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Get the Best Prices, Period: 10 Must-Have Tools for Every Shopper

By Matt Brownell Posted 9:55AM 01/09/13 Savings Experiment, How to Save Money |
RedLaserThere are few things more frustrating than making a purchase, then discovering afterward that you spent more than you needed to. The other day, I bought a TV at Best Buy (BBY), and when I went to clean off the top of my dresser to make space for it, I discovered a Best Buy gift card.

But avoiding buyer's remorse isn't as simple as organizing your clutter to make sure you haven't misplaced old gift cards. You need to make sure you're buying from the retailer with the lowest price, which means comparison shopping at dozens of online and offline merchants. You'll also want to find any hidden savings opportunities in the form of coupons and coupon codes. And ideally, you'd like to protect yourself against the possibility of the item's price dropping right after you buy it.

The good news is that there are plenty of tools out there that can help ensure that you get the lowest possible price on the item you've decided to buy, from barcode-scanning smartphone apps to browser extensions that automatically search for lower prices and coupon codes. Here are a some of the must-have tools for ensuring you get the best price.

Gallery: The Must-Have Tools to Guarantee You Get the Best Price

Price-Comparison Sites: PriceGrabber and Google ShoppingBarcode-Scanning Apps: RedLaserLast-Minute Money-Savers: FreePriceAlertsCoupon Code Finders: Honey and Coupons at CheckoutPrice Drop Trackers: ShopAdvisor
Savings Experiment: Coupon Clipping

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Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.

Tagged: Amazon.com Inc, barcode scanner, Best Buy Co Inc, best deals, best prices, Buy.com, CheckOut, Chrome, Citigroup, Comparison shopping, Decide, DVD, ecommerce, Finance, Google, Google Search, Internet

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Paul

Because of my remote location, I pretty much shop for durable goods exclusively online. The best luck I've had consistently online is with eBay.com for new or refurbished items. The sites next on my go to list are, amazon.com, dealnews.com, rakuten.com (formerly buy.com), ecost.com, and overstock.com.

In over 260 purchases at eBay I've only had 2 ever not turn out, and they were both covered by their Buyer Protection Plan.

I used to use PriceGrabber.com quite a bit, but had a few bad experiences with vendors who would offer extremely low prices then not deliver or call you immediately and try to oversell on services or bundle packages. Sometimes I'd have to cancel the order and they'd make it difficult or I'd have to cancel through the credit card handling the transaction.

Other than referring to eBay.com, Google.com almost never seems to have the lowest prices. Sorry, it just doesn't. It seems a search will default to vendors who pay Google's fees. A flaw with Google.com is that its search results can be inaccurate or out of date. Under the the headline the search result will offer up a price online but if you click on the link I often find the item can be a related item (i.e. a charger intend of the batteries, or a manual) or just completely a different price on the web site.

Wherever you buy, be sure to use a form of payment that is both protected and will allow you to recover your purchase amount should the deal go south. Your credit card may offer to generate a temporary number that can be used for a single purchase and be valued at an amount you set. eBay also has their own Buyer Protection Plan which I've found to be effective both times I've had to use it.

February 23 2013 at 3:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
lthrnck68

That's assuming you care about or feel the need to have a pocket full of electronic gadgets like smart phones. Considering all they do, are they really phones or just a hand held computer?

February 23 2013 at 8:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike Gibbens

Thanks! I also like LowerThis.com which has a community of crowdsourced experts that finds the lowest price for online purchases. Saved me time and money!

February 07 2013 at 12:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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