IN THE NEWS
Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
April 26, 2008
Online Bargains
Compare prices at www .pricescan.com.
Money
March 2008
When Getting a Deal Just Isn't Worth It
By Jean Chatzky
It's no exaggeration to say that a large chunk of my early winter was wasted trying to buy a wide-screen TV. . . . I started online: Consumer Reports.org, CNET.com and a dozen or so reviews from magazines and newspapers. Then, more confused than before, I went shopping: Costco, Best Buy, Sam's Club, Costco again, where I discovered that none of these sets would come close to fitting in my car. Back to the computer, where I decided to let PriceSCAN.com, with its star ratings from consumers and search engine for the best prices (including shipping), have the final word.
PC World
February 1, 2008
The Best Places (and Times) to Buy
By Jeff Bertolucci
. . . The Internet is a great shopper's tool even if you don't buy online. Pricing engines such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . work in pretty much the same way, allowing you to search by product category, vendor name, or another criterion to find the best deal. Some sites, such as PriceSCAN, even let you enter a target price and will notify you via e-mail . . . when the service locates a price that hits your target.
Minnesota Lawyer, Minneapolis, MN
December 10, 2007
Technie Holiday Gift Recommendations
By Barry D. Bayer
. . . Of course, you're going to purchase your gifts online. The process is fast and as safe as handing your credit card to a waiter in a restaurant . . . I suggest using a pricing service such as . . . PriceSCAN to see who has what for how much.
Indianapolis Woman, Indianapolis, IN
December 1, 2007
Avoid the Holiday Blues
By Elaine E. Cedel, CFP, MBA
. . . According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 36 percent of Americans use the Internet to search for products. Many comparative shopping sites, such as . . . PriceSCAN.com, provide prices for specific products from a variety of vendors. Even if you plan to shop in a local store, check the prices first.
Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA
November 21, 2007
Planning is Key to Successful Post-Holiday Shopping
By Dave Ammenheuser
Know your product: If you plan to make a big-ticket purchase, make sure you do your research in advance. Don't buy a 57-inch plasma television from a manufacturer you've never heard of. . . . [P]riceSCAN.com compare[s] products and prices before the sales begin.
Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, HI
November 1, 2007
Ins and Outs of Online Holiday Shopping
By Robbie Dingeman
Price cutting can be easier at comparison shopping sites that offer a choice of places to find the items you select. . . . They include . . . www.pricescan.com.
NBC10.com, Philadelphia, PA
November 2007
Avoiding The Mall? Shop ONLINE - Here's How!
Comparison shopping is a great way to find the best deals and with the internet it only take seconds! . . . [G]reat sites for online comparison shopping [include] PriceScan.com.
Post and Courier, Charleston, SC
October 30, 2007
Holiday Shipping Can Get Tricky, If You Get My Drift
By Lisa Brown
You can find some great discounts online. One really cool site out there is www.pricescan.com. This site returns a handy table where you search for an item sorted in descending order by price that shows where you can purchase whatever you want for the least amount of money, the cost of shipping (because you have to add that into the overall price) and a vendor rating (to give you a warm fuzzy that you are not buying from a disreputable source).
Communications of the ACM [Association for Computing Machinery]
August 1, 2007
A Classification of Product Comparison Agents
By Yu Wan, Satya Menon and Arkalgud Ramaprasad
From the very beginning of the development of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, comparison-shopping has been a popular activity among consumers due to lower search costs in the online environment. . . . .
In the last decade, a large number and variety of product comparison agents have emerged to assist consumers making choice decisions in online envornments. The earliest of this breed that gained wide popularity was the bargainfinder introduced by Andersen Consulting in 1995. It allowed a shopper to enter the name of a desired music CD and the software would then search for the selection at nine online stores and return the price list to the shopper. Subsequently, many other types of comparison agents have emerged, such as PriceSCAN.com . . . , operating in very different ways to assist consumers in the same task.
News-Democrat, St. Louis, MO
May 10, 2007
Web Sites Give Consumers a Fighting Chance
By Roger Schlueter
Whether they're looking for coupons, wanting to swap junk or wondering how much a neighbor's house is worth, consumers can have a field day on the Internet. . . . Smart consumers will want to comparison shop, and there's no end to that on the Internet. Try . . . www.pricescan.com.
Marketing Science
April 2007
The Effect of Cultural Orientation on Consumer Responses to Personalization
By Thomas Kramer, Suri Spolter-Weisfeld and Maneesh Thakkar
The advent of the Internet and electronic commerce has enabled consumers to select from among a seemingly endless variety of products. However, consumers can only benefit from this plethora of choices if they have an efficient way to evaluate their options . . . . Internet recommendation agents, such as those found on . . . . PriceSCAN, have been developed to help consumers cope with this potential information overload and to make their search for the best option more efficient.
Birmingham News, Birmingham, AL
East Valley Tribune Mesa, AZ
Erie Times-News, Erie, PA
Express-Times, Easton, PA
Fort Pierce Tribune, Fort Pierce, FL
Greenville News, Greenville, SC
Herald (Broward County Edition), Miami, FL
Herald and Review, Decatur, IL
Lima News, Lima, OH
Modesto Bee, Modesto, CA
Scottsdale Tribune, Scottsdale, AZ
St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, FL
Stuart News, Stuart, FL
Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC
December 3, 2006
Finding Deals Online
Shopping robots, or "bots," offer a convenient method of comparing prices on products and finding deals online: . . .
www.pricescan.com
Search for a low price on an item or for a specific retailer.
