# Hardware Hunter

> Automated deal alerts for homelab builders and hardware enthusiasts.

Hardware Hunter watches Reddit, eBay, and Slickdeals so you don't have to.
You describe what you want and set a price ceiling. The scanner runs every two hours,
evaluates every listing against your criteria, and alerts you only when a deal is
genuinely worth acting on.

Full technical breakdown at https://hardwarehunter.io/how-it-works

## What it does

- **Hunts**: You create a "hunt" — a saved search with category, budget ceiling, and
  optional criteria (brand preferences, capacity, condition). Once set, it runs
  automatically in the background.

- **Scoring**: Every listing gets a score from 1–10. The scorer weighs price vs. current
  market median, scam signals (too-good price, vague location, fresh account), listing
  quality, and match against your specific criteria using an LLM.

- **Alerts**: Score 8–10 = ALERT (act now). Score 6–7 = WATCH (keep an eye on it).
  Below 6 = silently skipped. You get email alerts, with Telegram as an option for
  Pro subscribers.

- **Sources**: r/homelabsales, r/hardwareswap, r/buildapcsales, r/DataHoarder, eBay,
  and Slickdeals. Coverage varies by hardware category.

## Who it's for

Homelab builders, self-hosters, and anyone who buys used hardware regularly —
people who know exactly what they want but don't have time to check five subreddits
and eBay twice a day. Particularly useful for: used server gear, networking equipment
(switches, NICs, SFP+), used GPUs, ECC RAM, NAS drives, and homelab-specific hardware.

## What it's NOT

- Not a price tracker for new/retail hardware (use CamelCamelCamel for Amazon)
- Not a real-time alert system — scans run on a schedule, not on new post detection
- Not a replacement for reading listings — it flags what's worth clicking, not what to buy
- Not a general classifieds scraper — hardware-focused categories only

## Frequently Asked Questions

**How does the scoring work?**
Each listing is scored 1–10 by an LLM (DeepSeek Chat) using: price vs. current market
median, scam signals (account age, location vagueness, price outliers), listing quality,
and match against your specific hunt criteria. Score ≥ 8 = alert; 6–7 = watch; below 6
is silently skipped.

**Where does Hardware Hunter find listings?**
r/homelabsales, r/hardwareswap, r/buildapcsales (GPU/CPU deals), r/DataHoarder (storage),
eBay, and Slickdeals. Sources available depend on hardware category.

**How often does it scan?**
Free tier: every 6 hours. Pro tier: every 2 hours.

**Will it spam me with alerts?**
No. The scoring threshold is designed to produce 0–5 alerts per day per hunt on a normal
market day, not dozens. The point is signal, not noise.

**What hardware categories are supported?**
GPU, CPU, RAM (including ECC), Storage (HDD/SSD/NVMe), Networking (switches, NICs, SFP+),
Apple Silicon / Mac mini, and a general "other" category for misc homelab gear.

**Is there a free tier?**
Yes. Free includes 3 active hunts, email alerts, and daily scans. No credit card
required to sign up.

**What does Pro cost?**
$5/month or $75 lifetime. Pro adds unlimited hunts, Telegram real-time alerts, and 2-hour
scan intervals.

## Pricing

- **Free**: 3 active hunts, email alerts, daily scan interval
- **Pro** ($5/month or $75 lifetime): Unlimited hunts, Telegram alerts, 2-hour scan interval

## Status

Currently in open beta.
Site: https://hardwarehunter.io
How it works: https://hardwarehunter.io/how-it-works
X/Twitter: https://x.com/gethwhunter
Support: https://hardwarehunter.io/support

## Technical notes

The scoring engine uses DeepSeek Chat via LiteLLM. Price benchmarks are computed
from historical scan data (median, p25, p75 by category/subcategory). The scanner
is a Python background worker on a cron schedule, not a real-time stream.
Scam signal detection uses heuristic pre-filters before the LLM evaluation step.