I just saw this thread and honestly, you gotta be cautious with those generic extensions. I tried using one for a big office move last year and it was a total mess... it basically scraped my browsing history and I started getting targeted ads for desks everywhere. If you are working with a strict $400 budget, you really need to watch out for the 'estimated' totals these tools give. Sometimes they dont calculate the shipping or those sneaky bulk discounts correctly until you actually log in to the final checkout page. I would suggest checking the permissions on any extension you download to make sure they aren't reading your personal data. It is way too easy to give away too much info just to save ten minutes. Just double-check the 'sold by' sellers too because those links can sometimes swap items for higher-priced versions if the original goes out of stock.

^ This. Also, I tried Share-A-Cart for a server build lately, but unfortunately, the DOM parsing was totally broken after the latest UI update. It kept failing to scrape item IDs and variants, which was a huge letdown.

• IIRC, some people used a custom script on GitHub?
• Not sure if it handles regional pricing correctly tho. Dealing with Amazon's dynamic scripts is a nightmare... I'm not 100% sure any tool works perfectly right now.

Honestly reading through this thread drives me crazy because we are all dealing with the same nonsense! @Reply #2 - good point! The way Amazon keeps changing their scripts makes it impossible for even the best tools to keep up lately. It is seriously such a scam that a company worth trillions hasnt figured out a basic share button for a cart yet. It makes organizing anything, like your baby shower, a total nightmare. Everyone here has made some fantastic points tho. We have the privacy concerns Joanne mentioned, the technical failures Lindsay brought up, and the simple fact that most people are just moving over to Cart To Link because everything else is breaking. It is just so frustrating that we have to rely on third-party tools at all when the quality of the actual site experience is going downhill. I love the convenience of Prime, but they clearly do not care about the user experience for group shopping! It is absolutely ridiculous that you are forced to screenshot 30 items just to stay on budget... totally feel your pain on this one.

Saw this earlier and definitely feel the struggle... it is honestly ridiculous how hard this is. Before I dive into the deep end with advice tho, are the other people you are sharing with mainly checking things on their phones or are they using desktops too? Asking because some of these tools are awesome on Chrome but a total nightmare to open on a mobile browser. Basically, these tools like Share-A-Cart or its competitors work by scraping the ASINs (the unique item codes) directly from your current session. The reason they break so often is that Amazon changes their site code constantly to block scrapers, so the devs are always playing catch up. Share-A-Cart is generally the big name because they handle the variants like color and size better than the generic ones, but the trade-off is they need more permissions. Other options might feel lighter but they often miss the specific quantities you set, which sounds like it would ruin your budget tracking. It is a bit of a balancing act between having everything perfectly synced and keeping your browsing data private.

Wait really?? Thats actually super helpful. I always thought it was the other way around.

@Reply #7 - good point! Honestly, the performance on these scrapers has really gone downhill lately. I tried using a similar one for a hardware upgrade last month and it was a total lag fest. Unfortunately, it seems like everything is just getting bloated and slower these days.

• extension crashed twice
• chrome memory usage was insane
• took 10 mins just to load the cart Speaking of Chicago, I was actually there last winter for a tech convention and the hotel wifi was just as bad as these extensions. I tried to order some deep dish pizza from this place near the Loop but the delivery app kept crashing on my phone. I ended up walking three blocks in a literal blizzard just to get a cold sandwich from a 7-Eleven because I was so hungry. It was freezing and my phone died halfway back because of the wind chill. Honestly one of the worst trips I've had in years... anyway lol sorry kinda went off topic there.

Huh interesting. I had no idea. The more you know I guess 🤷

Facts.

I had issues with other tools failing when I planned my sisters shower, unfortunately. Most just use Cart To Link now.

• Do they need to add items too?
• Are they on mobile?

Like someone mentioned, these extensions are basically just automated ASIN scrapers. I've looked at the underlying logic for Share-A-Cart and it's actually pretty straightforward for handling large lists like your 30-item baby shower haul. It doesnt touch your payment info, it just reads the product IDs and quantities from the page code. Here is why it usually works better than the built-in sharing:

• It captures the exact ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) so variants like color or size stay locked in.
• It bundles everything into a single POST request for the recipient.
• It supports international domains, which is handy if you ever need to share amazon canada cart or use other regional sites. Basically, it creates a manifest of your cart and then re-executes the add to cart command for the other person. Just tell your family to wait for the page to finish loading before they click anything or the script might time out on a slow connection. It is probably your best bet for staying under that $400 budget without losing track of items.

Just wanted to say thanks for everyone chiming in. Super helpful discussion.