Denver Post, Denver, CO
Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI
Florida Today, Melbourne, FL
Journal News, White Plains, NY
Lansing State Journal, Lansing, MI
Livingston County Daily Press and Argus, Howell, MI
Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY
Sunday News Journal, Wilmington, DE
Tribune-Review, Greensburg, PA
Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh, PA
Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK
Visalia Times-Delta, Visalia, CA
November 27, 2006
Safeguard Your Internet Shopping Spree
By Kim Komando
Each year, more people do their holiday shopping online. Nothing beats that convenience. But before you buy anything online, make sure you're staying safe . . . and getting the best deal. . . .
Use price-comparison sites
Many sites aggregate prices from other sites. . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . offer[s] price-comparison searches.
Newsday, Long Island, NY
November 24, 2006
Shop, But Not 'Til You Drop
By Keiko Morris
Hard-cord shoppers already know to search the circulars, advertisements and flyers in the newspapers on Thanksgiving, but most retail experts say using comparative shopping Web sites, such as . . . PriceSCAN . . . could help save time, money and aggravation.
Nevada Appeal, Carson City, NV
Standard-Times, New Bedford, MA
November 23, 2006
Experts Offer Tips for Shoppers
By Keiko Morris
For those who relish the quest for find the ultimate bargain, retail experts are offering a few tips to enahnce the fun and manage the less savory challenges that await on Black Friday and this weekend – the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. . . .
Shoppers can also use sites such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . to compare prices among retailers, said Tod Marks, Consumer Reports senior editor. Consumers can then judge whether the advertised deal is worth the trip.
Monroe Evening News, Monroe, MI
November 22, 2006
Hints for Strategic Post-Thanksgiving Shopping
Make sure it's a bargain. If prices [at retailers] seem low, go online to make sure. . . . PriceSCAN . . . [is] worth visiting.
The Washington Times, Washington, DC
November 20, 2006
For Web Sites, A Reason to Give Thanks
By Jen Haberkorn
After the plate of turkey is cleared and the football games are over this Thanksgiving, many Americans will turn their attention to the Internet. . . . Holiday shoppers have many Web sites at their disposal this season. . . .
Price shopping: . . . PriceSCAN.com
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
November 12, 2006
Web Sites
http://www.pricescan.com
This site gathers prices from Web sites but also gets product and pricing information from vendor magazine ads, catalogs and daily faxes from vendors.
The New York Times, New York, NY
November 11, 2006
Testing the Shopping Bots
A test of the most popular shopping bot sites looked for the lowest price for a Canon PowerShot SD550 7.1 megapixel digital camera, which sells at Circuit City for $350. The sites found lower prices, but were mixed on ease of use. . . .
PriceSCAN.com - $275 [best price] - 19 [listings] - E-mails alerts when product hits price target.
Ventura County Star, Ventura, CA
November 6, 2006
Take a Holiday from Crowded Malls and Shop Online
by Dave Peyton
PriceSCAN at http://www.pricescan.com says it goes the extra mile to find the best deals. It claims that the Web site's staff not only gathers prices from Web sites, but also gets product and pricing information from vendor magazine ads, catalogs and daily faxes from vendors. The information is entered into a searchable database that . . . is updated daily.
Consumer Reports
November 2006
Digital Cameras: Some Big-Camera Features Come in Strikingly Small Packages
When shopping, compare prices by using an Internet shoping "bot," which gathers prices from a number of retailers. . . . [B]ots include . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . .
E-Commerce Times
October 13, 2006
Do It Yourself E-Commerce, Part 4: Comparison Shopping Engines
By Andrew K. Burger
One of the big incentives for smaller e-tailers to become adept at using comparison engines is their potential to level the playing field and help them compete with their larger cousins. "CSEs create something of a central marketplace, " said Aaron Rosenthal, director of channels research at Marketing Experiments. . . .
There are . . . several . . . companies fighting for market share, including . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . .
Entrepreneur.com
August 4, 2006
101 Top Tech Solutions: Get Up to Speed on Cutting-edge Business Technology
71. Shopping Online
Bargain hunting over the Internet doesn't have to be time-consuming. Web sites such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . are hubs for price comparisons. They're especially handy if you already know what you want and are just looking for the lowest price.
Black Enterprise
August 2006
Become A Better Buyer: Five Tips for Smart Consumerism
By Tanisha Sykes
. . . Comparison shop . Buying the first thing you see might be the case if you're in a rush, but these days you can find anything at the right price by shopping around. Try sites like . . . www.pricescan.com, and don't forget to [g]et more than one quote, price, or estimate.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, AR
July 11, 2006
Scent-sational Past
By Helaine R. Williams
Charlie, Aviance, Brut and other fragrances of yore still linger as memories tweak the noses of sentimental consumers. . . . PriceSCAN.com [shows] a 2.6-ounce spray of Aviance Night Musk for $17.89 . . . .
Newspapers and Technology
May 2006
Pay Attention!
By Rosemarie Monaco
In fact, over the past few months, headlines have revealed the closings of one magazine after another. Reeling from slumping newsstand sales and ad revenue, shopping magazines Budget Living and Cargo recently shuttered. [This] should not have come as a surprise. Web sites sites such as PriceSCAN.com address the budget conscious, while more secure gateways and identity protection software encourage shoppers of all income levels. Over the 2005 holiday season alone, consumers spent more than $30 billion online. Already, two out of three consumers who have Internet access shop online. Who needs a print magazine about shopping?
Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL
December 11, 2005
Gift Buyers Flock to Web
By Chris Cobbs
If the thought of browsing for bargains online sounds exasperating, consider using comparison sites that do the shopping—or at least some of it—for you.
[Among] the better-known ones: . . . PriceSCAN.com
Consumer Reports
Antigo Daily Journal, Antigo, WI
Blytheville Courier News, Blytheville, AR
Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY
Coast News, Encinitas, CA
Courier-News, Elgin, IL
Daily Breeze, Torrance, CA
Daily News-Sun, Sun City, AZ
Daily Reporter, Greenfield, IN
Morris Daily Herald, Morris, IL
Register-Mail, Galesburg, IL
Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, WI
South Idaho Press, Burley, ID
Spirit, Punxsatawney, PA
Vicksburg Post, Vicksburg, MS
December 1, 2005
Don't Get Zapped when Shopping for Electronics
By the Editors of Consumer Reports
Research product and price. . . . [W]e suggest you gather product information from the Internet, by phone and in the press before you set out shopping on foot. . . . Then shop for price. Internet shopping "bots," which gather prices from a number of online retailers, can be a good tool. Popular bots include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
USA Today
Advocate, Newark, OH
Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, NJ
Big Sandy News, Louisa, KY
Burlington Free Press, Burlington, VT
Battle Creek Enquirer, Battle Creek, MI
Cedar City Daily News, Cedar City, UT
Chillocothe Gazette, Chillocothe, OH
Chronicle-Tribune, Marion, IN
Daily Record, Morristown, NJ
Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY
El Paso Times, El Paso, TX
Ft. Collins Coloradoan, Ft. Collins, CO
Greenville News, Greenville, SC
Ithaca Journal, Ithaca, NY
Journal News, White Plains, NY
Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Lancaster, OH
Lansing State Journal, Lansing, MI
Leaf-Chronicle,Clarksville, TN
Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI
Pensacola News Journal, Pensacola, FL
Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY
Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY
Spectrum, St. George, UT
Statesman Journal, Salem, OR
Topeka Metro News, Topeka, KS
Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK
November 25, 2005
Price-Comparison Sites Make Online Shopping Easy
By Kim Komando
Want to find the best price for holiday purchases online? You don't have to surf one Web store after another. Tap into the power of a price-comparison site. . . .
Search sites Google (froogle.google.com), MSN (shopping.msn.com) and Yahoo (shopping.yahoo.com) have gotten into the price-aggregating business. All three do a good job of keeping an eye on prices at dozens of stores. In fact, the quantity of stores they return can be overwhelming. Froogle's site is still in testing, so it is not as user-friendly or complete as the others.
But what happens when you know you want a digital camera but are unsure of what to buy? Sites like . . . PriceSCAN (www.pricescan.com) . . . allow you to narrow down choices. You can generically search for items by category, such as apparel, books, computers, digital cameras, movies, and so on.
Stanford Daily
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
October 25, 2005
Web Bargains for the Whole Bunch
By Andrew Leifer
. . . There is nothing special about buying from Amazon. If other book stores have the right book, they will generally offer comparable service. Mosey on over to http://www.PriceSCAN.com to compare book prices and shipping costs across . . . smaller online book sellers.
Bloomberg News
Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, PA
Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, HI
Miami Herald, Miami, FL
New York Sun, New York, NY
August 9, 2005
"Fed Is Running Just to Stand Still," Adviser Says
By Craig Torres
The Federal Reserve's nine straight interest-rate increases since June 2004 failed to change one fact: Money is still on sale in America. . . .
"The Fed is running just to stand still," an advisor to the Philadelphia Fed from 2002 to 2004 and founder of price comparison Web site PriceSCAN.com, Jeffrey Trester, said. The rate increases"haven't substantially raised long-term mortgage rates, nor have they slowed spending or slowed the economy."
Black Enterprise
August 2005
Tips to Help You Become a Better Consumer
Comparison Shop
Buying the first thing you see might be the case if you're in a rush, but these days you can find anything at the right price by shopping around. Try sites like . . . www.pricescan.com . . . .
Galveston County Daily News, Galveston, TX
July 27, 2005
Back-to-School Goes High-Tech
By Rachel Hunter
As students hit the stores for back to school shopping, the latest high-tech gadgets will probably be at the top of their wish list, next to backpacks and binders. . . .
Experts recommend comparison online shopping before purchasing the latest high-tech devices. There are several Web sites that offer easy cost comparisons, including . . . http://www.pricescan.com.
Buzzle.com
June 9, 2005
Save Money and Time By Comparison Shopping Online
By Deborah Lambeth
. . . The crown jewel of comparison shopping sites is most likely PriceSCAN, which offers all of the same features as the other shopping sites, but also lets you search for "functionally equivalent" products–items that meet the exact same specifications as the item you?re researching, but that might save you money while delivering exactly the same quality and service. PriceSCAN offers price comparisons, product reviews, and vendor ratings, just like the other shopping sites, but it also has blogs where site visitors can discuss hot topics and consumer issues.
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL
May 22, 2005
Handy Resources Add to Smart Approach
By Gregory Karp
Being smart about spending money is one of the best ways to improve your household finances. But who can be an expert in every category of spending, from buying groceries to TVs to insurance?
Fortunately, many resource in print and online can help. However frugally you live your life, everybody could use ideas, advice and inspiration. Here are some excellent resources for spending smart: . . .
Comparison sites. Comparing prices is fundamental to smart buying, and the Web makes it easy to find out what things cost, regardless of whether you intend to purchase online or at a store. [Among] several: . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . .
Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY
Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
May 21, 2005
Organization, Persistence Are Key to Winning the Rebate Game
By Bill Lubinger
Retailers rarely are beaten at their own game. They count on us consumers to be lazy and undisciplined, and mostly, we comply. Except for Andy Zamborsky, a guy I'll call Mr. Rebate . . . [H]e saves thousands of dollars every year with rebates. . . .
Zamborsky compares prices on the Internet to see whether the product offered with a rebate is really a good deal. He recommends www.pricescan.com . . . .
Washington Post, Washington, DC
May 13, 2005
When Shopping for Grads, Consider the Gift of Gadget
By Ellen McCarthy
. . . If you want to get graduates something they'll really use, look to the digital world. Computers and cell phones are obvious first choices for young people going off to college or into the real world. . . .
Here are some Web sites for comparison shopping: . . .
PriceSCAN
www.pricescan.com
The Activist
Raymond Walters College, Cincinnati, OH
May 2, 2005
Internet Review: Don't Buy It Before You PriceSCAN It!
By Blake Castetter
Recently, I purchased a brand new TV from a popular electronics store. I swear no more than two weeks later I saw the exact same TV for a few hundred dollars less.
In my disgust and anger, I decided never to buy on an impulse again. For those who have learned the hard way, like me, there is a website called PriceSCAN.com.
This recent discovery of mine has saved me a lot of money, and hopefully it will do the same for you. You can find the lowest prices on anything you can imagine, from electronics to perfumes. There is even a link on the website that can help you find stores that carry a product you are looking for.
The website claims that it has unbiased price comparisons and will provide the consumer with honest product reviews.
The next time you need to compare quality and prices on a new washer and dryer go to PriceSCAN.com. It has a four star review from me.
Bottom Line-Personal
April 15, 2005
Big-Screen TV Buys
By Gary Krakow
Flat-screen TVs are getting bigger and less expensive. . . . Panasonic's discontinued 50-inch TH-50PHD7UY can be found through PriceSCAN.com . . . for less than $4,000.
Today's Pawnbroker
Spring 2005
Psychology Drives Online Bidding
By Bill Kunkel
[Professor Utpal "Paul" M. Dholakia] pointed out that most online bidders claim that searching for items in online auctions consumes far too much of their time.
"People consistently say that they prefer not to search because they have too many other things to do in their life. So they're going to go to a search engine such as PriceSCAN.com or a similar site, compare all the sellers and buy from the one with the lowest price."
South Bend Tribune
March 4, 2005
Coupons Can Make All the Difference
By Gwen O'Brien
You work hard for your paycheck, but making it stretch week to week for the things you need and want can be difficult.
Sometimes you have to work yet a little bit more to find the real deal. . . .
The Internet also offers comparison pricing without having to drive all over town. . . .
Where to look online . . . PriceSCAN.com
Computer Shopper
March 2005
E-tailers with Multiple Identities
Finding the best price online has become something of a low-impact, noncontact sport. The only problem: The online retailers keep changing the rules without telling us, and we always seem to be three points behind with no time left to play. . . .
To make sure real competitors are vying for your business, check the sites' Contact Us or About Us Links, and search for an address. If you can't find one, try a site such as PriceSCAN.com (www.pricescan.com), which usually lists a site's physical address. The Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) also often lists the other names a company operates under and the name of the owner or president.
Computer Shopper
January 2005
Pry Before You Buy
Buying a PC from a Lesser-known vendor has its risks. Worse yet, the usual network of friends and relatives you rely on for recommendations may not be any help because they may never have heard of these companies. Fortunately, you'll find plenty of resources online to help you ferret out information on a vendor's track record. . . .
You can also find customer-generated vendor ratings at shopping sites such as PriceSCAN.com . . . .
Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, AK
Beaver County Times, Beaver, PA
Colulmbus Dispatch, Columbus, OH
Des Moines Register, Des Moines, IA
East Valley Tribune, Mesa, AZ
Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO
Green Bay Press-Gazette, Green Bay, WI
Herald (Broward County Edition), Miami, FL
Lawrence Journal–World, Lawrence, KS
Miami Herald (International Edition), Miami, FL
News and Record, Greensboro, NC
Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY
Reading Eagle, Reading, PA
Record, Stockton, CA
San Antonio Express, San Antonio, TX
Scottsdale Tribune, Scottsdale, AZ
Sunday Capital, Annapolis, MD
Times, Hammond, IN
Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Vidette Times, Valparaiso, IN
December 3, 2004
Sources for Online Shopping Information
Shopping robots, or "bots," offer a convenient method of comparing prices on products and finding deals online: . . .
www.pricescan.com
Search for a low price on an item or for a specific retailer.
The Record, Hackensack, NJ
December 5, 2004
Scissors No Longer Required: Going Online for Your Coupons
By Kevin DeMarrais
Online shopping has changed the face of retailing, allowing consumers the freedom to comparison shop and buy from merchants across the nation—without leaving the comfort of their homes. . . .
Internet shoppers are already familiar with the wide range of comparison shopping sites such as . . . pricescan.com . . . .
Family Tree Magazine
December 2004
Shooting Stars: Gear Up with the Season's Hottest Digital Cameras
By Nancy Hendrickson
There's no better tool for capturing family get-togethers, heirlooms and old documents than a digital camera. And now's an excellent time to buy. Dozens of new cameras small enough to fit in your shirt pocket and packed with features have hit the market. Best of all, prices are lower than ever, and you can find great deals on Web sites such as PriceSCAN.com . . .
