Online Shopping
Have you experienced the frustration of making a purchase, only to find that very same item offered somewhere else at a lower price? Smart shoppers can eliminate this problem by using online comparison shopping tools and coupon finders before the purchase. Here's how... |
Smart Online Shopping: Reviews, Price Comparisons and Coupons
I still meet people who tell me they've never purchased anything on the Internet. I always tell 'em that it's safer to use a credit card online than in a department store, and there are so many tools to help you find the right product AND save money in the process. Want to find websites for product reviews and price comparison? How about special online coupons, deals and discounts? Read on!
PRODUCT REVIEWS
REVIEWS - Find out what real people in the real world think about the products they've purchased, at EPINIONS. Epinions features volunteer and professional reviews of consumer goods.
CARS - There's a wealth of free information to car buyers and sellers at Edmunds. Find new and used car prices, reviews, buying and selling advice, loan payment calculators and much more.
COMPUTER STUFF - The editors at CNET and PCWorld offer reviews, comparisons and advice for business, home and budget buyers. If you're in the market for a computer, printer, monitor, or other geeky accessory, check out these sites.
OTHER STUFF - IF you can't find the info you're looking for at one of the above sites, check Consumer Reports. A lot of their reports require a paid subscription, but if you're buying a big-ticket item, it can be worthwhile to get an unbiased look at the options.
PRICE COMPARISON
PriceGrabber was one of the first of its kind and lists products from 10,000 different merchants, from sellers that don't even have a website to some of the most well known like Best Buy and Target. In addition to comparison shopping, this search engine has a wealth of information to help you make an educated purchase such as automatically adding the cost of tax and shipping, customer reviews, product information and merchant ratings. When it comes to comparison shopping PriceGrabber is extremely user friendly.
BEST WEB BUYS - Tired of going from store to store to find the best price? Best Web Buys allows consumers to search for products they want across several stores at the same time, with a focus on Books, Music, Videos, Bikes, and Electronics.
MY SIMON - Compare products and prices from online stores around the Web. Covers Apparel & Accessories, Beauty & Health, Books, Music & Movies, Computers & Software, Consumer Electronics, Flowers, Gifts and other categories. In addition to comparison shopping, mysimon.com offers users with a weekly newsletter containing a list of the newest and most popular products throughout a range of categories. This is helpful for people who are looking for gift ideas or simply love to shop. Like some other comparison shopping sites, the downside to MySimon is that merchants can pay to have their products listed at the top. With this kind of seller bidding you may not actually be getting an accurate list of best prices, only those of competing companies that can afford to market them.
PRICE WATCH - The fastest way to find a great street price on a computer product, since August '95. Price Watch allows retailers to updates their prices in real time so you get the latest pricing info.
Natural or eco-friendly products can be extremely expensive but Pristine Planet is designed to help environmentally conscious shoppers purchase 'green' items as frugally as possible. This comparison shopping site offers the best prices from merchants that are committed to supporting a healthy, sustainable environment. PristinePlanet has an RSS feed as well as an onsite newsletter detailing the latest environmental stories.
DISCOUNTS & COUPONS
DEAL OF DAY - is a popular site for shoppers to visit BEFORE they shop. The site includes hundreds of coupons and discounts available for hundreds of web merchants. Members also enjoy message boards, live chat, contests, auctions, newsletters and more!
DealCatcheris one of the best because it not only offers thousands of online and printable coupons in 25 different categories but also allows you to do your comparison shopping via PriceGrabber. The site features forums, customer reviews, and a "catch of the day" offer updated daily. This is perfect for the savvy shopper who doesn't want to do a lot of doubling back.
AMAZING BARGAINS - Offers a consolidated source for coupons, discounts, and bargains. The stores are all hand-selected to ensure that you get the best possible online shopping experience. All the bargains are organized by category, by store, by expiration date, or by popularity.
ONLINE AUCTIONS
EBAY - It's the mother of all auction sites, the 800-pound gorilla, the whale in the fishtank of online auctions. Thousands of people buy and sell antiques, books, collectibles and a million other things here everyday. Last year, over $5 billion (USD) worth of goods was traded on the eBay site.
AUCTION INSIGHTS - Doug Feiring, creator of this site, says online auctions are easy, fun, low-risk, and can generate great income. But getting started can be a bit daunting. Auction Insights provides strategies, ideas, and resources to help you succeed in the online auction business. Learn how to create effective auction listings, find auction shareware and freeware. And for bidders, how to find the items you want at the lowest price.
OTHER POPULAR AUCTION SITES - Couldn't find it on Ebay? Try Ubid or Amazon Auctions.
CONSUMER PROTECTION
CONSUMER.GOV - A "one-stop" link to a broad range of U.S. government information resources available online. Locate information by category -- such as Food, Health, Product Safety, Your Money, and Transportation. ScamAlert! provides current information on fraudulent and deceptive practices in the marketplace.
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU - The BBB website lets you check out a company or charity, file a complaint or locate a local BBB office. Also has good information in the Consumer Tips area.
