Galactic Deal Detector

This project, the 'Galactic Deal Detector', is inspired by the scarcity and preciousness of information or items in worlds like 'Nightfall' and the consumer desire for specific goods seen in 'Star Wars: A New Hope' (think Luke's desire for a new moisture vaporator part, or the black market dealings on Tatooine). It also draws from the 'E-Commerce Pricing' scraper concept by focusing on price fluctuations but with a niche focus.

Concept: The core idea is to build a highly focused price tracking and alert system for niche markets within the sci-fi, fantasy, and gaming genres. Instead of broad e-commerce, we target specific types of products: limited edition action figures, rare comic books, signed memorabilia, specific video game editions, or even themed apparel.

How it Works:
1. NLP-Powered Product Identification: Using basic NLP techniques like keyword extraction and Named Entity Recognition (NER), the system will identify product listings on various e-commerce platforms (e.g., eBay, specific fan-focused marketplaces, niche online stores). The keywords will be curated to focus on desired genres and product types.
2. Web Scraping: A simple web scraper will be employed to extract relevant data points for identified products: current price, historical price (if available or through a simple rolling average), seller reputation, and product condition.
3. Deal Detection Algorithm: The core logic will compare the current price against a calculated 'fair market value' or a historical average. A significant percentage drop (e.g., 20% or more) or a price falling below a predefined threshold will trigger an alert.
4. User Alerts: Users will subscribe to specific product categories or even individual items they are interested in. When a 'deal' is detected, an email or push notification will be sent to the user.

Niche & Low-Cost Implementation: The niche focus on sci-fi/fantasy merchandise makes it manageable. Basic scraping libraries (like BeautifulSoup in Python), free or low-cost cloud functions for scheduled scraping, and a simple email notification service (like SendGrid's free tier) are all that's needed. The data sources can be limited initially to a few key platforms.

High Earning Potential:
- Affiliate Marketing: Partner with relevant e-commerce sites and earn commissions on sales driven by the alerts.
- Premium Subscription: Offer advanced features like more frequent scans, custom alert parameters, or access to a curated 'deal feed' for a monthly fee.
- Data Insights: Aggregate anonymized data on pricing trends within the niche for market research reports sold to collectors or retailers.
- Personalized Shopping Agent: Position it as a concierge service for collectors looking for specific rare items, charging a finder's fee for successfully sourced deals.