price-scout
Track and compare supplier prices across multiple vendors to reduce COGS. Monitors price changes, identifies savings opportunities, calculates total cost of ownership (including delivery fees and minimums), and generates renegotiation briefs.
Profile →npx skills add cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills --skill price-scout --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Price Scout ## Core Principles For most shops and restaurants, COGS (cost of goods sold) is the single largest expense — often 30-40% of revenue. A 5% reduction in food or product cost drops straight to the bottom line, often doubling net profit. Price Scout systematically tracks supplier pricing so you never overpay for an ingredient or product. ### The Five Rules of Smart Procurement 1. **Never single-source.** Every item should have at least 2 qualified suppliers. Competition drives prices down. 2. **Total cost, not unit price.** A cheaper case that incurs $15 shipping and requires $200 minimum order may cost more in reality. 3. **Price isn't the only variable.** Reliability, delivery windows, payment terms, and quality consistency all matter. Score suppliers holistically. 4. **Renegotiate quarterly.** Suppliers expect to be asked. If you haven't negotiated in 6 months, you're overpaying. 5. **Monitor trends.** When beef prices rise industry-wide, no supplier can beat the market — but they can give you better forward pricing or substitution options. --- ## Skill Workflow ### Step 1 — Build the Supplier & Price Database Ask the user to list their key suppliers and items: | Supp
- Core Principles
- The Five Rules of Smart Procurement
- Skill Workflow
- Step 1 — Build the Supplier & Price Database
- Step 2 — Run Price Comparison by Item
- Step 3 — Identify Substitution Opportunities
- Step 4 — Generate Renegotiation Briefs
- Step 5 — Track Contract Renewals & Terms
- Step 6 — Bulk Buying Analysis
- Trigger Phrases
- Key Instructions Summary
- Common Mistakes
What does the price-scout skill do?
Track and compare supplier prices across multiple vendors to reduce COGS. Monitors price changes, identifies savings opportunities, calculates total cost of ownership (including delivery fees and minimums), and generates renegotiation briefs.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills --skill price-scout --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills, a repository with 364 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.