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How are the alerts triggered — does it poll the Apple refurb page every couple of minutes, or hook into something closer to the source? Wondering how reliable the timing really is when stock flips.
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Hunter
@sradfzq Good question. It polls Apple's refurb pages directly every 2 minutes.
Technically: cron-job.org triggers my Vercel endpoint → Node.js fetches Apple's HTML → finds the JSON productTiles embedded in the page → diffs against the previous snapshot stored in KV → if any new SKU appears, sends email/Telegram.
So there's a 0-2 minute delay between a product appearing and you getting the alert. In practice, most products last 3-5 minutes on popular configs, so 2 minutes is enough to catch them.
No Apple API exists for this — you either F5 manually or use something like my tool.
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Does this only track Apple's official refurbished store or does it also catch deals from third-party sellers on eBay and Swappa?
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Hunter
@tahsinekmelsmr Only Apple's official refurbished store for now.
The reason: Apple refurb products come with the full 1-year warranty and Apple's certification process (new battery, new shell, full testing). Third-party refurb on eBay/Swappa is a gamble — no standardization, no warranty guarantee.
That said, I'm considering adding Best Buy refurb/open-box in the future since they're also certified.
But eBay/Swappa? Probably not — too many variables to monitor reliably, and the quality risk doesn't match what my users are looking for.
How are the alerts triggered — does it poll the Apple refurb page every couple of minutes, or hook into something closer to the source? Wondering how reliable the timing really is when stock flips.
@sradfzq Good question. It polls Apple's refurb pages directly every 2 minutes.
Technically: cron-job.org triggers my Vercel endpoint → Node.js fetches Apple's HTML → finds the JSON productTiles embedded in the page → diffs against the previous snapshot stored in KV → if any new SKU appears, sends email/Telegram.
So there's a 0-2 minute delay between a product appearing and you getting the alert. In practice, most products last 3-5 minutes on popular configs, so 2 minutes is enough to catch them.
No Apple API exists for this — you either F5 manually or use something like my tool.
Does this only track Apple's official refurbished store or does it also catch deals from third-party sellers on eBay and Swappa?
@tahsinekmelsmr Only Apple's official refurbished store for now.
The reason: Apple refurb products come with the full 1-year warranty and Apple's certification process (new battery, new shell, full testing). Third-party refurb on eBay/Swappa is a gamble — no standardization, no warranty guarantee.
That said, I'm considering adding Best Buy refurb/open-box in the future since they're also certified.
But eBay/Swappa? Probably not — too many variables to monitor reliably, and the quality risk doesn't match what my users are looking for.