Check the date, currency and selected option first
An FSBuy spreadsheet may show an older price, another currency or the price of a different option. Start by checking those details against the current product page. In this directory, prices are saved item prices in Chinese yuan (CNY); they do not update each time you reload the page.
A difference alone does not tell you why the price changed. Check that you are comparing the same item and selected option, in the same currency, on dates you have recorded.
The snapshot date tells you when the directory information was saved. Editing an article or refreshing a browser tab does not refresh those prices.
Why updates can arrive at different times
A store can change its price while a separate product list still shows the old amount. For example, a sale may start or end before another website updates its saved information.
Google documents this timing problem in its Merchant Center guidance: store prices and submitted product data can update at different times. That is one possible explanation for a mismatch, rather than a diagnosis of any particular listing.
The useful lesson for a reader is narrower: the date on a directory record matters. A heading that says “updated” is less informative when it does not explain which information was checked. A page edit and a price observation can be different events.
An amount needs a currency and an exact offer
A bare number is not a complete price. Google’s product-price specification explicitly pairs an amount with a currency and expects it to agree with the corresponding offer. For a reader, that makes currency part of the comparison rather than a decorative symbol.
Before comparing amounts, identify whether the destination is showing the same product option. A headline range, an entry-level option and a particular selected version may describe different offers. The title can remain the same even when your selected option changes.
| What differs | What that might mean | What still needs confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| Record date and current page date | The source may have changed since collection | The current amount for the exact option |
| Currency labels | The numbers are expressed in different units | The currency actually applied to the offer |
| Range versus selected-option amount | One display summarizes several options | The version represented by each number |
| Item amount versus payable total | The displays cover different cost components | What is included in each amount |
An open product page does not mean every option is in stock
Availability is separate from price. An offer may be in stock, unavailable, on preorder or on backorder. Those states can leave a product page visible while changing whether and when it can be supplied. Google’s availability documentation treats them as distinct statuses rather than different ways to say “available.”
Stock may differ by size or color. Check the availability of the option you selected on the current product page, even if the directory still lists the item.
For the same reason, an older saved price can remain useful as a historical reference without describing an offer that you can still obtain. Do not turn that historical number into an assumed discount.
A simple example of a misleading comparison
Consider a hypothetical record showing CNY 200 while the destination shows CNY 240. If you do not know the record date or the selected option, you cannot yet call it a price increase. The comparison might involve an expired offer, another version or an incorrectly understood range. These are possibilities to investigate, not reported events for a real listing.
Now suppose the model, option, currency and included components match, and the current page is clear. You can record that its displayed amount differs from the older snapshot. That is a defensible observation; a claim about why the operator changed it would require additional evidence.
Use the spreadsheet amount as a research reference
Keep the date, currency, selected option and included costs with any price you save. Use the current product page for the offer available now, then use the parcel guide to plan shipping and other costs separately.
When you are ready to compare candidates, browse products by category and check each product page’s saved CNY price and selected style.