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Revealed!! Battle of the Shopping Search Engines

By on May 6, 2013
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Google Shopping (paid model)

Google-shopping

Coverage:  6/10
Accuracy:  7/10
Ease of Use:  8/10

 

 

 

A major debit against Google Shopping since its transition to a paid model is the notable absence of Amazon.com in search results. Amazon will not pay into Google Shopping listings, so it does not appear in the results. For a lot of online shoppers, Amazon is the touchstone for low prices, which means the user experience on Google Shopping is incomplete at best.

A recent search for the “Cuisinart FP-12 Elite Food Processor” yielded dozens of sponsored results from a mix of well-known online stores, various eBay sellers and some really obscure sites. The majority of the name sites carried this product for $199. The problem is, if you made a quick jump over to Amazon, you would’ve found this same Cuisinart food processor for $15 less! Oops.

Aside from the Amazon debacle, Google Shopping generally has the most comprehensive results, but it also means you end up seeing listings from a lot of stores you’ve never heard from and wouldn’t want to give your credit card number to. So, if absolute lowest price trumps common sense for you, there will be a lot of wading through “too good to be true” listings from obscure merchants with unreliable Google seller ratings. If you’re willing to buy a $1500 Samsung HDTV from Neobits instead of Crutchfield or Best Buy, then good luck to you.

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About Joe Warner

I'm the senior editor of The CheckOut. I am an aficionado of shiny gadgets and classic Hollywood movies and can also tell you the names of the late '80s Swedish Davis Cup team members.

2 Comments

  1. Jabba's Ex

    May 7, 2013 at 9:02 am

    Joe, thank you for the review of shopping comparison sites. I totally agree with your conclusion that we still must look at multiple sources to find the best price. With that conclusion in mind (and me being the Ghetto Dog that I am) I must say that, as good as Ben’s is and despite the special place it holds in my heart, I frequent two other deal sites in addition to Ben’s.

    Go Ben’s!

    Reply

    • Joe Warner

      May 7, 2013 at 10:59 am

      @ Jabba’s Ex: Thanks for the feedback and sticking around with Ben’s through all these years!

      Reply

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