Comparison Shopping is the bread and butter of deal hunting. The world economy thrives on competition, which means that for any given consumer need, there are a plethora of products and services being presented as solutions. Whether you’re shopping for shoes, auto parts, doctors, homes, music or anything else, there will likely be several companies vying for your business, each one promising you that their product is a better value. In order to make the best buy, you have to cut through the marketing hype and get down to true comparison shopping.
There are a couple of ways to approach an apples-to-apples comparison of consumer products and services—and the resources, tools and articles included in our Comparison Shopping directory are geared towards helping you use all of the methods with the greatest degree of success.
For consumer electronics, comparison shopping relies heavily on specs. Processor speed, memory capacity, compatibility, resolution and other fidelity issues play a large role on whether any given gadget is worth the money. But other, harder to quantify aspects—such as ergonomics, durability and customer support—are also important. That’s why we recommend reading reviews from bother users and electronics experts in order to conduct comparison shopping for things like digital media players, phones, computers and other high tech, big ticket items.
Comparison shopping for other goods—such as food, books, clothing and music—has much to do with taste. Building trust in a brand, producer or artist as well as finding a critic who shares your views is an excellent way to comparison shop for these products.
Comparison shopping for services is another tricky endeavor. Reading reviews, getting referrals and checking with regulatory agencies and business associations are all prudent measures.
As you can see, vetting products requires different methods for comparison shopping. Take time to read through our resources here to help you make savvy shopping choices.