Online Comparison shopping

TIP OF THE DAY

Online Comparison shopping

Excerpted and edited from:
Online Comparison Shopping

By Brandon Watts

If you're part of the group that shops online, then you would benefit by taking a look at some online comparison shopping sites. One of the great things about shopping on the Internet is that it's easy to check the price of a certain product from many different sellers. The Web sites featured below are good resources to add to your e-shopping arsenal.

mySimon: mySimon is probably the most popular of the comparison shopping sites. They search from thousands of merchants and list millions of products for you to browse through. The interface is very attractive and easy-to-use. Each department has a listing of the new and popular products. Another nice feature is that mySimon also rates the stores that they profile by a strict set of criteria. This will help to assure you that your order will be fulfilled as promised.  One drawback is it gives you no information regarding shipping costs.

PriceGrabber: The way PriceGrabber works is very similar to mySimon. You can either search for a product or browse through the categories to find what you are looking for. Expect to find merchant and product ratings by previous buyers, as well. To save you even more money, PriceGrabber has information on available rebates for products that they list. If you enter your zip code, PriceGrabber gives you the true cost by including shipping in the total.  If you want to give the gift of comparison shopping, you can even purchase gift certificates. The cool thing about these gift certificates is that they are redeemable at thousands of merchants instead of just one store.

Froogle: If you are a frugal individual, give Froogle a try. Froogle was developed by Google to be a specialized shopping version of their search technology. Froogle will search through unique stores that you will not be able to find through the other comparison sites. This can often result in a better deal on the product you are looking for. You'll also be able to search within a specific price range, and sort your results by price or by the best match.  No information about shipping costs.

Half: Half is a shopping site built by eBay. Because of this close relationship, your eBay account will automatically work with Half. There's no doubt that eBay is one of the best places to get amazing deals, and Half is no exception. The search results are organized in categories ranging from "Brand New Items" to "Acceptable Items." If you find an item that you want but it is not in your price range or the condition is not satisfactory, you can add it to your wishlist. Using the wishlist, you can set the maximum price that you are willing to pay for the product, and set the condition and seller feedback ratings that you prefer. If an item is made available that matches your conditions, Half will e-mail you.

Some others to try.  On all of them if you enter your zip code, they give you the true cost by including shipping in the total.

http://www.shopping.com/
http://shopper.cnet.com/
http://www.nextag.com/