Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
It’s been a long weekend of sales, and it’s not over yet. Cyber Monday, which has risen in popularity to rival Black Friday, is almost here, and there are already a lot of good sales to shop. Cyber Monday was born out of the realization that many people would prefer to do their shopping online, rather than at a physical store, let alone one that’s packed with doorbusters and early birds.
But because it’s caught on with such force, that means there’s a lot to wade through. Maybe you’re on the hunt for something really specific, or maybe you just don’t feel like spending a lot of time on the internet — either way, wouldn’t it be nice if someone could do the legwork for you?
Below are three sites and apps that will do just that: find what you want, at the price that you want it. Check them all out, and leave any additional tips in the comments.
Operator
This new app allows you to connect directly with a real-life shopping expert; tell them what you’re looking for, and they’ll get right to work finding it. Since you’re talking to an actual human and not a bot, you can give them as many specifications as you want — price, color, material, etc. While it’s a good tool for people who don’t really feel like shopping in general, it’s particularly smart for sale days, when there are so many retailers to sift through.
Lyst
Lyst is a site that will give you curated product recommendations based off a unique “shopping profile” you set up that details what you like, what you don’t like, how you view your style, and so on. Since the site knows your taste, you don’t have to search through all the stuff you won’t be psyched about to find what you want. Setting up an account only takes a few minutes, so go ahead and do it today in preparation for Cyber Monday. It also has a handy “sale alert” function that’ll give you a heads-up on deals.
ShopStyle
ShopStyle is like a search engine for shopping, and is a better alternative to Google if you’re looking for a particular item (however, never rule out a good old Google Alert!). For example, a quick search for “Gucci belt” on the site pulls up quite a few options in different price ranges, so it’s easy to do your due diligence and find the best pick without opening a ton of tabs. Like Lyst, ShopStyle also has a sale alert function, and you don’t even have to leave the main search results page to set one up.