Got comments or tips to share about online shopping? Post your thoughts below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on 9 Feb 2007
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Online Shopping (Posted: 9 Feb 2007)
Source: http://askbobrankin.com/online_shopping.html
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Most recent comments on "Online Shopping"
(See all 25 comments for this article.)Posted by:
Jim
22 Nov 2007
Froogle (by Google) -- http://www.froogle.com
EDITOR'S NOTE: The URL still works, but Froogle is no longer. It has evolved into Google Product Search.
Posted by:
Annette
22 Nov 2007
I'd like to recommend http://www.naughtycodes.com
Here are all the coupon codes the merchants send out to their registered users. Easy to use and very helpful--I always check here before placing my order.
Posted by:
John
22 Nov 2007
An important consumer protection for Web shopping is the one-time credit card number. My SunTrust Visa allows me to get a one-time number for a specified $ limit and an expiration period as short as two months.
Posted by:
Susan
24 Nov 2007
Here's a cool site where you can type in an ebay user ID to see all of their negative feedback. I've found this especially handy with higher volume sellers when you can see that negative feedback exists, but don't want to wade through pages and pages to find it. The site address is:
http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs
Posted by:
Wayne
28 Nov 2007
Google's product search and Pricegrabber are also good sources for price comparisons. After you have your prices, check the reputation of the store before you buy. A good site for this is resellerratings.com Click on the 'Store' tab, then search for comments.
Be aware that unscrupulous vendors may load many favorable comments. However, they cannot delete negative comments posted by others. So it is wise to look at the negative comments posted. While even great companies can have dissatisfied customers on occasion, if you see a pattern of questionable business dealings reported by multiple customers, you may want to re-think your purchase with this vendor.
Posted by:
DotRebates
27 Dec 2007
Discuss Ebates Complaints at http://dotrebates.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=5#5
DotRebates.com
Posted by:
Dotrebates
03 Feb 2008
Check out Dotrebates.com to save on all of your online purchases. Hundreds of popular stores available to earn cash back with no registration ever required. Payments by PayPal or mail!
Posted by:
Gin
14 Jan 2009
I just wanted to share with you: Big Crumbs.com, where you get cash back on all of your purchases, and it is free unlike other websites. This is especially true if you want to fundraise for a school or organization that need every penny.
It\'s FREE to join and you can make significant cash by your shopping and of those you refer to Big Crumbs. They even have lots of tools to help you do this.
Posted by:
Jen
21 Jan 2009
I love using http://www.couponworx.com to get free coupon deals and discounts. They even have printable coupons.
Posted by:
kalea
04 Mar 2009
frustrating when trying to use pricegrabber i go to the website and click on what i want to view and get
Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage
I have checked my connection and my ssl and tls to be sure they are checked, everything is fine - other websites no problem.. Very frustrating
Posted by:
comparison product review
15 Aug 2009
Infact comparison product review is a wonderful option created by the webmasters which benifits mutual the consumer and the webmaster. Such websites are very good in getting rankings and driving traffics in the point of SEO!
Posted by:
Jane
19 Aug 2009
I just wanted to let everyone know that Endless.com doesnot stand by their 100% price guarantee. I bought a pair of sandles and when I informed tham that I find the shoes for less they told me that they dont match prices from that web site! So please tell everyone you know not to use Endless.com they donot have the best deals online.
Posted by:
Shefali Roy
24 Sep 2009
This article really help me to search and compare the online products and can go for online shopping India. Through credit card i can go for any product which i suppose to buy. Through this we get no. of shopping websites which enable human being to buy things with the usage of credit cards and the acquired products get delivered right at their doorsteps.
Posted by:
sherly
16 Oct 2009
Several days ago, I visited this site,http://www.couponsnapshot.com/
It seems very good for online shopping, there are lots of discount codes for different merchants, share with you !
Posted by:
Kevin
19 Mar 2010
I also found a new coupon site at http://www.coupon-lover.com
Love the design of this site. Also they have new codes everyday. Love to share it with you.
Posted by:
Uk Wholesalers
11 Jun 2010
Nice Article! Trends of online shopping have increased with the passage of time. Online shopping has greatest advantage is that we can compare different things when we purchase particular thing online. This comparison help us in finding the right thing at right price. htp://www.wholesalepages.co.uk/
EDITOR'S NOTE: I see you're posting from Lahore, Pakistan... How much do you get paid for posting a link in a forum?
Posted by:
Zeke Krahlin
11 Jun 2010
Another great service for online shopping is Reseller Ratings (resellerratings.com).
There, you can find customer reviews of online stores, as well as products. I always check out a store's rating before I even consider purchasing from them.
Posted by:
lisaallcoup
25 Sep 2010
Hi all, i recently come across a coupon site, where they offer various Online Discount Coupon Codes on your daily purchases.
You may have a look at the site,http://www.mycouponbasket.com/.
I hope you like it!
thank you..
Posted by:
Anna
23 Dec 2010
I often shop online, this is my favorite site: http://www.pickcheaps.com, its good site, great products, fast shipment, good reply, good service. I get many benefits, like save my time and money. I really like it, reliable...
Posted by:
Frank
07 Jul 2011
I use amazon.com for most things and love http://www.truecar.com for car buying