How we verify prices

Where prices come from

Store pages: we open store pages twice a day (8:00 and 21:00 Beijing time — evening and morning in the US), read the actual number and record the store, link, price type and time checked.

Structured data stores publish: some store pages carry machine-readable prices; we read them occasionally, follow each site’s robots rules, never log in and never get around blocks.

Affiliate APIs: once we join programs such as Amazon Associates, some prices will come straight from those official feeds.

Deal sites are only tips for us: every price is checked on the store’s own page, and we don’t copy or store deal-site content.

How prices are shown

Every price shows the store and the time we checked it. Prices not re-checked within 7 days turn grey and are left out of our comparisons; prices found to be wrong are hidden.

We describe drops only against our own records — “lowest we’ve recorded in 90 days”, “X% below our 30-day average”. You won’t see “all-time low” or “lowest anywhere” here.

Store pages have the final say. If something’s off, hit “Wrong price?” and we’ll re-check it first.

How true cost is calculated

US sales tax: we apply each state’s base rate only — local taxes are extra — and the price table shows pre-tax prices, marked as such.

China’s trade-in subsidy: under the 2026 program, phones, tablets, smartwatches/bands and smart glasses priced at ¥6,000 or less get 15% off, up to ¥500, one per category per person; local quotas can pause.

Import duty into China: phones, computers and cameras are estimated at 13%. Travelers get a ¥5,000 duty-free allowance for goods carried in; a single item over ¥5,000 is taxed in full; shipped goods get no allowance. Customs may use its own valuation table and has the final say.

Exchange rate: the European Central Bank reference rate, updated daily and labeled as a reference rate.

Every rule carries an effective date, so when rules change every card recalculates — and past prices keep the rules of their day.

How cards are written

Cards and guides are put together and checked by an editor before and after publishing. The English version leads with the US model and US context; the Chinese version leads with the Chinese model.

We don’t say “tested” about products we haven’t had in hand, we don’t invent reviews, and we don’t republish other sites’ ratings.