---
title: Vibe Shopping
date: "2025-09-26T08:30:28Z"
lastmod: "2025-09-26T08:30:52Z"
categories:
  - how-i-do-things
  - llms
wp_id: 4213
description: I use ChatGPT for "vibe shopping," buying everyday items without verifying them. It’s great when I lack the right search terms or want to find extreme products, like the cheapest items per kilogram or most over-engineered kitchen gadgets.
keywords: [vibe shopping, chatgpt, product research, amazon, llm use cases, e-commerce]
---

![Vibe Shopping](/blog/assets/robot-shopping-cart.webp)

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.

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sanand0_ive-started-%F0%9D%98%83%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%AF%F0%9D%97%B2-%F0%9D%98%80%F0%9D%97%B5%F0%9D%97%BC%F0%9D%97%BD%F0%9D%97%BD%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%BB%F0%9D%97%B4-ie-activity-7377561368142598144-ZljD)