Lowest Price History vs Monthly Price History: Which Tells You When to Buy?

Every product page on AIPriceHistory shows two views of the same price checks: a lowest price history block and a monthly price history table. They are built from identical data, yet they answer different questions. Knowing which to look at saves you from two common mistakes: waiting forever for a low that will not return, and buying because a badge says so.

What the lowest price history shows

The lowest price seen is the lowest selling price in any of our checks of that exact product, with the date we first saw it and how many times we saw it. Beside it sit the lowest prices of the last 30 and 90 days and the gap between today's price and the lowest ever.

• Seen once, long ago: often a flash deal or a pricing error. Treat it as a ceiling on hope, not an expectation.
• Seen several times, including recently: a price the seller returns to. A realistic alert target.
• 30-day low equals the all-time low: the product is at or near its best price right now.

What the monthly price history shows

The monthly table lists, for each calendar month that had at least one check, the lowest price, the highest price, the average and the number of checks. Months in which we did not check are left out rather than guessed. It is the quickest way to see the shape of a year: a steady decline for an ageing phone, a dip every sale season for a television, or a price that barely moves for a kitchen staple.

Which one should drive the decision?

• Buying soon, want a fair price: compare today with the last two or three monthly lows. If it matches or beats them, buy.
• Can wait for the best price: set an alert at a low the product has reached more than once, not at a one-off price.
• Judging a sale badge: look at the monthly highs just before the sale. A rising pre-sale price followed by a big discount is visible there.
• Thin history: if the table has one or two months, neither view is conclusive. The page says so, and an alert is the sensible move.

Limits to keep in mind

Both views show the price on the store page at the time of our check. Coupons, bank discounts, exchange values and delivery charges are not included, so a checkout total can be lower than any figure on the page. We check about once a day, so a drop that goes back up within hours may never be seen. None of this is a forecast; it is a record you can check against the store before paying.