I’ve started vibe shopping, i.e. using ChatGPT to shop for small, daily items and buying without verifying. For example:
- “A metal rack for the floor: at least 2 ft * 1 ft * 2 ft, small gaps, popular options on Amazon.in.” https://chatgpt.com/share/68d61d68-7040-800c-936b-354749539308
- “An optical wired mouse that’s smaller than usual, 4*+, popular, Prime-eligible for Chennai by the weekend on Amazon.in.” https://chatgpt.com/share/68d61e0d-420c-800c-bc71-821b9f9296a9
The best use is when I don’t know the right terms. In this case, the terms were wire rack and mini mouse.
This is also useful when I don’t know what to buy. For example:
- “A Diwali gift for a Taiwanese colleague.”
- “Useful travel items under Rs500.”
- “A harmless ‘annoying’ gift for a friend who never returns stuff.”
But last week I found a new use: deep product research.
In The Mentalist (S5E4), Jane asks Grace to deliver “anything, as long as it’s large and heavy,” at an address.
If I were Grace, I’d ask ChatGPT: ‘What are the cheapest things to buy per kg?’"
It turns out that the cheapest thing I can order from Chennai is compost: ~Rs 13,500 for 1 ton. https://chatgpt.com/share/68d61d0e-cfc4-800c-a562-6c9d07edfc69
Here are some products I’m “deep researching” on Amazon:
- What can I buy that’s technically edible but shouldn’t be?
- What has the weirdest warning label?
- What product has the longest name?
- What’re individually innocent but together make the checkout very suspicious?
- What’s the heaviest thing that fits in a 1x1 foot box?
- What’s the most over-engineered kitchen gadget?
- What’s the most ridiculous “office supplies” I can expense?
- What’s the most useless thing that still has 4+ stars?
- What’s the quietest product? Stealth > silent.