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, OR
November 21 2004
Keeping Holiday Cheer in Check: Americans' Holiday Spending Plans Tend to Exceed Prudent Planning Guidelines
By Julie Tripp
The average American household expects to spend about $900 on gifts and related holiday cheer this season–and many of us can't afford the splurge. . . .
To make the most of your holiday spending, check out these Web site for further information on smart ways to plan and budget: . . .
www.pricescan.com , to comparison shop from your computer, offering prices for hundreds of products, from electronics and computers to CDs and books.
Newsday (Nassau Edition), Long Island, NY
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Star-Banner, Ocala, FL
November 14 2004
www.pricescan.com
PriceSCAN says it goes the extra mile to find the best deals. It claims that its staff not only gathers prices from Web sites but also gets information from ads, catalogs and vendors. The information is entered into a searchable database.
Gainesville Sun, Gainesville, FL
November 8 2004
Price Comparison Search Engines Make Shopping from Home Easier
By Tom Meek
November and December are the biggest months of the year for gift purchases both online and off. Web shopping has grown by leaps and bounds over the past five years by offering a huge selection and the convenience of shopping from home. Somewhat less well-known, however, is that online customers can utilize various price comparison tools to find the best prices from major online retailers. . . .
[P]rice search engines worth checking include . . . PriceSCAN (www.pricescan.com ). PriceSCAN is notable as one of the few services where vendors don't pay a fee to have their stores listed.
Cargo
October/November 2004
What's Your Game Plan . . . for Finding Deals on Electronics
Site Seeing
Before you pull the trigger—or click Submit Order—give these hot spots a shot:
Price comparisons: . . . PriceSCAN.com
Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, VA
September 8, 2004
Your Own Personal Online Shopper
By Jim Edwards
Imagine you find yourself in the market to buy a new digital camera and, before you part with your money, you want to comparison shop for the best price online. If you do a search for "digital camera" on Google, the Web's top search engine, you'll get back more [than] 7 million page results. . . .
Even though the web makes it easy to search out the products we want to buy, sometimes that mountain of information makes it almost impossible to find the best deal. To solve this problem there are "personal online shoppers" which help you seek, find, and comparison shop multiple offers for just about any product you want to buy, online or offline.
An online personal shopper-type service enables you to log on to a single site, enter the product details you want to search, and then have the website give you back a list of prices and places where you can purchase the item.
The personal shopping assistant sites that rate the best don't accept commissions for the sale of items through their services because getting paid based on what the customer buys would eliminate unbiased product comparisons.
The best services make their money by selling targeting advertising to merchants and only displaying products in their search results based on price and features. . . .
PriceSCAN.com does not accept accept money from advertisers to manipulate their search results, though they will show targeted advertising on the search results pages. A very nice feature on this site involves the ability to enter features you want in a particular item (such as a computer) and then search all makes, models, and manufacturers matching those features.
You'll find this especially valuable when comparing things like computers, which often carry many different variables and configurations.
WABC, New York
August 14, 2004
Sree's Top Three Sites for Finding Bargains Online
By Sreenath Sreenivasan
Here are some sites that will help you find good deals online. Remember to do your research and shop around!
Dental Economics
July 2004
Shopping Online
By Jeffrey B. Dalin, DDS, FACD, FAGD, FICD
Everybody knows that you can always find a better deal on something . . . if you are patient and persistent. The Internet can prove to be an ecellent tool to use in your quest to shop, but you need to be prepared and do your homework. . . .
Here is a complete listing of Web sites that can be used in your search for the perfect product: . . .
www.pricescan.com
Bloomberg.net
June 30, 2004
Fed Raises Overnight Bank Rate to 1.25%, Keeps "Measured" Pace
By Craig Torres
Federal Reserve policy makers raised the U.S. benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 1.25 percent and said further increases can come at a "measured" pace based on "economic prospects."
The first increase since May 2000 was a unanimous vote, a sign that no Federal Open Market Committee member saw enough of an inflation threat to seek a more aggressive move now. . . .
"I don't think a quarter-point rate increase is likely to change inflation expectations significantly,'" said Jeffrey Trester, co-chief executive officer at price comparison Web site Pricescan.com and a business council member for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. "There is the fear that if you were to do something more about this rising inflation, it might trigger some kind of economic smack-down."
Newsweek
March 22, 2004
Money: Wanna Deal? Click Here
By Linda Stern
Last fall some 85 million shoppers spent $1.5 billion a week at Web sites that promised fast, cheap and easy. Naturally, new retailers are flooding the Web. That's great for getting deals, but it also makes them harder to evaluate. It's easy to comparison shop when there are five sites selling a particular pair of jeans; but how do you find the best price among 5,000 sellers? Call in the portals. The biggest shopping sites aren't retailers at all, but services that lure shoppers with price comparisons, discounts and rebates and then point shoppers to specific retailers. Some tips on smart clicking:
Disloyalty pays. The best sites for comparison shopping include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
Vida Actual, San Juan, PR
March 4, 2004
Consique los Mejores Precios en Línea
Encuentra los mejores precios en la Internet visitando páganos que comparan los costs de múltiples tiendas en línea.
Ejemplos: . . . www.pricescan.com te permite buscar los mejores precios de distintos artículos con las mismas características.
Brandweek
February 2, 2004
Priced to Go: A Quick Search for Soda
By Valerie Merahn
While ignorance or laziness may encourage an otherwise rational shopper to purchase a 2-liter bottle of soda for triple the price offered by a store down the street, shopping bots are offering consumers the opportunity to fully research their options without any additional work. The Internet has successfully done away with the need to visit multiple stores or spend hours on the phone.
