6 sites every shopper should know

By Liz Pulliam Weston

We're spending hundreds of billions of dollars online these days, and a good chunk of that money is being wasted. Too many people are paying too much, getting cheated by unscrupulous merchants and missing out the best deals.

That's too bad because the Internet is brimming with resources to help you short-circuit deceptive sales practices and find real bargains.

Over the years I've tested hundreds of shopping-related sites, and I've come up with a handful that should be added to the "favorites" list of every shopper's browser.

But is that really a good deal?

There are plenty of bargain-finding sites on the Web that highlight deals and show you how to "stack" sales with coupons and promotion codes to knock prices down even further.

Sites such as MyBargainBuddy.com, Slickdeals.net, Ben's Bargains and Deals of America specialize in sniffing out good buys. Some have specialties: Ben's Bargains, for example, is heavy on computer and electronics gear, while MyBargainBuddy is especially attuned to stuff for the home and kids -- not surprising considering the founder is a stay-at-home mom.

But Dealnewsrises above the competition for a number of reasons:

• The site keeps track of past sale prices. Sometimes what looks like a deal really isn't. Knowing an item's past sale history helps you know whether you're getting a bargain. On a recent sale of DVD movie packs at DeepDiscount.com, for example, Dealnews noted, "With free shipping, it's the lowest total price we've seen for these titles outside of last month's 20% off promotion."

• The site has a "hotness" scale. The scale reflects both the depth of the discount and the desirability of the item. Again, it's a great way to sort the steals from the routine deals.

• The site is well-designed and easy to navigate. Some sites are an assault on the eyes -- crowded, confusing and awkward to find your way around. Dealnews has a nice, clean interface that allows you to quickly spot featured deals, bargains on specific items and coupons from specific stores. You also can sort deals by "hotness," as well as by recency (how long since the deal was posted) and category.

• The site finds deals many of the others miss. Here's one example: a leather jacket sale at WilsonsLeather.com. The sale advertised on the retailer's site -- two lamb-leather jackets for $150 -- got even better with a promotion code that sliced 20% off the price and threw in free shipping. "For example, get this Zip Front Lamb Bomber Jacket plus this Lamb Shirt Collar Jacket for a grand total of $110.40 shipped free after all promotions. That's $55 per leather jacket," Dealnews noted.

• The site is updated frequently. The home page changes throughout the day, so there are always new bargains to peruse. Expired deals are whisked away quickly, so you don't get your hopes raised and then dashed by clicking through to a bargain that's already sold out.

A note on coupons: You should always, always search around for coupons before you complete a Web purchase. Dealnews typically finds the best coupons for the deals it highlights and maintains a long list of coupons for various retailers, but no bargain or coupon site captures every discount. Use a search engine to look for "coupon" or "promotion code" and the name of the retailer you're using to find the hidden deals.

Coupons, gossip and a little extra

FatWalletis another excellent bargain-finding site with standout features:

• Rebates. Like many other sites, FatWallet gets commissions from retailers for sending shoppers to their sites. Unlike some other sites, FatWallet shares part of those commissions with the shoppers who sign up on its site. The rebates typically range from 1% to 5% but can go higher on special deals.

• Lively forums. FatWallet claims nearly a million users, and many of them are online at any given time sharing deals they've spotted and offering their reviews of products and stores. There's nothing like a hearty exchange of sometimes-heated opinions to give you a better picture of your options.

A recent Amazon.com deal on a Le Creuset soup pot generated one such squabble, with one member questioning whether the discounted $99 price was a bargain and other users defending the enameled French cookware as heirloom-worthy. You tend to come away from these discussions with a better understanding of the products' advantages and disadvantages, as well as some insights into regular users' personalities.

Continued: Free 'price protection'

 1 | 2 | next >