Find the people asking for the tool you could build
Type your niche. Get ready-made searches for “is there a tool that…”, “alternative to…”, “would pay for…” and 4 more buyer phrases on Reddit, Hacker News and Indie Hackers. No more hand-writing search operators.
35 searches for “inventory for etsy sellers”
Each link opens in a new tab. Google · Reddit: Google limited to reddit.com: finds old and new threads across every subreddit. Reddit search: Reddit's own search, newest first, so you see what people ask this week. Google · Hacker News: Google limited to news.ycombinator.com: Ask HN posts and comment threads. HN Algolia: Hacker News full-text search for the past year, newest first. Google · Indie Hackers: Google limited to indiehackers.com: founders talking about what they need and build.
All links as plain text
Is there a tool / app that
People asking out loud whether a product exists: the clearest sign of an unmet need.
- Google · Reddit
site:reddit.com ("is there a tool" OR "is there an app" OR "is there a way to") inventory for etsy sellers - Reddit search
("is there a tool" OR "is there an app") inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Hacker News
site:news.ycombinator.com ("is there a tool" OR "is there an app" OR "is there a way to") inventory for etsy sellers - HN Algolia
"is there a tool" inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Indie Hackers
site:indiehackers.com ("is there a tool" OR "is there an app" OR "is there a way to") inventory for etsy sellers
Looking for a tool
Active buyers describing what they want, often with budget and must-have features.
- Google · Reddit
site:reddit.com ("looking for a tool" OR "looking for an app" OR "looking for software") inventory for etsy sellers - Reddit search
("looking for a tool" OR "looking for an app") inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Hacker News
site:news.ycombinator.com ("looking for a tool" OR "looking for an app" OR "looking for software") inventory for etsy sellers - HN Algolia
"looking for a tool" inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Indie Hackers
site:indiehackers.com ("looking for a tool" OR "looking for an app" OR "looking for software") inventory for etsy sellers
Alternative to
Users leaving an existing product: they already pay, and they tell you what is wrong with it.
- Google · Reddit
site:reddit.com ("alternative to" OR "alternatives to" OR "switching from") inventory for etsy sellers - Reddit search
("alternative to" OR "alternatives to") inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Hacker News
site:news.ycombinator.com ("alternative to" OR "alternatives to" OR "switching from") inventory for etsy sellers - HN Algolia
"alternative to" inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Indie Hackers
site:indiehackers.com ("alternative to" OR "alternatives to" OR "switching from") inventory for etsy sellers
I hate when / frustrated with
Raw complaints. The pain is described in the user's own words, which is great landing-page copy.
- Google · Reddit
site:reddit.com ("frustrated with" OR "i hate when" OR "so annoying") inventory for etsy sellers - Reddit search
("frustrated with" OR "i hate when") inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Hacker News
site:news.ycombinator.com ("frustrated with" OR "i hate when" OR "so annoying") inventory for etsy sellers - HN Algolia
"frustrated with" inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Indie Hackers
site:indiehackers.com ("frustrated with" OR "i hate when" OR "so annoying") inventory for etsy sellers
How do you handle
People comparing workarounds (spreadsheets, scripts, manual steps) that a product could replace.
- Google · Reddit
site:reddit.com ("how do you handle" OR "how do you manage" OR "how do you deal with") inventory for etsy sellers - Reddit search
("how do you handle" OR "how do you manage") inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Hacker News
site:news.ycombinator.com ("how do you handle" OR "how do you manage" OR "how do you deal with") inventory for etsy sellers - HN Algolia
"how do you handle" inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Indie Hackers
site:indiehackers.com ("how do you handle" OR "how do you manage" OR "how do you deal with") inventory for etsy sellers
Would pay for
Explicit willingness to pay, the strongest signal you can find in public.
