Compare Prices Across Merchants for the Same Product
Compare prices across merchants for the same product when you want a defensible best price table that readers can trust. Affiliate.com lets you normalize results, barcode match identical items, and sort by final price so you can publish clear comparisons across more than thirty networks and over a billion products.
The method is simple, precise, and repeatable. Start broad to confirm the exact model, then lock identity with a barcode or MPN. Enforce currency and availability, decide how to present duplicate offers, and sort by the value you promise to readers. Save the logic as a Comparison Set or share the query link.
Start broad, then confirm the exact product
Begin with a name or any search to see the market. Add brand and currency to keep the list relevant to your region. Scan the top results for the product identifier the merchant provides, such as barcode or MPN.
Field tips
- Identity fields, barcode, SKU, MPN, ASIN
- Pricing fields, regular price, final price, sale price, sale discount, ship price
- Availability fields, in stock, stock quantity, availability
- Governance fields, network name and ID, merchant name and ID, commission URL
Lock identity with a barcode
Once you have the barcode, switch the search to barcode equals that value. This eliminates lookalikes that differ only by title or bundle and returns every offer for the exact same item across your approved networks and merchants.
Add these controls:
- Currency equals your locale to avoid mixed values
- In stock equals true to protect readers
- Optional, on sale equals true and sale discount greater than a threshold for deal coverage
Decide presentation with deduplication
You have two ways to show results depending on the story.
- Deduplication on: one canonical product row. Use this for roundups with many different products where duplicates would crowd the page.
- Deduplication off: every offer for the same barcode across merchants. Use this for a single product comparison table where the point is to find the best current price.
For pure price comparison, keep deduplication off so the reader can see all offers for that barcode.
Sort for honest comparisons
Set sort equals final price ascending to place the best current price first. For deal stories, sale discount descending can be more persuasive, but include regular price so savings are credible.
Mini workflow you can copy
- Explore: name like jbl charge 5 speaker, currency equals USD.
- Anchor: barcode equals the exact model code found in the results.
- Constrain: in stock equals true. Optional, on sale equals true.
- Govern: filter by Network ID or Merchant ID to stay within approvals.
- Present: deduplication off to show all offers for the barcode.
- Order: sort by final price ascending.
- Ship: save as a Comparison Set and render with a Price Comparison snippet.
Extra checks before you publish
- Confirm that the identifier matches product photos and model text
- If you show savings, include regular price and final price together
- For cross currency research, label clearly and do not use mixed currencies on consumer pages
- Treat price and stock as at time of writing and verify in the live UI
Example API shape for the same workflow
{
"filters": {
"barcode": "50036380232",
"currency": "USD",
"in_stock": true
},
"governance": {
"network_ids": ["impact_us","awin_us"]
},
"presentation": {
"deduplication": "off",
"fields": ["merchant_name","final_price","regular_price","sale_discount","commission_url","image_url","last_updated"]
},
"sort": [{"final_price": "asc"}],
"limit": 100
}
What this unlocks for teams
- Operator trust: identical products matched across merchants even when titles differ
- Reader clarity: one page shows the full set of live offers ranked by the value that matters
- Editorial speed: the same selection can be reused anywhere through a Comparison Set or shared query link
For more information, visit https://www.affiliate.com/.