Bestsy - Bestseller Tracker

Installing the extension & getting set up

0. Install the extension

Not yet on the Chrome Web Store, so a quick manual install (about a minute, completely safe):

  1. Click Download Extension at the top of this page to download the .zip, then unzip it into a folder.
  2. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions.
  3. Turn on Developer mode (top right corner).
  4. Click Load unpacked and select the folder you just unzipped.

To update later, just download the new zip, unzip over the old folder, and click the reload icon on the extension's card in chrome://extensions — no need to remove and reinstall.

1. Etsy API key (required)

The extension calls the Etsy API directly with your own key (BYOK model) — it never leaves your machine or touches our servers.

  1. Go to etsy.com/developers/register (sign in with any existing Etsy account — buyer or shop account both work).
  2. Click Create a New App. Give it any App name (only visible to you), describe it as personal use for tracking your own products/research, accept Etsy's API terms, then click Create App.
  3. Open Your Apps and click into the app — you'll see two values: Keystring (your API key) and Shared Secret.
  4. Open the extension popup → Keys tab → paste Keystring into "Keystring" and Shared Secret into "Shared secret" → click Save.

Etsy's key is free, with a default limit of roughly 10 requests/second and 10,000/day — plenty for personal tracking. If the popup reports "API key is invalid or has expired," double-check both values were copied without extra spaces.

2. Telegram alerts (optional)

When enabled, the extension sends a Telegram alert the moment a tracked listing sells out and renews — you'll get it even when Chrome is closed. This needs two values, a Bot token and a Chat ID, both created entirely within Telegram — no sign-up with us required.

Step 1 — Create a bot and get the Bot token

  1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather (Telegram's own verified bot-creation account).
  2. Send /newbot.
  3. BotFather asks for a display name — anything works (e.g. "Etsy Tracker Alerts").
  4. BotFather then asks for a username — it must end in "bot" (e.g. "etsy_tracker_alerts_bot") and not already be taken.
  5. BotFather replies with a token like 123456789:ABCdefGhIJKlmNoPQRstuVwxYZ — this is your Bot token, copy it.

Step 2 — Get your Chat ID

  1. Open the bot you just created and press Start — this is required, since a bot can't message you until you've messaged it first.
  2. In your browser, visit https://api.telegram.org/bot<BOT_TOKEN>/getUpdates (replace <BOT_TOKEN> with the token from Step 1, keeping the "bot" prefix).
  3. The page returns JSON — look for "chat":{"id":123456789,...}. That number is your Chat ID. If the response is empty, send the bot any message and reload the page.

Step 3 — Enter both into the extension

  1. Open the extension popup → Keys tab → toggle on Telegram alerts.
  2. Paste the Bot token and Chat ID into their fields → click Save.
  3. Chrome will prompt for permission to access api.telegram.org — click Allow (requested only at the moment you enable the feature).