How we match products across stores
Every retailer describes the same product differently. This page shows how 114 raw listings were mapped to canonical products, cheapest and most certain signal first. This is the core technical risk of the business, so it's shown in the open.
The 5 checks, in order
Each listing stops at the first check that succeeds. Stricter checks come first, so a fuzzy guess is only used when nothing better exists.
- 170 matched · 99%Barcode (UPC/GTIN)
The universal barcode printed on the box. If a store gives it and it matches our catalog, it's the same product.
Best Buy UPC 027242923232 → Sony WH-1000XM5 - 221 matched · 97%Exact model number
Manufacturer model number, ignoring spaces, dashes and case.
Amazon “WH1000XM5/B” = catalog “WH1000XM5/B” - 36 matched · 85%Model family
Same model core with a different suffix: color, region, or a store-exclusive version. Shown separately, never as the headline price.
Costco “OLED65C4AUA” ≈ LG “OLED65C4PUA” (family OLED65C4) - 44 matched · 80%Model code in the title
No IDs from the store, but the title contains a known model code.
Target “Sony WH-1000XM4 … Silver” → WH-1000XM4 - 510 matched · ≤75%Title similarity
Last resort, within the same brand only. Rejected if two products score too close, or if a model code conflicts.
“AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) … USB-C” → AirPods Pro 2 (0.83 vs 0.67)
Barcode matches the catalog exactly. Near-certain.
Manufacturer model number matches exactly.
Model shares a family prefix (color, region or retailer-exclusive variant). Needs a sanity check.
No structured IDs, but the title contains a known model code.
Only the title. Brand-scoped token similarity, rejected when ambiguous or when a model code conflicts.
Goes to a review queue. In production an LLM proposes a match or a new catalog entry.
Identifier coverage by retailer
| Retailer | Listings | Has GTIN | Has model # | Matched |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | 28 | 39% | 100% | 96% |
| Best Buy | 27 | 96% | 100% | 100% |
| Walmart | 24 | 92% | 0% | 96% |
| Target | 13 | 0% | 0% | 92% |
| Costco | 10 | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| B&H Photo | 12 | 92% | 92% | 100% |
Unmatched: review queue (3)
| Raw listing | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
Amazon · $89.95 · JBLT770NCBLKAM JBL Tune 770NC Adaptive Noise Cancelling Wireless Over-Ear Headphones | Unmatched | Model JBLT770NCBLKAM not in catalog · Brand "jbl" not in catalog: candidate for a new product |
Walmart · $398 onn. 65" Class 4K UHD QLED Roku Smart TV | Unmatched | Brand "onn" not in catalog: candidate for a new product |
Target · $1,799.99 Samsung 65" Neo QLED 4K Smart TV | Unmatched | No confident title match; closest candidate samsung-qn65qn90d needs model token "qn90d", which the title lacks |
Matched without a barcode or exact model (the hard ones) (20)
| Raw listing | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
Target · $349.99 Sony WH-1000XM5 Bluetooth Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones | sony-wh1000xm5 Model in title · 80% | Title contains model "WH1000XM5" |
Target · $249.99 Sony WH-1000XM4 Bluetooth Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones | sony-wh1000xm4 Model in title · 80% | Title contains model "WH1000XM4" · Out of stock |
Target · $429 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones | bose-qc-ultra Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00, runner-up 0.86 |
Costco · $349.99 · 880066-0100-CO Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (880066-0100-CO) | bose-qc-ultra Model family · 85% | Model 880066-0100-CO shares family "880066" with 880066-0100: likely a retailer/region variant, so verify it's identical |
Target · $279 Bose QuietComfort Headphones | bose-qc-headphones Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00, runner-up 0.86 |
Target · $529.99 Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) | apple-airpods-max Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00, runner-up 0.55 |
Target · $129.99 Soundcore Space Q45 Adaptive Noise Cancelling Headphones | anker-soundcore-q45 Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00 |
Target · $199.99 Apple AirPods Pro 2 with MagSafe Case (USB-C) | apple-airpods-pro-2 Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00, runner-up 0.55 |
Target · $249.99 Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro | samsung-galaxy-buds3-pro Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00, runner-up 0.15 |
Costco · $1,499.99 · OLED65C4AUA LG 65" Class OLED evo C4 Series 4K Smart TV (OLED65C4AUA) | lg-oled65c4 Model family · 85% | Model OLED65C4AUA shares family "OLED65C4" with OLED65C4PUA: likely a retailer/region variant, so verify it's identical |
Costco · $1,099.99 · OLED55C4AUA LG 55" Class OLED evo C4 Series 4K Smart TV (OLED55C4AUA) | lg-oled55c4 Model family · 85% | Model OLED55C4AUA shares family "OLED55C4" with OLED55C4PUA: likely a retailer/region variant, so verify it's identical |
Target · $1,599.99 Samsung 65" Class S90D OLED 4K Smart TV | samsung-qn65s90d Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00, runner-up 0.25 |
Costco · $1,399.99 · QN65S90DDFXZA Samsung 65" Class S90D OLED 4K Smart TV (QN65S90DDFXZA) | samsung-qn65s90d Model family · 85% | Model QN65S90DDFXZA shares family "QN65S90D" with QN65S90DAFXZA: likely a retailer/region variant, so verify it's identical |
Target · $999.99 Samsung 65" Class Q80D QLED 4K Smart TV | samsung-qn65q80d Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00, runner-up 0.13 |
Costco · $1,899.99 · K65XR80C Sony BRAVIA 8 65" OLED 4K HDR Google TV (K65XR80C) | sony-k65xr80 Model family · 85% | Model K65XR80C shares family "K65XR80" with K65XR80: likely a retailer/region variant, so verify it's identical |
Target · $199.99 ASUS TUF Gaming 27" QHD 170Hz VA Monitor | asus-vg27aqa1a Fuzzy title · 75% | Fuzzy title match 1.00, runner-up 0.38 |
Target · $259.99 Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Canceling Over-Ear Bluetooth Headphones - Silver | sony-wh1000xm4 Model in title · 80% | Title contains model "WH1000XM4" |
Walmart · $169 Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) Wireless Ear Buds with USB-C Charging | apple-airpods-pro-2 Fuzzy title · 63% | Fuzzy title match 0.83, runner-up 0.67 |
Costco · $1,599.99 · OLED65C4AUA LG 65" Class - OLED C4 Series - 4K UHD TV - Allstate 3-Year Protection Plan Bundle Included | lg-oled65c4 Model family · 85% | Model OLED65C4AUA shares family "OLED65C4" with OLED65C4PUA: likely a retailer/region variant, so verify it's identical · Bundle, so not comparable to the bare product price |
B&H Photo · $879 Dell Alienware AW3225QF 31.6" 4K 240 Hz Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor | dell-aw3225qf Model in title · 80% | Title contains model "AW3225QF" |