In fact, even clicking from site to site is no longer necessary thanks to other sites such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . . With pricing information so readily available in one spot, will online consumers soon start setting the prices? Will online retailers step up to the challenge of redefining "excellent service" and identify new ways to distinguish themselves?
Be Your Own Boss
February 2004
Back to Basics
By Amanda C. Kooser
Speaking of finding good deals, never pay more for home-office hardware than you have to. . . . Bargain hunting over the Internet doesn't have to be time-consuming. Web sites such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . are hubs for price comparisons. They're especially handy if you already know what you want and are just looking for the lowest price.
Consumer Reports
February 2004
Battle of the 'bots'
PriceSCAN . . . had the top privacy policy. It saves no information beyond 60 days and shares nothing with anybody. Shopping.com requires you to give permission before it shares your information, while BizRate, NexTag and mySimon have you make a special opt-out request. PriceGrabber said it might share information with partners but offered no opt-out provision.
Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
January 24, 2004
Money Concerns Worth Knowing: Online Bargains
Deals, discounts and savings await shoppers on the Internet. . . . Here are just a few opportunities: . . .
Compare prices at www.pricescan.com .
MSN Money
January 2004
Where to Find the Deals in 2004
By Jennifer Mulrean
Ballooning bargains in flat-panel TVs
It seems like every year for the last couple of years has been touted as the one in which flat-panel TVs would finally become affordable. So is 2004 the year? . . .
Where to look: . . . Try shopping bots such as . . . PriceSCAN to compare prices on TVs. PriceSCAN makes it especially easy to target your search by type of TV, size, price and manufacturer. . . .
Video recorders: finally time to junk your VCR?
If you?re simply looking for something to play movies on, plenty of affordable DVD and VCR players exist. But when it comes to recording, VCRs are still the affordability king. For now, you?re still talking about a $250 price difference between a new, decent-quality VCR and a DVD recorder.
Where to look: For now you have to really dig for DVD recorders under $300. Searches on PriceSCAN, however, turned up a number of models in the $340-$365 range.
PC World
January 2004
The Art of the Deal
By James Oliver Cury
If there's a golden rule of shopping, it's that you can always score a better deal. But finding real bargains on PCs, digital cameras, and other types of tech products takes skill, patience, and persistence. To help you get started, we've compiled a list of insider shopping secrets that can save you money, shield you from shady retailers, and help you recognize a genuinely good buy. . . .
Let decision trees guide you: Instead of researching every feature, follow an automated decision tree to find product candidates. Activebuyersguide.com employs an on-screen question-and-answer process that explains key features and ends with recommended products. PriceScan.com offers a similar weeding-out engine for pinpointing the product that matches your needs.
American News, Aberdeen, SD
Freeman, Waukesha, WI
News-Sentinal, Ft. Wayne, IN
Times-Union, Warsaw, IN
Tribune, San Luis Obispo, CA
December 20, 2003
Smart and Safe Ways to Holiday Shop Online
Edited and compiled by Chuck Myers
Shopping bots offer a convenient method of simultaneously comparing prices on a particular product at several retail sellers. Some bots feature a range of product categories, while others focus on specific types of goods.
Here are a few to consider: . . .
PriceSCAN.com, www.pricescan.com
Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH
December 19, 2003
Online Sales May Help Some Niche Businesses
By Chris Seper
Sites that filter or organize Web-based stores are becoming a trend in online shopping, analysts say. Among the more popular sites: . . .
PriceSCAN.com : Search product categories or get reviews on certain items.
Tribune, Tampa, FL
December 8, 2003
Favorite Web Sites
By Sarah A. Knupke
Shopping online for the holidays this year? Don't get that credit card out just yet, check these sites out for price comparisons. . . .
A Prescription for Savings
www.pricescan.com . . . . What sets this site apart is the comparisons include prescription [drug] prices.
County Times, San Mateo, CA
Oakland Tribune, Oakland, CA
December 8, 2003
Net Price Sites Give Shoppers Reality Check
By Francine Brevetti
Shopping comparison sites generated to make shopping easy have grown incredibly numerous. . . .
After reporting that online holidy shopping would jump by 21 percent this holiday season, Jupiter research analyst Patti Freeman Evans confirmed the growth of price comparison sites. She said this more accessible info is "enhancing consumers' ability to make more concerted well-considered puchasing decisions" by providing mountains of particulars.
. . . PriceSCAN . . . stand[s] among the growing phalanx of sites where you can compare prices for that new CD burning computer.
Chronicle, Muskegon, MI
Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
The Star Ledger, Newark, NJ
Today's Sunbeam, Salem, NJ
November 29, 2003
Online, Compare More than Price
By Allan Hoffman
The Internet has supercharged comparison shopping, transforming what was once an arduous task, involving phone calls and store visits, into an activity requiring nothing more than a quick trip to Web sites such as PriceSCAN.com . . . .
But a certain degree of know-how is required to make good use these shopping "bots," named for their price-seeking software robots.
Just consider a search for a popular digital camera, the Fuji FinePix 3800, at Yahoo Shopping (shopping.yahoo.com). As at other shopping bots, a search generates a list of prices from assorted merchants. The first store sells the camera for $400, followed by merchants offering it for $289, $325, $320, and $297, and on and on. The site lists 79 stores offering the product.
Wouldn't you rather see these listed by price?
Of course. . . .
