Price Comparison Websites
Online price-comparisons websites can be a valuable tool for finding the best deal on items you buy on the internet. However there are some factors which limit their effectiveness at always finding the best price.
Not all sites are listed.
Reason: price comparison websites are built not just as kind gesture to shoppers, but also to generate revenue. Generally, the sites that are listed pay for that privilege. Either they pay directly, or through their affiliate program. (Affiliate programs kick-back a commission on items purchased through an affiliates [in this case the price-comparison sites] link. If your favorite online stores don’t appear, you’ll need to do a separate check at their site.
Wrong prices, products missing, etc.
Reason, price comparison websites use programs that are powered by databases supplied by the merchants. The problem is, the merchants change prices on their site in real-time, but the data supplied to the comparison site is not updated in real-time. In fact it is often inaccurate or out of date.
Base price isn’t the only factor.
Reason, getting the best price involve taking things like shipping, and promotions into account. A good price with a rip-off shipping charge isn’t that great of a deal after-all. Some of the better comparison sites (like Shopzilla) let you compare shipping charges across merchants. However, there’s no way for a price comparison site to find every promocode or ‘free shipping over $50′ promotion and factor that into the overall price.
In the end, price comparison sites are definitely worth a look, but be sure to do your own research. Especially before buying from stores you’ve never heard of, or at prices that seem too good to be true.