Cheap

Find the cheapest meaningful visible price for a product across Chinese e-commerce platforms.

Use this skill when the user provides a product name and wants the lowest current visible price, the cheapest platform, or a quick cross-platform price comparison.

This skill operates in two modes:

• Mode 1: Price-accessible mode — enough platform price evidence is accessible to support a meaningful comparison.
• Mode 2: Price-limited mode — platform access, product matching, or price visibility is too weak for a strong cheapest-price claim.

Read these references as needed:

• references/product-matching.md when deciding whether two listings are likely the same product
• references/platform-playbook.md when searching different Chinese shopping platforms
• references/price-judgment.md when deciding which price counts as the meaningful cheapest price
• references/output-patterns.md when preparing the final answer
• references/failure-modes.md when product matching, pricing, or platform access is weak
• references/examples.md when examples help calibrate the result format

Workflow

1. Identify the product.

   • Accept a product name.
   • If the product is too broad or ambiguous, ask one short clarifying question for the most decision-relevant detail, such as brand, model, size, or key variant.

2. Check price accessibility.

   • Search across relevant Chinese platforms.
   • Decide which mode applies:
     • Mode 1 if enough visible price evidence is accessible and comparable.
     • Mode 2 if platform access, listing clarity, or price conditions are too weak for a strong cheapest-price claim.

3. If Mode 1, compare meaningful prices.

   • Prefer Taobao, Tmall, JD.com, Pinduoduo, and other clearly relevant platforms.
   • Use only currently visible price evidence.
   • Match comparable listings by brand, model, specs, quantity, version, and bundle contents.
   • Distinguish straightforward visible price from coupon-only, member-only, deposit/pre-sale, bundle-distorted, or variant-mismatched prices.

4. If Mode 2, do not fake precision.

   • State that the currently accessible evidence is too weak for a strong cheapest-price claim.
   • Explain whether the issue is platform access, weak product matching, or distorted price conditions.
   • Give only a limited conclusion when still useful.

5. Give the result. Cover:

   • cheapest platform or listing found when supportable
   • visible price evidence actually available
   • comparable alternatives when supportable
   • matching confidence
   • any caveats about variants, bundles, coupons, seller trust, or access limits

Output

Use this structure unless the user asks for something else.

Mode 1 output

Use when enough price evidence is accessible.

Cheapest Found

State the lowest meaningful visible price found and on which platform.

Comparable Options

List the main comparable prices found on other platforms.

Match Confidence

State whether the compared listings look like the same product:

• High
• Medium
• Low

Caveats

State any important risks, such as:

• unclear variant match
• bundle differences
• coupon or membership pricing
• deposit or pre-sale pricing
• seller quality concerns
• incomplete platform access

Final Advice

Give a direct buying suggestion in plain language.

Mode 2 output

Use when accessible evidence is too weak for a strong lowest-price claim.

Current Best Signal

State the weakest still-usable price clue, if any.

Why No Strong Cheapest Claim

Explain whether the issue is:

• platform access limits
• weak listing comparability
• unclear price conditions
• incomplete platform coverage

What Remains Unverified

State what cannot yet be confirmed.

Final Advice

Give a cautious conclusion without pretending a definitive lowest price was found.

Quality bar

Do:

• compare like-for-like listings
• say when the cheapest visible option may not be the best option
• distinguish real low price from misleading low price
• be explicit when matching confidence is weak

Do not:

• compare different variants as if they were the same item
• treat coupon-only or pre-sale prices as normal prices without warning
• claim full-market coverage when platform access is incomplete
• invent prices or listing details

Limitation handling

If the product is too ambiguous:

• ask one short clarifying question

If platform access is incomplete:

• switch to Mode 2 unless a narrower Mode 1 comparison is still supportable
• say which platforms were actually checked
• avoid claiming a definitive all-platform lowest price
• do not present a partial platform scan as a full-market cheapest-price result

If listing comparability is weak:

• lower confidence
• explain what may not match cleanly

If the visible lowest number depends on unclear conditions:

• do not present it as the straightforward cheapest option without warning