Why a general AI chatbot can't find you a deal
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity where to buy a used MacBook in Switzerland and you get a sensible-sounding list of websites. What you do not get is the listing, the actual MacBook, at CHF 352, on Ricardo, with 91% battery health, from a seller with 400 reviews. A chatbot answers from what it has read; Fetchly answers from what is for sale right now.
| General AI chatbot | Fetchly | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the answer comes from | Training data and a few web snippets, often months old. | A browser agent that opens the Swiss marketplaces live, right now. |
| How many listings are read | A handful at best, usually whatever a search engine surfaced first. | Every relevant search-result page on each platform, listing by listing. |
| Marketplaces covered | Mostly whatever is publicly indexed; many Swiss marketplace sites are not. | Ricardo, Tutti, Anibis and category-specific Swiss sites. |
| Price judgement | Repeats the asking price with no idea whether it is fair. | Compares each asking price to the current Swiss market value and reports the gap. |
| Bad and risky listings | No filter, a scam listing looks like any other result. | Garbage filter for mismatched photos and specs, scam filter on seller history. |
| What you get | A chat message you still have to verify yourself. | An emailed report with links, reasons, auction estimates and a ready message. |
When a chatbot is enough
For orientation, which brands to consider, what a fair range looks like, what to check on a used e-bike, a chatbot is fast and free, and Fetchly will not pretend otherwise. The moment you want the specific listing, at today's price, checked for junk and risky sellers, you need something that opens the marketplaces.
What Fetchly returns instead
An emailed report with ranked finds, each with the price gap to Swiss market value, the reason it was kept, an auction estimate where relevant, a seller check, and a ready-to-send message in the language of the listing. One hunt costs CHF 0, 4.04 or 12.49, no subscription, no account.