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Where to Find Those Hard-To-Find Items

10195Have you ever seen someone wearing an outfit that you have absolutely loved, but had no idea where to find it for yourself? Have you ever seen an item in the store and wondered if you could find it somewhere else for a better price? You might not know this, but there are actually websites and apps that will let you upload photos of the things you love and find out where you can get those items for yourself.

See It, Want It

See It, Want It is a search service where you can upload a photo form your computer or phone and they will go out and find it for you. In exchange, you do a promo of the blog on tumblr, Facebook, or another social media outlet, and provide the blog owners with a link to that promo. Readers can also post photos of found items for other users, with a link to where the item can be purchased. Items that readers want are called Lost Items, and the items that people find are called Found Items.

The advantage to See It, Want It is that you can get your desire out there to multiple people, which increase your chances of finding that item. You also get the opportunity to see what other people what, which can give you more ideas. Also, you get the opportunity to help others by finding items that they're looking for.

The disadvantage is that it can sometimes take a while for a Lost Item to show up on the blog. The blog is essentially run by one person and she gets several submissions a week. If she has a big backlog, or is busy outside the blog, it could delay posting of Lost Items. Also, you have to promote the blog to have your item posted. While that's not a big deal, those who aren't as social media savvy might have problems.

Superfish

Superfish is an image search database that lets you upload photos to search for items across the internet. You can upload your own photos, or you can use photos provided at the site to find fashion, décor items, and even pets. There are three specific areas of Superfish: Like That Décor, PetMatch, and ShopScout. Like That Décor is a website and is also available as an Apple app; PetMatch is available as an app on both Apple and Android; and ShopScout is only available as an Apple app.

The advantage to Superfish is that the results are instantaneous. Because the technology uses search engines, you basically initiate the search the minute you upload an image, or click on one of the preset images at the site. There's no waiting for someone to post the photo to the site, or do the search for you. Also, you can get multiple results in a variety of price ranges, versus whatever you can get if someone happens to see your desired item somewhere, and remembers to post the information.

The disadvantage is that not all products are available on all platforms. As of this writing, those with Apple mobile devices can access all the products, but Android and PC users can't. However that could change in the near future.

The Hunt

The Hunt is similar to See It, Want It in that it is a community-driven search. That is, people upload images and other subscribers provide information on where the items can be found. The difference is that the process is a little quicker because the images appear as soon as you upload them. The Hunt also has an app available to Apple users, so they can access the site via their mobile devices.

The advantage to The Hunt is that you have a community of thousands of people willing to join the hunt for whatever it is you're looking for. Also, the blog has a lot more people running it, so there shouldn't be any delays in posting information or getting assistance.

The disadvantage to The Hunt is that you have to rely on the community to find the items for you. Because there are hundreds of hunts listed each day, it's possible that yours it could take a while for someone to scroll through and see yours, unless it's a popular hunt and gets bumped to the top. Also, the site is only available on one mobile platform, which means android users can't upload photos from their phones as they take them.

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