About InStockBot 1.2
Read about InStockBot on CNET.com!
"Registration is $9.95 and worth every penny. Wouldn't have gotten a PS2 without it." says a user.
"I like the bots; they scream consumer empowerment" says Forrester Research analyst Carrie Johnson.

Are you trying to find the hottest presents for this holiday season? Do all of your local stores not have them in stock? Do you keep missing out when the on-line stores get more in? Are your hands falling off from refreshing web pages hoping you will be lucky enough to be there when they come back in stock? (and then kicking yourself when you forgot to refresh for a few minutes)?

If this describes you, then you need InStockBot. We created InStockBot to help monitor web sites for PlayStation 2. Rumors were flying that more were coming in. Using InStockBot, I was one of the luckly few able to snag a PlayStation 2.

InStockBot is a mini-browser that scans any web-page every minute. When text you define either appears or disappers, StockBot alerts you. For example, to get our PlayStation 2, we scanned the page until the text "out of stock" was no longer displayed. When this happened, I quickly clicked the order button and the game was mine.

New in InStockBot 1.2
- Text Only mode for Amazon.com (See PS2 Helper)
- Easy configuration for Amazon.com's new PS2 Sports Package w/ NHL 2001
- Walmart purchasing options
- Easier to watch multiple sites
- Small bug fixes

Buying InStockBot
Before you buy, try our demo version (~345K). The demo version can only watch a page up to 5 times. If you are satisfied, you can upgrade your demo version to the full version for $9.95 that has no limit on the number of times a page is watched. We accept payments through the PayPal service. PayPal is a recognized leader in on-line payments. Once we receive payment, we will send you an e-mail message explaining how to activate the full version of InStockBot.

InStockBot 1.2 requires Microsoft Windows running Internet Explorer 5.0 or later and an active connection to the Internet. We have two setup programs. A Quick Setup that is a smaller download and a Complete Setup that includes extra files that are found on the most recent Windows machines.

Download Quick-Setup Now (~345K)
Download and run the setup program!

Download Complete Setup Now (~1.5mb)
Complete Setup for Window's 98 (or if the other setup fails)

Please send any questions about InStockBot to instockbot@siteexperts.com.

Using InStockBot
InStockBot works by automatically refreshing the web-page at a user-defined interval (eg., the same as you refreshing a web-page every 60 seconds). InStockBot is provided as-is and by using InStockBot you agree to accept all responsibility for its use. Below is a screen-shot explaining what each setting does:

At the top of the page is a web-address field. This field is the same as entering a web-address in your browser. Use this to quickly browse the web.

At the bottom of the page is where you can configure InStockBot manually or use the Amazon.com or Walmart.com helper tools.

Manually Configuring InStockBot
By manually configuring InStockBot, you can create custom watches for most sites and most products. When configuring, you set the Watch URL and set the repeat and display options. The Watch URL is the URL of the web-page you are monitoring. The alert field is the text you want InStockBot to watch for. You can either look for when the text is displayed or when the text is not displayed. We suggest you test the URL at this point by clicking the Watch button to make sure the page loads. If the page loads correctly you are ready to enable a repetitive watch. Click the "Repeat Every" check box and if you desire, modify the number of seconds. Now click the Watch button and sit back and relax. When the alert occurs, an alert box will be displayed saying "ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT" and you will be able to use InStockBot to navigate and order the item.

The middle of the page is the browser window. You can navigate and browse the web in this window. If you start navigating in the middle of a watch, the watch is automatically stopped. To restart the watch, click the Watch! button.

To watch multiple packages or web-sites, click on the "New InStockBot" button. This will start another instance of the InStockBot application.

That's it! Just remember, InStockBot does the monitoring but you still need to be at your computer to order the item when it comes into stock.

Amazon.com Playstation Helper and Auto-Buy Feature
The PlayStation 2 is the hottest game of the season and Amazon.com has been the most reliable source for getting one. We added features specific for shopping at Amazon.com: An auto-buy feature that can automatically purchase the item when it comes into stock using the one-click purchase button and a helper screen for quickly setting up a watch for the Playstation 2.

If you are running on a slower connection (eg., a modem), you may want to consider using the Helper screen to watch Amazon in text mode. In Text Mode, no graphics need to be downloaded so the watch is more efficient.

This feature is not approved nor endorsed by Amazon.com and is provided as a convenience to InStockBot users.

Walmart.com Auto-Checkout and Add to Cart Feature BETA
Walmart.com has also been fairly consistent at offering PlayStation 2 units. We added two special features for Walmart.com that are available at the bottom of the main InStockBot screen.

This feature is not approved nor endorsed by Walmart.com and is provided as a convenience to InStockBot users.

The first step to watching Walmart is to add a PlayStation 2 bundle to your shopping cart. Clicking the "Add to Cart" button will create a Walmart shopping cart with a PlayStation 2 bundle and automatically configure InStockBot to watch the page.

You can also optionally configure InStockBot to automatically click the Checkout button when the PS2 is available. This will not complete the purchase but rather take you to the confirmation and order completion pages.

Finally, do not forget to click the "Watch" button to start watching.

We consider the Walmart helper watch a Beta as we have not yet purchased a PS2 from Walmart (they have not got any in stock since we completed this feature). If you are successful using this feature to buy from Walmart.com, please let us know.

How do I know InStockBot is Running?
To verify InStockBot is running, watch the "Watch Counter". It will increment every time InStockBot refreshes the page.

Tips and Techniques
Before starting a watch you should navigate to the web-site being watched and log-on. This way when you place your order all your credentials are already stored. For some sites, your credentials may expire so you may want to stop the watch and re-logon every so often.

PlayStation 2 Auction
If you don't have the patience and want a PS2 system now, we are auctioning one off on Amazon.com. Bid now and have it next week!