Screenshot of the top 3 results on Google shopping ought to do it

This was early-00s so it was slightly more trouble than that but still not the end of the world.

The point is, the person wasn't trying to hedge against looking bad, they literally had to do and document this.

And even if doesn't, writing five online shops to send you a written offer takes a couple minutes and results in the same or lower prices

Procurement for such small items can be quick and sane. It's the larger items where rules tighten and procurement portals or bidding become mandated that are problematic