Camelbuy.com

Camelbuy.com

Camelbuy.com

Part-time software developer Dan Green has created a Web site that alerts thrifty shoppers the instant a big-ticket item gets marked down at Best Buy (BBY). Green doesn't work for the big-box retailer, but his Camelbuy.com portal pulls real-time information about pricing and inventory from Best Buy's own site, thanks to a tool that Best Buy opened to third-party programmers in January. Other businesses are opening up their info vaults to outsiders, including The New York Times (NYT) and Billboard magazine. "It extends the number of partnerships you can do to the tens of thousands," says Oren Michels, whose company Mashery helps Best Buy and others manage these relationships.