Case file — now on the Chrome Web Store

Buy it from
the source.
Skip the markup.

Vigilante is a browser extension that spots when the product you're viewing is being dropshipped or marked up — and links you straight to the original source listing, so you can buy direct and keep the difference.

FreeNo accountDesktop Chrome
Exhibit 01Sunset projection lamp
What the store charged Store price: $39.95 Same item, from the source
Source price: $8.74
The markup4.6×
Same item · Same warehouse
Store $39.95 ÷ source $8.74 Markup $31.21
§ 01Procedure

Three steps, zero effort

You shop the way you always do. Vigilante does the checking.

  1. 01

    You shop normally

    Browse any online store. When a product page loads, Vigilante checks it — and again at cart and checkout.

  2. 02

    It spots the markup

    Using product images and identifiers, Vigilante recognizes when an item is dropshipped or resold above its source price.

  3. 03

    You buy direct

    It shows the original source listing and the real price. You decide: buy direct to save, or stay with the store for faster shipping and easier returns.

Exhibit 02The card, as shown
Mesh lumbar support, store B. Drawn from the live card's own layout — it says “+ shipping” until the shipping cost is known.
01The page is drawn, not rendered — grey bars stand in for text.
02One card. No glow, no shadow, nothing raised.
03The checked price is the only colour on the page.
§ 02The markup, measured

Same lamp. Two prices.

A real match from our pipeline: a sunset projection lamp sold on a dropship storefront for $39.95 — and listed by its source seller for $8.74. Most of the sticker price is markup.

Exhibit 03Anatomy of a price
Sticker price at the store$39.95
$8.74source price
$31.21markup — the store charges 4.6× the source price
Verified by matching the product's own images and identifiers to the source listing.
§ 03Exhibit 04 — the record

Eight matches from our files

Every row is a product a store was selling and the same item at its source, confirmed the same way: the store's product photo is the same file that sits on AliExpress. Not every gap is big. We list the small ones too.

Recorded Jul 2026
Eight verified matches: item, store, store price, source price, markup multiple and evidence.
No.ItemStoreStore priceSource priceMarkupEvidence
01Mesh breathable lumbar supportB$12.99$2.175.99×Same photo file
02Memory foam wedge pillowB$14.99$3.843.90×Same photo file
03Magnetic posture braceB$24.99$6.853.65×Same photo file
04Unisex posture correctorB$19.99$8.162.45×Same photo file
05Heat therapy back braceB$39.99$19.942.01×Same photo file
06Minimalist white ceramic plateA$39.95$28.801.39×Same photo file
07Blue ceramic pitcherA$49.95$37.341.34×Same photo file
08Pregnancy support belt †B$12.99$12.201.06×Same photo file

† Not every gap is worth it. At 1.06×, the store's faster shipping and easier returns may be worth the 79¢. You decide.

Same photo file — the store's product image is byte-for-byte the file hosted on AliExpress's own image server. Anyone can check it.

Prices — recorded July 2026. Source prices are item prices, before shipping. Prices drift. The card itself only quotes a price checked in the last 30 days; otherwise it says “cheaper at source” and shows no number. We never invent a number.

Stores — store A sells home goods, store B sells back supports. Names withheld.

§ 04Terms we stand on

Built to be trustworthy

We only show a source when we're confident it's the same product — and we're upfront about how we make money.

Clause 01

Verified matches only

Source links are based on shared product images and identifiers — not guesswork — so you see real matches, not look-alikes.

We never invent a number.

Clause 02

Private by design

It sends two things: the page address and the product's barcode number. Not the price you're paying, not your cart, not your card, not the rest of your browsing. Open your network tab and check — that's the whole request.

We don't track your browsing, build a profile, or sell data.

Clause 03

Right at the moment

Vigilante checks the moment a product page loads — and again at cart and checkout. One look as the page settles, then it's out of the way unless something's wrong.

Disclosure — printed on every card

Ranked by match, not payout.

When you buy through some of the source links Vigilante surfaces — including AliExpress affiliate links — we may earn a small commission. This never changes the price you pay, and we only show a source we believe is genuinely cheaper. Every recommendation discloses the affiliate relationship right on the card. That's the whole model: we win when you save.

How we make money — openlyVigilante
§ 05Install

Stop overpaying for dropshipped products

Add Vigilante to your browser and start seeing the real price as you shop — free, and no account required.

Add to Chrome — it's free
Before you click

What Chrome will ask you

Installing shows a permission prompt about reading site data — every shopping extension needs it.

Vigilante looks for signs a page is selling something: a product, a cart, a checkout. If it finds none, it stops there and sends nothing. When it does check, it reads the product's public details and sends our lookup service two things:

Sent
The page address and the product's barcode number
Never sent
Your cart, your card, your account, the rest of your browsing

We don't track your browsing, build a profile, or sell data.

Join the Vigilante community

Questions, a markup worth sharing, or a store that slipped past us? Come hang out with other shoppers in our Discord.

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