Web price monitoring — how crawling works on the interval you choose
4pricing.net checks competitor prices on the interval you set yourself, per product (every 6 hours by default; the minimum depends on your plan — as low as one hour on the best plans). Each product is tracked through the URL of its product page, which you add yourself, and data is normalised and stored, with the full price history kept.
How price crawling works
The system scans product pages on the shops you track, added by URL (keyword search covers only eMAG, Altex, Flanco, PC Garage, Evomag and Cel.ro), on the interval you set. Checks run on that interval, one product page at a time.
Raw data is normalised: price, currency, in-stock flag (when the page exposes it) and timestamp are extracted and stored for every successful check.
- Scan interval: default 6 hours, per product; minimum set by your plan (1 hour at best)
- Product identification: direct product URL, added by you
- Data retention: full history kept, with exact timestamp
- Alerts: only for the conditions you configure (price below/above, percentage drop, back in stock, competitor undercut, lost lowest price), delivered to the in-app inbox or by a signed webhook, right after the check that detects the change
Normalisation and unique URLs
The same product appears under different names on different retailers, and 4pricing.net does not pair them automatically: you add the product page URL from each competitor you want to watch. In a CSV import, duplicate URLs are skipped, so the same link never lands twice in your list.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Automatic scanning without manual intervention
- Each product is tracked by its direct URL — not dependent on product name
- Full price history available via API
- Alerts for the conditions you configure, in the inbox or via a signed webhook
Limitations
- You add the URL of each product at each competitor yourself (one by one or via CSV); there is no automatic matching
- The minimum interval depends on your plan (one hour at best) — shorter flash sales can be missed
Quick verdict
Ideal for retailers with a stable catalogue needing systematic monitoring. Does not replace manual monitoring during Black Friday-type events.
Specifications table
| Specification | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Interval | Default 6 hours, per product; minimum set by your plan (1 hour at best) | Minimum depends on the plan |
| Retailers | eMAG, Altex, Flanco, PC Garage, Evomag, Cel.ro | Keyword search: these six Romanian retailers; any other public product page by URL |
| Identification | Direct URL | Added by you |
| Retention | Full history | Exact timestamp |
Automatic vs. manual monitoring
| Criterion | Automatic monitoring | Manual checking |
|---|---|---|
| Time required | 0 — runs in background | Hours daily |
| Coverage | All the URLs you added | A few per day |
| Consistency | Identical each cycle | Variable |
Frequently asked questions
Which retailers are monitored?
Keyword search covers exactly these six Romanian shops: eMAG, Altex, Flanco, PC Garage, Evomag and Cel.ro. For any other shop you add the product page URL.
How quickly do I receive the alert when a competitor changes their price?
The alert goes out right after the check that detects the change, so the speed depends on the interval you set for that product (6 hours by default; the minimum depends on your plan, 1 hour at best). The alert fires only for the conditions you configured.
How does the platform track the same product at different competitors?
You provide the product page URL at each competitor; the platform does not search for or match equivalent products on its own. You add the links one by one or via CSV (the url column is mandatory; optional name, category, group, role), up to 2,000 rows per import.
How many days of history are available?
The platform keeps the full history, with an exact timestamp, for every successful check.