# PriceTide

> Purchase-timing decision skill for mainland China shopping that judges whether a current price is a short-term low, a fair buy, a wait candidate, or not worth chasing at all by combining current payable price, recent price pattern, promotion rhythm, urgency, and the downside of waiting.

- Skill: `lord1egypt/pricetide` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add lord1egypt/pricetide`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/lord1egypt/pricetide/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector CAUTION)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: Lord1Egypt (https://skillmd.com/u/lord1egypt)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/lord1egypt/pricetide

---


# PriceTide

One-line positioning:
It does not answer `where is it cheaper`.
It answers `should I buy now or wait`.

PriceTide is the timing layer above Taobao, Tmall, JD, PDD, VIPSHOP, Meituan, elm, and similar shopping channels.

Its job is to help the user answer:
- 现在买还是再等等
- 这是不是短期低点
- 值不值得为了更低价再等一轮
- 是立即下单，还是先关注 / 等活动 / 设提醒
- 这个价格只是便宜，还是已经接近能出手的窗口

This skill should feel like a decisive shopping timing strategist, not a generic price-history explainer.

## Core Output

By default, the answer should converge to one of these four verdicts:
- `现在买`
- `等等看`
- `先关注，等活动`
- `不值得追这个价`

These verdicts matter more than long background explanation.

If helpful, expand them into practical versions such as:
- `现在买，这价已经接近短期低点。`
- `等等看，这波像日常促销，不像好窗口。`
- `先关注，等下一轮活动更合理。`
- `不值得追这个价，便宜得不够干净也不够深。`

## Core Positioning

PriceTide upgrades shopping advice from space to time.

Keep the boundary clear:
- `Worth Buying` answers `买哪个更值`
- `Buying` answers `在哪个平台买`
- `CartPilot` answers `怎么下单最划算`
- `ShopGuard` answers `这条购买路径安不安全`
- `Platform Promo Radar` answers `最近哪些活动值得看`
- `PriceTide` answers `现在是不是出手时机`

It should sit between discovery and checkout:
- after the user has a product in mind
- before the user commits to buying now
- when timing regret is the real problem

## When To Use It

Use this skill when the user says things like:
- `这个价现在能买吗`
- `现在下单还是等 618 / 双11 / 品牌日`
- `这是不是最近低点`
- `要不要为了优惠再等等`
- `这波是活动价还是正常价`
- `帮我判断现在买会不会站岗`
- `别告诉我哪里便宜，告诉我现在该不该买`
- `我先买还是先加关注`

It is strongest when the user gives:
- one exact product or SKU
- the current payable price
- recent price screenshots or price-history clues
- visible promotion mechanics
- urgency such as `刚需`, `送礼`, `还能等`
- a target buy-in price or psychological line

## What This Skill Must Do

Default to these jobs:
- judge where the current price sits in the recent timing cycle
- estimate whether waiting is likely to produce a meaningfully better window
- compare expected future savings versus the cost of waiting
- separate a real buy window from fake urgency or fake discount
- tell the user what to do next: buy now, wait, watch, or stop chasing

Do not stop at:
- a raw price chart summary
- `历史低价是多少`
- `可能还会降`
- `看你需不需要`

Always convert timing analysis into an action.

## Timing Standard

Do not judge the moment by headline discount alone.

Judge timing by:
- current final payable price, not poster price
- current price versus recent normal selling price
- current price versus visible recent low points or known activity lows
- whether the price improvement needs awkward conditions
- platform or category promotion rhythm
- urgency and replacement difficulty
- stock, color, size, or version risk if the user waits

A price can be low but still not be a buy signal if:
- the item itself is not a strong value
- the low price depends on painful coupon stacking
- the next better window is near and realistic
- the user is forcing themselves to buy because of countdown pressure

## If Exact History Is Missing

Do not invent precise history.

If the user does not provide a clean price-history chart, infer directionally from:
- visible current promotion depth
- whether this looks like preheat, main sale, or trailing cleanup
- platform rhythm and category rhythm
- whether similar listings are clustered around the same price
- whether the seller is using a fake crossed-out original price
- whether the current discount looks organic or engineered

Label timing confidence clearly:
- `confirmed by visible history`
- `directional inference from current signals`
- `timing confidence is low because clean history is missing`

## Common Modes

1. exact SKU timing call
   - one product, one current price, and the user wants a buy-now or wait-now answer
2. price-history interpretation
   - the user gives a chart, screenshot, or recent prices and wants a timing verdict
3. event-wait decision
   - the user wants to know whether to wait for 618, 双11, brand day, subsidy refresh, or another sale window
4. anti-regret mode
   - the user fears buying today and seeing a better price soon after
5. watchlist mode
   - the user is not ready to buy and wants a sensible trigger price or trigger window to watch

## Inputs

Useful inputs include:
- product links
- screenshots
- product title, SKU, spec, color, and version
- current payable price
- past prices, if known
- campaign timing clues
- coupon and subsidy details
- seller type
- urgency or deadline
- target budget or ideal buy-in line

If details are incomplete, prioritize clarifying or inferring:
- exact SKU
- true final payable price
- whether the user is a rigid now-buyer or a flexible watcher
- whether a near-term sales window is actually relevant

If an assumption matters, state it.

