Use a comparison shopping site to save money.
If you do not have a lot of time, want to easily save money, or do a quick price comparison, using a online comparison shopping site, or “shopping bot”, will help you find the best deals. They come in many forms, including cell phone apps, websites, “extensions” for your browser and many more. Consumers will save time and money using these tools, and the sites can help you reduce your everyday shopping costs.
These comparison shopping sites, which are free to use, will identify countless deals to help you compare and find the best price, which can lead to significant savings on your bills. The tools will automatically scan tens of thousands of different online or offline stores and find the best price on any shopping you do.
The technology employed by these companies will search and retrieve the data directly from each retailer. A so called “bot” crawls the internet and compiles the prices of millions of different products into a real time database. By using one of these services a consumer will have access to a much more comprehensive list real time pricing data.
Examples of shopping sites and apps
There are a number of companies that provide this service. They use applications for phones or websites. It is recommended that consumers check out several other internet online comparison shopping sites as well. Some of the top comparison shopping companies, sites and extensions include the following. They are all free to use.
- shopping.com,
- shopping.google.com,
- shopping.yahoo.com,
- Shopzilla.com
- Pricegrabber.com
- Pronto.com
There are many others as well. The small list above includes the highest rated services - all of which are free to use. When you are using these services remember to always sort by price in order to find the best deal.
There are many options. At PriceGrabber, you can search by retailers, products, individual sellers, ratings, or prices. You will find just about everything using this tool-auto parts, sporting goods, toys, furniture, musical instruments, video games, smart phones, and electronics. The site has a bottom-line-price tool which will show you how much your product will cost at the various retailers with the shipping included. Even if you do not end up buying your item online you will still know what is a good price on the items and what is a bargain.
When it comes to price comparison apps for your cell phone, some of the industry leaders include Shopsavy as well as QRReader. They allow you to scan the barcode of any item you are considering purchasing. The apps will find a better price for the product (if it exists), they show the history of how much it sold for in the past, and they provide shoppers with other information that may benefit them. In addition, many of these apps also provide rebates, coupons, or even cash back deals.
Others internet comparison shopping sites include shopzilla.com, shopping.com, and nextag.com. Google also now provides a dedicated shopping guide. These are five examples of the especially more comprehensive comparison-shopping sites. Some comparison shopping sites are better at finding the best price on certain goods than others, and it can change over time. So you may want to use all of the sites in question.
A number of companies even allow shoppers to compare the cost of medical care, in advance of any treatment or seeing a doctor. Learn how much you may pay based on your health insurance company (or if uninsured), what the doctor(s), hospital(s), and other medical providers charge. The savings can add up, and read more on comparing prices for upcoming medical care.
How to use the price comparison websites or apps
If you have an app installed on your cell phone, it is as easy as taking a picture of the barcode on the item and letting the app do the work! They will come back with results on where the item can be bought for a lower or different price, any types of savings or deals for the product, and other key data points. The apps compare prices for both online and offline shopping, and generally tens of thousands (if not more) or stores will be searched for the best deal.
If you are using a website, then you need to enter your search term at Shopzilla (say, the latest video game console) or you can start off in the well-defined categories to find the best online deals for more general shopping. The websites, including PriceGrabber or Shopzilla, will list the least expensive retailers with those products in an organized format.
Pros and cons
Some people may be worried about paying for goods from from lesser-known stores when using these services. Do not be. The apps and websites that provide these tools include several factors, including top customer service, on-time delivery and it gives you the scoop on who offers free shipping and the best online clearance deals. This greatly reduces the risk to the consumer. As with any technology tool, a possible con is review the fine print; review your search results carefully.
By using these free price comparison shopping sites you can also buy many items and find many deals, including for fresh flowers, washing machines, computers, cell phones, video games, clothes, etc. You can find the most competitive prices and the best online deals at these sites. Another major pros is that you can also view the price history for various items and determine what a certain product was selling for in the past. That data can also influence your shopping habits.
Using an online comparison shopping site will save you money and time. They are even more effective during the holiday seasons...think of all the crowds you will not have to fight as you will know exactly where to buy the goods in question.
Also, find ways to save money on other shopping you do from these sites. An advantage is that many of the companies will offer coupons, discounts, free shipping, and other benefits. Also remember that any money you free up by using a comparison shopping site will make it easier for you to pay other bills. Or go ahead and save that extra cash you saved.
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