacBook Pro for $2,399, then saw it drop to $1,999 just two weeks later. I had set a price alert, got the notification, but was "too busy" to check it.
That $400 mistake led to the creation of PriceLock. Now, when my money is on the line, I actually pay attention to the alerts.