Which brings us to a matter these sites don't exactly advertise. The initial listings at comparison- shopping sites often reflect their business relationships with merchants. Stores typically pay on a "cost per click" basis to be included in these listings; when a potential customer clicks on a store's product listing, that store pays a fee for the referral. Those willing to pay higher fees, or to be included in special "preferred" merchant programs, are listed higher in the rankings, sometimes with a logo.
Not all comparison shopping sites accept fees from merchants [for placement]–PriceSCAN, for instance, doesn't–but it has become the accepted practice among many of the industry leaders, including BizRate.com, mySimon.com, NexTag.com, PriceGrabber.com and Shopping.com.
Other features vary from site to site . . . . One handy feature, available at . . . PriceSCAN, lets you view a graph tracking a product's price during a period of time. This is particularly useful when you want to get a bargain by purchasing an older model. Check out the graph for a personal computer, for instance, and you may learn you can get it for just $500, when it was selling for more than $1,000 just six months ago.
MSN Money Central
November 24,2003
How Shopping Bots Really Work
By Jennifer Mulrean
More people are spending time and money online--and they're using shopping bots to save on both. But what few realize is that the results they see often aren't the best deals available. . . . [Y]ou might be excused for thinking that the search results on [a shopping bot] are sorted by store rating or best prices. In actuality, results are primarily sorted by which merchants have paid for the honor of appearing at the top of the list. . . . Most other shopping bots similarly sell the prime real estate at the top of their results pages. . . . [And] they make it rather difficult to tell whether someone is paying to be there. . . .
A lone ranger?
Indeed, PriceSCAN is possibly the only bot that doesn't sell its results to the highest bidder. Co-founders Jeff Trester and David Cost are somewhat baffled by this.
"If you're only showing people that pay you to be threre, how can you show who has the best deals?" Cost wondered. "If you really want to have a free market and market transparency, you have to show everyone. Our thought is, this is the best way to do this."
The default display for PriceSCAN's "lowest price" results (the blue links at the top of the page) puts the best prices at the top of the list, regardless of merchant relationships.
"Consumers need to know who has the best price," Trester says. "I think serious buyers will and do care about that."
. . . With is laser-beam focus on the lowest prices, PriceSCAN begs to be used.
Forbes
October 14, 2003
The Revolution That Wasn't
By Victoria Murphy
The hoarde of Web sites that once sprouted up for price-shopping is down to a hardened handful, including Shopping.com, PriceGrabber, NexTag and BizRate. Last month Yahoo jumped into the business, too. They all now rig search results so that the best placements go to the highest bidders, even if a site's digital cameras, say, cost 30% more than the cheapest alternative.
Most shoppers don't realize the rankings are bought, says Jeffrey Trester, co-founder of PriceSCAN, a six-year-old search service that still lists only according to the seller's price. "You can fool a lot of the people a lot of the time," he says.
Woman's World
June 24, 2003
Ask the Money Expert: "How Do We Get the Best Deal on a Digital Camera?"
Q: My husband and I want to buy a digital camera, but all the features are confusing. What do we need to know to get the right one for us–without paying too much?
A: You're smart to buy a digital camera, because it'll allow you to view photos as soon as you've taken them, then transfer the pictures to a computer and e-mail them or just print them out. But with so many available features, you can pay hundreds more than you need to. . . . So where can you get a good deal? Compare prices at www.pricescan.com . . . .
Capital, Annapolis, Maryland
Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi
CNN Money, New York, New York
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, West Virginia
Express-News, Morning Edition, San Antonio, Texas
Free Press, Detroit, Michigan
Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Herald, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Journal, Poughkeepsie, New York
Journal-World, Lawrence, Kansas
News, Buffalo, New York
News-Democrat, Belleville, Illinois
Northwest Indiana Times, Munster, Indiana
Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington
Sun-Herald, Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi
Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Times, Hammond, Indiana
Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Vidette Times, Valparaiso, Indiana
June 22, 2003
General Shopping Bot Sits
Shopping robots or "bots," offer a convenient method of comparing prices on a particular product. Not all bots are alike. Some feature a range of product categories, while others focus on specific types of goods. If you'd like to do some serious cyberspace shopping or just a bit of Web window browsing, you may want to visit one of these sites: . . .
PriceSCAN.com
www. pricescan.com. Search for a low price on an item or for a specific retailer.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
June 2003
Fast Forays for Finding Deals
Bargain hungers looking for easy pickings turn to shopping bots–seach engines that compare prices, including shipping fees. In our tests, PriceSCAN.com turned up the lowest prices among the broadest range of retailers. It also ranked the stores in an unbiased order, while other bots, such as BizRate.com, stack their results to favor merchants who pay to place their wares.
We searched PriceSCAN for the latest John Grisham novel and learned that Buy.com was selling the thriller for $15 (including shipping)–which trumped Amazon's discounted price by $5. In fact, PriceSCAN beat a half-dozen rival bots in finding the lowest price among the most bookstores.
KOMO-TV Channel 4, Seattle, Washington
January 17, 2003
Northwest Afternoon Tips for Saving Money
There are lots of ways to use the Internet to save money. Here are just a few examples: . . .
Compare prices for all sorts of purchases by using what's called a "Shopping Bot." They include . . . www.pricescan.com.
About.com
January 4, 2003
Shopping & Price Comparison Engines
With the infinite variety of online stores to choose from, finding the best price online can be a huge undertaking. This round up of shopping related search engines will provide you with the best one-stop comparison pricing web sites available. . . .
