subject: Price comparison service [print this page] Price comparison service
History
On the internet, a price comparison service (also known as shopping comparison or price engine) allows individuals to see different lists of prices for specific products. Most price comparison services do not sell products themselves, but source prices from retailers from whom users can buy.
Price comparison services were initially implemented as client-side add-ins to the Netscape and Internet explorer browsers, and required that additional software be downloaded and installed. After these initial efforts, comparison shopping migrated to the server so that the service would be accessible to anyone with a browser. Services which are now offered by websites dedicated to price comparison and by major portals.
Shopping
In the late 1990s, as more people gained access to the internet, a range of shopping portals were built that listed retailers for specific product genres. Retailers listed paid the website a fixed fee for appearing. These were little more than an online version of the Yellow Pages. As technology has improved, a newer "breed" of shopping Web portals is being created that are changing both the business model and the features and functionality offered. These sites do not "aggregate" data-feeds provided from the retailers, they search and retrieve the data directly from each retailer site. This allows for a much more comprehensive list of retailers and the ability to update the data in real-time.
Generic portals and search engines launched similar services and companies that stood to benefit from increased internet shopping (especially credit card and delivery firms) launched similar sites. Many of these services have since closed.
Business models
Price comparison sites typically do not charge users anything to use the site. Instead, they are monetized through payments from retailers who are listed on the site. Depending on the particular business model of the comparison shopping site, retailers will either pay a flat fee to be included on the site or pay a fee each time a user clicks through to the retailer web site or pay every time a user completes a specified action - for example, when they buy something or register with their e-mail address. Comparison shopping sites obtain large product data feeds covering many different retailers from affiliate networks such as LinkShare and Commission Junction. There are also companies that specialize in data feed consolidation for the purpose of price comparison and that charge users for accessing this data. When products from these feeds are displayed on their sites they earn money each time a visitor clicks through to the merchant's site and buys something. Search results may be sorted by the amount of payment received from the merchants listed on the website.
A low, low price . . .
There's no such thing as a completely comprehensive search, but these sites often include plenty of lesser-known merchants that offer terrific deals that you might not find on your own.
That's where price-comparison sites do their best work: If a specialty electronics retailer is remaindering items, you'll know about it.
Remember, that low, low price could be misleading if sales tax and shipping aren't figured in.
"You find this awesome price, (but) shipping is $150 on top of that if it's a big item like a TV," says Ras of aLiveTrading.
http://www.alivetrading.com is affiliated with Shopzilla, so naturally their search results include online discount codes. What looks like the third-best price might become the lowest price if you get 30% off plus free shipping, Ras says.
Shopzilla
Shopzilla is a price comparison service. Founded in June 1996 by Farhad Mohit and Henri Asseily as Binary Compass Enterprises, the company changed its name to BizRate.com in January 1999. The company launched the website Shopzilla in November 2004, which then became the company name too.
The company's mission is to enable shoppers to find, compare and buy anything, sold by virtually anyone, anywhere. In September 2009, Shopzilla sites attracted over 19 million unique visitors in the U.S. according to comScore. Shopzilla also operates the BizRate.com consumer feedback network that collects millions of consumer reviews of stores and products each year.
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