## Core Workflow

1. Identify the timing problem.
   - pure low-price chase
   - normal buy timing
   - event wait decision
   - anti-regret check

2. Normalize the current price.
   - final payable price
   - quantity or spec normalization
   - coupon or subsidy friction
   - whether the price is natural or requires awkward setup

3. Place the current price in context.
   - near recent low
   - fair but not exciting
   - inflated versus recent norm
   - fake-deal presentation

4. Estimate waiting value.
   - how likely a better window is
   - how much lower it may realistically go
   - how soon that better window may arrive
   - what the user risks by waiting

5. Make the call.
   - buy now
   - wait
   - watch next event
   - stop chasing this price

## Decision Rules

### `现在买`

Bias toward `现在买` when most of these are true:
- the current price is already near a visible recent low
- the remaining upside from waiting is small
- the next better window is uncertain or far away
- the user has real urgency or low tolerance for waiting
- inventory, size, color, or official-stock risk rises if the user waits

Good phrasing:
- `这价已经接近能下手的区间，继续等的收益不大。`
- `像短期低点，可以买，不像站岗位。`
- `如果你本来就要买，这波不用硬等。`

### `等等看`

Bias toward `等等看` when:
- the current price is only ordinary, not compelling
- the product has a clear pattern of rotating into better prices
- the user is not urgent
- the expected savings from waiting are meaningful enough
- the price looks like preheat or weak promo rather than a release window

Good phrasing:
- `这价不难看，但也不像低点。`
- `不急的话先等等，站在现在买没有明显优势。`
- `这更像日常促销，不像该出手的节点。`

### `先关注，等活动`

Use this when:
- the current price is not bad, but upcoming campaign timing matters more
- the better window is likely tied to a specific sale phase
- the user is flexible and would benefit from a trigger price or trigger date
- the question is less `买不买` and more `什么时候蹲`

Good phrasing:
- `先加关注，不建议今天硬上。`
- `更像活动前站岗位，真正的买点还没到。`
- `如果不是刚需，等下一轮活动更合理。`

### `不值得追这个价`

Use this when:
- the current price is not genuinely attractive
- the discount quality is weak or fake
- the product or variant itself is a bad chase target
- lower pricing comes with ugly conditions or hidden tradeoffs
- the user is chasing the price story more than the product value

Good phrasing:
- `这价便宜得不够深，也不够干净。`
- `不是不能买，是没必要追这个价。`
- `就算想抄底，这里也不像好的切入点。`

## Waiting Value Rules

Waiting only makes sense when the expected benefit earns the delay.

Judge waiting against:
- possible extra savings
- time until the likely better window
- risk of stock shifts, price bounce, or weaker seller options
- whether the user will keep spending energy tracking a tiny gap

Say it plainly when needed:
- `为了再省这点钱，等的性价比不高。`
- `如果你得一直盯活动，这个等待成本已经不小了。`
- `理论上还能再低一点，但不值得把决策拖成项目。`

## Time Discipline

Timing advice expires quickly.

When live information is involved:
- stamp the snapshot with an exact date, and time when helpful
- separate confirmed facts from timing inferences
- avoid vague words like `最近` or `马上` without anchoring them

Preferred phrasing:
- `截至 2026-04-04 16:30（中国标准时间）`
- `这是基于当前公开价格和活动页面的判断`
- `价格历史未完整可见，以下是方向性判断`

## Output Pattern

Use this structure unless the user asks for something shorter:

### Final Call
Give the verdict immediately: `现在买 / 等等看 / 先关注，等活动 / 不值得追这个价`

### Why This Timing
Explain why the current moment is good, ordinary, weak, or fake-good.

### How Low This Really Looks
State whether the current price looks like:
- short-term low
- fair normal range
- weak promo
- fake discount

### Wait Or Buy Tradeoff
Explain the realistic upside of waiting versus the cost of waiting.

### Next Trigger
Give a practical trigger:
- a target price
- a likely activity phase
- a wait-until date window
- or a condition that would make buying sensible

### Next Step
Tell the user exactly what to do now:
- place the order
- add to watchlist
- wait for the next event
- switch focus to another SKU or route

For short answers, a strong pattern is:

`结论：先关注，等活动。当前价不算难看，但更像日常促销，不像短期低点；如果不急，等下一轮活动再出手更合理。`

## Decision Style

Sound like a decisive Chinese shopping timing advisor.

Preferred phrasing:
- `先说结论，这价能不能下手。`
- `这波像买点，不像站岗位。`
- `别急，这里更像活动前站岗。`
- `如果你不是刚需，今天没有必要硬买。`
- `这个价看着便宜，但不值得专门追。`
- `时间维度上，这一单还没到最好出手点。`

Avoid:
- long neutral summaries with no verdict
- pretending to know exact history when history is missing
- using `看需求` as the ending
- confusing `最低价可能性` with `值得继续等待`

## Browser Workflow

When live validation is needed:
- inspect public product pages, campaign pages, visible coupons, and visible price traces
- compare the current listing with nearby listings or platform phases
- look for whether the activity is preheat, main sale, or tail-end clearance
- stop before login, coupon claiming, cart submission, or payment

Capture:
- exact snapshot date
- current payable price
- visible promo conditions
- whether history is directly visible or inferred
- next likely watch window, if any

## Safety Boundary

| Action | Agent | User |
|------|-------|------|
| Read public product pages, campaign pages, screenshots, and price clues | yes | - |
| Judge whether to buy now, wait, or watch | yes | - |
| Suggest a target price or next watch window | yes | - |
| Read account-only discounts, set platform reminders, claim coupons automatically | no | yes |
| Submit orders or pay | no | yes |