Agreed dealer sites. Exact part numbers.

Each pilot covers a fixed list of dealer sites and, on each one, the exact product pages for your priority part numbers. One part number at one dealer is one listing, and listings are what we count and check.

Every independent dealer runs its own storefront, with its own catalog, titles and part-number formats. So the same part has a different product page at each dealer, and each one has to be found and matched on its own.

On a marketplace, many sellers’ offers can sit on one product page. On dealer sites there’s no shared page: 25 priority part numbers at 5 dealers is up to 125 separate pages. That’s why we count and price by listing, one part number at one dealer.

Monitoring tools differ in what they cover: marketplaces, retailer sites or both. Price Axle covers agreed independent dealer sites only. The MAP pricing software guide compares what providers say they cover.

Your parts reach online buyers through a chain, and monitoring starts at its last link: the product page.

1. 01Manufacturer. You set MAP in your policy and price sheet, with effective dates.
2. 02Distributor. Some dealers buy from you directly; others buy through distributors.
3. 03Dealer storefront. The independent site that advertises your parts to buyers.
4. 04Listing. One product page for one part number. This is what we check.

A dealer that buys through a distributor is still a dealer site to monitor. What matters is that it advertises your parts online.

From you. We monitor dealers you name, and we set up the exact listing URLs with you. We don’t search the web for unknown sellers.

Good starting points are your dealer accounts, distributor sales reports if you receive them, and your authorized-dealer list if you run a program. aFe POWER, for example, says its resellers must complete an authorized dealer application and be “expressly approved” before they can buy its products. With a list of dealers, the next step is to find the exact product page for each priority part number on each site.

If you don’t have a list yet, we build it with you during setup. The readiness kit has a dealer-list template and the listing format we import.

Aftermarket catalogs are messy. The same part shows up in ways that change which MAP price — if any — applies:

• Configurations and finishes — black vs polished can be different MPNs with different MAP prices.
• Fitment variants — titles that name a vehicle but not a part number.
• Bundles and kits — your part sold with something else.
• Superseded part numbers — an old MPN still listed after your sheet changed.

We only compare a price after the listing is matched to the exact part on your current sheet. Everything else is flagged for review or for you.

Each match is recorded as exact, probable or uncertain. Only an exact match can be verified, and only verified listings are compared with MAP or included in reports.

Industry catalog data helps, but it doesn’t settle a match. ACES is the Auto Care Association’s standard for fitment data (which vehicles a part fits), and PIES is its standard for product information. Dealer pages built from that data still differ in titles, finishes and kit contents. We don’t ingest ACES or PIES files today. We match against the part numbers and variants on your MAP sheet, which can include fitment hints to help confirm a title that names a vehicle rather than a part number.

By hand or by CSV, on the agreed schedule. Automated collection isn’t live yet, so each check is a record of what the product page showed and when.

Here’s one fictional week at five agreed dealer sites: 25 priority part numbers at each, 125 listings, checked daily.

Illustrative example: fictional manufacturer, dealers and part numbers. Not a real MAP violation or real pricing.

Across the five dealers, 851 of 875 scheduled checks completed (97.3%). The 24 that didn’t are reported as could not check, never counted as clean. The sample report shows the same week as you’d receive it.