PriceBuddy 💹

PriceBuddy is a smart price tracking and comparison platform designed to help users save money by monitoring product prices across popular e-commerce platforms like Amazon and eBay.

🚀 Key Features

• Multi-Store Tracking: Track prices from Amazon and eBay in one place.
• Price History Charts: Visualize price trends over time with interactive charts.
• Target Price Alerts: Set your desired price and get notified when it drops.
• Automated Sync: Background cron jobs keep prices updated every few hours.
• Currency Conversion: Automatic conversion of international prices (USD) to INR.
• Modern UI: Sleek, responsive dashboard built with Next.js and Tailwind CSS.

🛠️ Tech Stack

• Frontend: Next.js (App Router), Tailwind CSS, Heroicons
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MySQL
• Scraping/APIs: Axios, Cheerio, SerpApi (Amazon), eBay Find/Browse APIs

📂 Project Structure

pricebuddy/
├── frontend/          # Next.js application
├── backend/           # Express.js server & Database scripts
│   ├── schema.sql     # Database initialization script
│   └── sync_prices.js # Price synchronization script
└── README.md          # Project documentation

⚙️ Setup & Installation

1. Database Setup

Create a MySQL database and run the schema found in backend/schema.sql:

mysql -u your_user -p your_database < backend/schema.sql

2. Backend Configuration

1. Navigate to backend/.
2. Install dependencies: npm install.
3. Create a .env file and add your credentials:

   DB_HOST=localhost
   DB_USER=root
   DB_PASSWORD=your_password
   DB_NAME=pricebuddy
   PORT=5001
   
   # Optional: For better scraping
   SERPAPI_KEY=your_serpapi_key
   EBAY_APP_ID=your_ebay_app_id
   EBAY_CERT_ID=your_ebay_cert_id

4. Start the server: node server.js.

3. Frontend Configuration

1. Navigate to frontend/.
2. Install dependencies: npm install.
3. Create a .env.local file:

   NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=http://localhost:5001

4. Start the development server: npm run dev.

🏗️ Demo & Simulation

If you want to showcase the real-time capabilities of PriceBuddy (Dashboard updates, Chart movements, and Email alerts) without waiting for a real-market price drop, use the simulation script:

1. Navigate to the backend:

   cd backend

2. Run the simulation:

   node simulate_demo.js

This script will pick a product in your database, artificially drop its price by 10%, update the history, and trigger an automated email alert—instantly showing the full power of PriceBuddy.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.