Comparison Shopping: PriceRunner Finds the Best Deals.

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Author: Unknown

FEATURES COMPARISON

YAHOO SHOPPING ALSO LOCATED some great bargains, while PriceGrabber provides useful and convenient research tools.

Legend for Chart:

B - SHOPPING SITE
C - PCW Rating
D - Canon PowerShot SD550
E - Maxtor OneTouch II EO1W300
F - Pioneer DVR-633H-S
G - Sorting options
H - Verdict

A        B                                       C

         D

         E

         F

         G

         H

1     PriceRunner                                85
      www.pricerunner.com                        Very Good

      Sellers: 29
      Lowest base price: $397
      Lowest bottom-line price: $406

      Sellers: 29
      Lowest base price: $169
      Lowest bottom-line price: $175

      Sellers: 12
      Lowest base price: $379
      Lowest bottom-line price: $414

      Base price, bottom-line price, merchant,
      merchant message, merchant
      rating, shipping info, stock availability

      Though rather dull-looking compared with the others,
      PriceRunner offers almost everything you need in a pricing
      engine: It finds low prices and is easy to navigate.

2     PriceGrabber                               82
      www.pricegrabber.com                       Very Good

      Sellers: 35
      Lowest base price: $427
      Lowest bottom-line price: $440

      Sellers: 28
      Lowest base price: $250
      Lowest bottom-line price: $260

      Sellers: 11
      Lowest base price: $405
      Lowest bottom-line price: $421

      Base price, bottom-line price,
      merchant rating

      This old standby delivers useful reviews and merchant
      details, a large product database, and 3 nice interface
      that's a cinch to use. But it didn't find the lowest
      prices.

3     Yahoo Shopping                             81
      shopping.yahoo.com                         Very Good

      Sellers: 19
      Lowest base price: $396
      Lowest bottom-line price: $441

      Sellers: 20
      Lowest base price: $252
      Lowest bottom-line price: $270

      Sellers: 18
      Lowest base price: $379
      Lowest bottom-line price: $418

      Base price, bottom-line price, merchant,
      merchant rating, shipping info

      While it bombards you with ads and info, making navigation
      more of a chore, Yahoo is worth a look for its great deals
      and Consumer Reports buying guides.

4     Shopzilla                                  79
      www.shopzilla.com                          Good

      Sellers: 40
      Lowest base price: $396
      Lowest bottom-line price: $410

      Sellers: 21
      Lowest base price: $251
      Lowest bottom-line price: $257

      Sellers: 14
      lowest base price: $385
      Lowest bottom-line price: $421

      Base price, bottom-line price,
      merchant, merchant rating

      This approachable site is easy to get around and provides
      merchant ratings from BizRate, Its product background and
      reviews aren't as good as PriceGrabber's, however.

5     NexTag
      www.nextag.com

      Sellers: 26
      Lowest base price: $422
      Lowest bottom-line price: $439

      Sellers: 15
      Lowest base price: $250
      Lowest bottom-line price: $257

      Sellers: 12
      Lowest base price: $385
      Lowest bottom-line price: $425

      Base price, bottom-line price,
      merchant, merchant rating, stock
      availability

      NexTag offers an easy-to-navigate interface and nifty
      charts showing a product's price changes over time. Average
      prices and a mediocre selection of sellers hold it back.

6     MSN Shopping                               77
      shopping.msn.com                           Good

      Sellers: 45
      Lowest base price: $389
      Lowest bottom-line price: n/a

      Sellers: 1
      Lowest base price: $320
      Lowest bottom-line price: n/a

      Sellers: 11
      Lowest base price: $399
      Lowest bottom-line price: n/a

      Base price, merchant, merchant rating

      By teaming up with Shopping.com, MSN gives you a wider
      selection in most product categories. The interface is way
      too cluttered, though, and there's no bottom-line pricing.

7     Shopping.com                               76
      www.shopping.com                           Good

      Sellers: 33
      Lowest base price: $429
      Lowest bottom-line price: $440

      Sellers: 22
      Lowest base price: $250
      Lowest bottom-line price: $257

      Sellers: 15
      Lowest base price: $399
      Lowest bottom-line price: $429

      Base price, merchant, merchant rating

      This otherwise-average site is a worthy stop if you value
      reviews from Epinions.com. The interface is fairly boring
      but straightforward enough to navigate.

8     Smarter.com                                71
      www.smarter.com                            Good

      Sellers: 0
      Lowest base price: n/a
      Lowest bottom-line price: n/a

      Sellers: 15
      Lowest base price: $251
      Lowest bottom-line price: $264

      Sellers: 0
      Lowest base price: n/a
      Lowest bottom-line price: n/a

      Bottom-line price (or base price if you
      don't provide your zip code), merchant

      Smarter.com has a clean interface and offers some unique
      features, such as text-messaging support and live-chat
      help, but its product selection pales in comparison.

9     Become.com                                 67
      www.become.com                             Fair

      Sellers: 14
      Lowest base price: $397
      Lowest bottom-line price: n/a

      Sellers: 5
      Lowest base price: $280
      Lowest bottom-line price: n/a

      Sellers: 3
      Lowest base price: $386
      Lowest bottom-line price: n/a

      Base price, merchant

      This new, Google-like site offers dedicated buttons for
      research and shopping. Its selection of sellers is too
      skimpy, but that may change as the site matures.

n/a = not available. CHART MOTES: Base price: without shipping
and tax; bottom-line price: with shipping and tax. All prices
checked on 9/19/05. For more on PC World's ratings, visit
find.pcworld.com/49902.