As gas prices have increased and free time has decreased, online shopping has become quite popular. If you’re thinking of doing your Holiday shopping online this year, try comparison shopping at the following five sites. They make it easy to find the very best deal before you make your purchase. When researching the following online comparison shopping sites, I tried to find the same things (Hasbro’s Baby Alive Wet ‘n Wiggles Doll and Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock) on each site, so that I could see the differences in each. Although each of them were good, they were all different in various small ways. For people on the go, Frucall.com definitely offers some options that are really helpful. My personal favorite turned out to be PriceGrabber.com, but you should visit them all, and find the one that suits you best.
1. PriceGrabber.com www.pricegrabber.com
For me, PriceGrabber.com seemed easier to use than the other websites. It was easier to compare prices by clicking on a “compare prices” button directly on the item. It then listed all stores with that item, plus prices, etc. on one page. I was then given the option of entering my zip code so that the shipping and handling was figured into the price, thus comparing the complete prices including the retailers’ varying shipping and handling charges. Price grabber is very organized and user-friendly. Their buttons and links were labeled very clearly, and their pages were not cluttered. In addition to searching and comparing prices, PriceGrabber.com offers a newsletter, as well as email alerts for falling prices. The website contains reviews and ratings for each product and each merchant. They also have a shopping forum and blogs.
2. DealTime.com www.dealtime.com
DealTime.com was as easy to use as PriceGrabber, but does not offer quite as many tools. With a click of the button, shoppers can compare prices, including shipping and taxes. DealTime.com offers store information and store reviews for each of their retailers, as well as reviews and details for each product. Their tools include buying guides and a store directory.
3. Frucall.com www.frucall.com
Frucall.com offers comparison shopping from a cellphone while in a store. Shoppers can choose to call an 800 number, text message, or use their mobile web service to comparison shop while on the go. You can search without signing up, but to utilize the mobile shopping, you must sign up. Don’t worry, though, it ‘s completely free. Like PriceGrabber, Frucall.com offers a one page list of retailers and prices, including shipping and handling. The website seems quite bare when compared to some others, but I found it more than adequate and quite easy to use. Their tools include reminders, price alerts, voice/text/sms notes, and a Google calendar that you can access from your phone.
4. BizRate.com www.bizrate.com
Bizrate.com offers a fairly easy comparison shopping experience. They offer ratings and reviews for their retailers and products, as well as a newsletter. They also offer an “All the Rage” tool that you can use to choose a city and find what has been selling there for the week. I found this to be quite interesting.
5. NexTag.com www.nextag.com
NexTag.com not only offers comparison shopping on the usual products, but also on travel rates, mortgage loans, home prices and information on degrees. It offers both a shopping list and wish list feature. It is not difficult to use, especially if you know exactly what you’re looking for. They offer product ratings. Clicking on any product link takes you directly to the retailer.
