In a recent e-mail exchange with Bob Cowen, "The Internet Travel Guru (tm)", he suggested that the true "secret" value to TripStalker was the ability to continue monitoring the price of your trip even AFTER you have already booked to make sure that you indeed got the best price possible. The idea is that if you see a significant price dip you can call and change your ticket to the less expensive fare. The airline will charge you a change fee, but often times even with this you will still save money!
Many folks only look at "monitor and notify" services as applicable to knowing when is the best time to buy a ticket. ... I don't know how much thought buyers give to monitoring prices AFTER they purchase but you're aware that many stores give you a "grace period" to get a refund or store credit if the item goes on-sale shortly after you buy. That is the "secret" benefit of TripStalker! Since the initial days of some of the early (and still primitive) tools like FareTracker & FareWatcher, I've always told my "students" to leave their fare monitors active for trips purchased but not yet flown. Even with draconian "change fees," it's still possible to save more money. However, all fare monitors lack the ability to track specific flights, thus users are deluged with superfluous messages to the point of being a pain-in-the-neck.
Thanks for the great info, Bob! As we continue to improve TripStalker and allow greater details to be entered about each stalk this will become an even more valuable use of our service. Per Bob's suggestion we will even be introducing the ability to stalk a specific flight number!
Be sure to check out Bob's site, www.InternetTravelTips.com , delivering "Travel Savings Through Education"