How to Shop Online for the Best & Safest Deals

The first thing you should do is to get a rough estimate/price range on the product you're looking for. The first site I like to use is Google Products (used to be called Froogle. You can also get to it by visiting Google's homepage and then clicking Shopping at the top. Type in a basic description and get more specific if you get too many search results. Let's say you want an Apple iPod Touch, then type in "apple ipod touch". You'll find that it comes in different sizes, so specify what size by modifying your search terms to "apple ipod touch 16gb". The 1st result should be correct - click it to see a list of stores and prices carrying that product. You will now have a good idea of what this product costs.

You may also get some '2nd opinions' by checking Pricegrabber, which also gives you a shipping estimate; Amazon.com, and Yahoo Shopping.

Both Yahoo Shopping and Google Products also let you enter a price range so you can cull your search results to exclude things like related products and accessories.

Back to our example of the 16GB iPod Touch. You'll notice that there is a huge price range. As there are enough results from well-known vendors on the lower end, you can throw out the higher prices and look for a good deal. Now, particularly if you're looking for pricey software where there tends to be more scam attempts, the opposite can be true, where there are quite a few 'too good to be true' prices on the lower end. Many times, these tend to be outfits dealing in sketchy copies of software or it's a bait-and-switch scheme. Saving money in these cases isn't worth it should you have to deal with the software manufacturer; they aren't always very forgiving should your copy be pirated or dubious in any way.

One last point - just because a vendor has the lowest price doesn't mean you're getting the best deal. Consider this: if you need to return your purchase for any reason, what would it cost in money, time and aggravation to do so? Does the vendor have good customer service, customer-friendly policies, reasonable or no charges, and solid processes in place? Paying a few % points more for a product from an established vendor is well worth it over a dubious small unknown shop.

Narrow down your choices to the top three prices, but you may want to keep your options open in case those vendors don't pan out.

A good trick is to use the "Open in a new Window" or "Open in a New Tab" feature that many modern web browsers have (see the attached photo) so that you can quickly go back to your original list of options.