- Google · Reddit
site:reddit.com ("would pay for" OR "i would pay" OR "shut up and take my money") inventory for etsy sellers - Reddit search
("would pay for" OR "i would pay") inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Hacker News
site:news.ycombinator.com ("would pay for" OR "i would pay" OR "shut up and take my money") inventory for etsy sellers - HN Algolia
"would pay for" inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Indie Hackers
site:indiehackers.com ("would pay for" OR "i would pay" OR "shut up and take my money") inventory for etsy sellers
Recommend a tool
Shortlists in the making: see which products get named and which needs nobody answers well.
- Google · Reddit
site:reddit.com ("recommend a tool" OR "any recommendations" OR "what do you use for") inventory for etsy sellers - Reddit search
("recommend a tool" OR "any recommendations") inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Hacker News
site:news.ycombinator.com ("recommend a tool" OR "any recommendations" OR "what do you use for") inventory for etsy sellers - HN Algolia
"recommend a tool" inventory for etsy sellers - Google · Indie Hackers
site:indiehackers.com ("recommend a tool" OR "any recommendations" OR "what do you use for") inventory for etsy sellers
Why these searches work
- They match how people ask. Buyers rarely type your product category. They write “is there an app that…” or “how do you handle…”.
- They cover the places founders and early adopters talk. Reddit, Hacker News and Indie Hackers, through Google’s
site:operator and each site’s own search. - Each group has a reason. “Alternative to” finds people already paying a competitor; “would pay for” finds people telling you the price.
Want to write your own? Read the guide to Reddit, Hacker News and Google search operators.
Export: the threads, ranked (US$ 9)
Skip the clicking. The export fetches matching Hacker News stories and comments from the last 2 years when you ask, removes duplicates and ranks them with a published formula. Every row says why it scored what it did.
Full export
US$ 9 one-time
- Up to 100 ranked threads with score, reason, date, link and an excerpt
- CSV download for your spreadsheet
- Re-run the same query as often as you like for 30 days
- Top 3 rows free before you pay
Version 1 covers Hacker News only. Reddit blocks requests from our servers, so Reddit and Indie Hackers stay in the free links.
How the score works
| Part | Rule | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Pain | Each distinct pain phrase (“is there a tool”, “alternative to”, “would pay for”, “frustrated with”…): +15 in the title, +10 if only in the text. | 0–50 |
| Relevance | 20 × share of your keywords found in the title or text. | 0–20 |
| Recency | 25 × 0.5^(age in days ÷ 90). Halves every 90 days. | 0–25 |
| Discussion | floor(log2(1 + comments or answers)). | 0–5 |
Score = sum, rounded, 0–100. Ties go to the newer thread. Same thread on the same day always gets the same score.
FAQ
Is the generator really free?
Yes. No sign-up, no limit on searches. Type a niche, open the links. The page also works without JavaScript and every result has its own shareable URL.
What does the $9 export add?
The threads themselves. PainScout fetches matching Hacker News stories and comments at request time, removes duplicates, scores each one from 0 to 100 for pain and recency, and gives you a ranked list plus a CSV. You see the top 3 rows free before paying.
Why does the export cover only Hacker News?
Version 1 reads only sources that answer our servers without logins or keys. Hacker News (through its public Algolia API) does. Reddit blocks requests from our servers (HTTP 403), so Reddit stays in the free one-click links, which work in your own browser. We will add sources only when they can be read within their rules.
Do I need an account?
No. When you unlock an export you get a private link (a long random key). Keep it: it opens your export and lets you re-run it for 30 days. We never ask for your email; Stripe sends you the receipt.
Is the score AI?
No. It is a fixed formula published on this page: pain phrases found, how many of your keywords match, how recent the thread is and how much discussion it has. Every row shows the reason for its score.
Do you scrape websites?
No. The export only calls the public Hacker News search API (by Algolia), with no keys or logins, cached for 6 hours so repeated searches do not hit it again.
Who makes this
PainScout was specified in public in a conversation with Grok on X and built by Claude for SaaSCron, which makes small, honest tools for people running software businesses. It is new, so there are no testimonials here: try the free links and judge for yourself.