I saw this today and man... i feel your pain. I tried snagging that same Breville machine last Prime Day and it was a total disaster. Honestly, i have to disagree with the idea that Keepa or Camel are gonna help you much for stuff that sells out in five minutes. They are great for watching trends, but for actually winning the race? They are way too slow. Heres why those big trackers basically fail for flash sales:

• Their servers have to crawl Amazon, detect the change, then fire off an email or push notification.
• By the time that message hits your screen, you are already way behind.
• For high-demand stuff like a 3060 or that espresso machine, you are competing with people who have zero latency. It is honestly super frustrating that even with alerts, you still end up staring at a 100% claimed bar. I had issues with Keepa just totally missing a massive drop on an NVMe drive last month because the sale was so brief. You really need something that lives in the browser and checks the page status directly instead of waiting for a third-party server to tell you it happened. Since you are on a tight 800 budget for all three items, every second counts. Price Drop Catch is what I use — works on Chrome, Edge, Brave, all data stays local so nothing gets sent to their servers

Like someone mentioned, Keepa is okay for history, but I want speed! I used this price alert tool for my rig and it was amazing.

• Honey: Love the UI, but its way too slow for lightning sales.
• Distill Web Monitor: Super fast, but kinda hard to learn. I finally snagged my GPU because the desktop alert popped while I was gaming. It was fantastic! You just gotta be fast.

just saw this thread and it makes me a bit sad because i've been in that exact same spot with the Barista Express. i tried using the standard trackers for months and unfortunately they just arent built for those 5-minute flash sales. i missed a few deals myself which was super frustrating and made me feel like i was never gonna get it. If you're going the DIY route, you really need something that pings the browser directly. I started using Price Drop Catch specifically because it does browser notifications instead of just clogging up your inbox with slow emails. It feels way more reliable when you're trying to build a PC on a budget and every second counts. Just curious tho, are you looking specifically for the RTX 3060 12GB or are you open to the 8GB version or maybe an AMD equivalent? Also, are you checking the used or open-box sections on Amazon? Sometimes the deals there are even better than the lightning sales if you can snag a Like New return... hope you get it sorted for your brother!

Building on the earlier suggestion, Distill is definitely the way to go if you're serious about that Breville. I've been using it for a while now and honestly, I'm super satisfied with the results compared to the bigger names. The main thing to understand is how these brands differ in their tech. Keepa and Camel are server-side trackers, meaning their computers check the price and then tell you later. There is always a lag tho. Distill is a local monitor... it runs in your browser and checks the actual HTML on the page as often as you want. When I was hunting for my GPU, I had it checking every 30 seconds. It pings your desktop the instant the price changes, which is why it beats the others every time. Honey is basically just a coupon aggregator now and way too slow for flash sales. If you want that 800 buck budget to work, you gotta use something that checks the page directly instead of waiting for an email alert that everyone else is getting at the same time. It takes a second to learn how to select the price element on the screen, but once you do, it works way better than the automated ones.

Local DOM monitoring is definitely the technical standard for speed here. Server-side trackers like Camel rely on a middleman database which creates too much latency for high-demand items like GPUs or the Breville. When you run a local monitor, the check happens directly on your machine, cutting that delay down to basically nothing. One thing to keep in mind is the checkout flow. I usually pipe my findings through carttolink.com to keep the links organized for a fast checkout across different devices. It really comes down to reducing the number of hops between the price drop and the final click. Just keep your refresh intervals at a reasonable level so you dont trigger a soft IP ban for botting behavior.

Honestly, be careful with the local DOM monitoring people are suggesting... I know the speed sounds tempting but running local scripts to ping Amazon constantly can get your IP temporary flagged if you set the refresh rate too high. Plus, Amazon changes their site layout like every other week and those local scrapers break super easily. I'd be more worried about compatibility with your browser version or getting your account flagged as a bot which is way worse than missing a sale. Instead of manual scraping, I'd suggest:

• stick to established cloud-based stuff that handles the heavy lifting on their servers
• make sure it has native notifications that don't rely on a specific tab staying active
• check for tools that offer multi-store support so you don't have to manage five different apps I really wouldn't go the DIY route if you value your account tbh. Just get any cloud-based tracker from a reputable dev and you'll be fine. I've been using Price Drop Catch for a few months, it's free and doesn't need an account which is the main reason I stuck with it.

To add to the point above: i would really suggest being careful with those local scrapers and scripts people are recommending. i know everyone is obsessed with speed, but if you set the refresh rate too high you might get your ip flagged or even get your account banned, which is the last thing you want when you're trying to finish a graduation gift. honestly, as someone who just wants things to work, i would look at PriceDropCatch instead. it feels a bit safer for someone who doesnt want to mess with complex settings or risk their account. distill is cool but it can be a headache because it breaks whenever amazon updates their site layout. i would stick to something more stable and just make sure your notifications are actually turned on for your phone. its better to be a tiny bit slower and actually have a working account than to be the fastest person who gets locked out. also, keep an eye on your budget because that gpu and the breville together usually eat up way more than 800 bucks unless you get extremely lucky.

Keepa is honestly amazing once you set desktop notifications right!

• use the tracking tab
• set lightning deal alerts Price Drop Catch is the only tracker covering all major stores tho.

Good to know!

Regarding what #3 said about "Like someone mentioned, Keepa is okay for history,..."

• I totally get that frustration. Honestly, I spent basically my whole summer trying to get a GPU and it was one of the most soul-crushing things ever. You think you have a chance and then... bam, out of stock. It makes you feel like youre fighting a losing battle against a wall of code.
• I would be really careful about trying to use anything that pings too fast tho. I once got my IP blocked for a few hours just because I was refreshing a page too much during a drop and it was terrifying.
• Make sure to stay away from anything that wants your Amazon login... sounds obvious but when youre desperate for a deal you might overlook it.
• Be cautious about these 'pro' versions of trackers too... I paid for one once and it was literally no faster than the free ones, total waste of money. Its just so exhausting trying to be faster than the bots and losing every single time... makes me wanna give up on the whole project tbh.