PriceSCAN
One of the few shopping search engines that does not charge merchants for listings, this web site culls information from magazine ads, catalogs, web sites and other resources to provide product comparisons for products available at online and offline merchants.
New York Post, New York, NY
December 26, 2002
Tech is Cheap, Say the Pricing Analysts
By Caroline Waxler
Keeping up with the Gateses is getting easier.
Well, sort of.
A basket of "state of the art" tech goodies, like the latest digital cameras, printers, notebook computers–the essentials to impress your neighbors about what a tech-savvy macher you are–costs 80 percent of what it did five years ago. In November 2001, that cost would have been even lower, at 70 percent.
Not all price drops are created equal: Digital camera prices have been relatively steady, while desktop computers, laptops, flat-panel screens and PDAs have been plummeting.
Jeffrey Trester, the co-founder of price comparison Web site PriceSCAN, worked with Drexel University professor Edward Nelling and Harvard senior Daniel Fehder to put the site's economic data into an index made up of 50-plus goods in 12 categories.
They charted the index back to 1997, when PriceSCAN was founded. The results are a consumer's delight.
"It's very obvious–the prices are falling across the board for what are now considered state-of-the-art products," said Trester. "The downward trend over the past years is clear."
The drop is even more precipitous in the PriceSCAN industrial index, which removes the more consumer-oriented items, like digital cameras. That index shows that businesses can spend about 30 percent less to purchase the hottest products than they would have in 1997.
"When the dot-coms and telecoms stopped buying equipment, the effect may have depressed prices," said Trester.
The precise composition of the indices changes often, as hot new products are added and older technology dropped.
One group of products that doesn't seem to be going anywhere in the next couple of months, however, is computers.
"There hasn't been a huge amount of innovation in this area," said Trester. "There's no pressure to get anything hotter than what's on your desk."
When charted against the Dow, the indices showed that falling prices appear to actually foretell a falling market.
New York Post, New York, NY
December 24, 2002
Retailers Ringing in the Blues
By Caroline Waxler
Post-Christmas should look better for both consumers and retailers because of good sales. . . . Jeffrey Trester, co-founder of price comparison site PriceScan.com, said that while sales volume at online retailers appears to be comparable to last year, "there's definitely pricing pressure." He expects huge sales after Christmas.
The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California
December 15, 2002
InterActive Family: The Web's a Natural for Comparisons
This site is a "shopbot" that comparison shops from sites all over the Web at the click of a button. . . . [S]hopbot sites . . . include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
Black Enterprise Magazine
CNN Money
December 4, 2002
Enlist Online Allies for Shopping Help
The never-ending search for online deals can be made easier with resources like . . . PriceSCAN, which search the Internet for . . . price comparisons . . . (by vendor) so you can get the highest value for the lowest price. On PriceSCAN, you may also name a price for an item and see what pops up.
Morning News, Dallas, Texas
November 28, 2002
Park at the PC Instead of the Mall: Online Comparisons Can Save Your Feet as Well as Your Dollars
By Tim Wyatt
PriceSCAN
www.pricescan.com
You can window-shop from the store directory, then compare prices in a dozen categories. Again, electronics is the big-ticket category, but PriceSCAN also includes comparisons for home and garden, sporting goods, watches and prescription drugs—just for those folks who might want to refill their Valium prescriptions before heading out to the malls. . . . Shipping costs are highlighted in the results.
The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri
November 24, 2002
Web Sites Make Bargain Hunting Easier
By Angela D. Curry
With the start of the holiday season upon us and the country reeling with economic uncertainty, consumers may want to stretch their dollars as far as possible. . . . One way consumers can save is through online comparison shopping sites. . . .
Here are a few comparison shopping sites to check out: . . . www.pricescan.com.
The Wall Street Journal Sunday
November 24, 2002
Comparing Prices on the Internet Is No Snap
By Dexter Webb
With the holiday season approaching, you may be thinking of turning to price-comparison Web sites to ferret out bargains.
These are sites such PriceSCAN.com . . . where specialized search engines promise to make it a cinch to compare the prices charged by competing online vendors for that weed trimmer or digital camera you want. . . .
Trolling for Bargains. A sampling of price-comparison Web sites: . . . PriceSCAN.com.
Nashua Telegraph, Nashua, New Hampshire
November 20, 2002
With the Holiday Spirit in Mind, a Few Spending Tips
By Sherman Smith
Just because Johnny says he wants a particular PS2 game, one for a Sony PlayStation2, or an MP3 player, a device that produces sound from digital audio files usually through headphones, it doesn't mean you need to grab the first one pictured in the first flier you open or buy the first one you see in the first store you visit. Here's where you can stretch that dollar and get your money's worth.
Check out the online comparison-shopping sites, such as www. pricescan.com . . . .
Time
November 18, 2002
Click Smart: Web Shopping Guide
By Maryanne Murray Buechner
Tip. Make sure the price is right. . . . [C]omparison shopping "bots" include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
Family Fun
November 2002
A Visit from St. Click
By Leslie Garisto Pfaff
If you've never used an Internet shopping engine, this is the time of year to try one. Shopping engines help you find the best price on the Net for pretty much anything you're hunting down, whether it's games for the computer or a wreath for the front door. . . .
If you care more about value than brand name, you'll love PriceSCAN.com (www.pricescan.com), which gives you the chance to search for the best prices on "functionally equivalent products"– different items with identical features, sorted by price.
Consumer Reports
November 2002
Digital Imaging 2002: More than Megapixels
Some general advice: Check prices at comparison-shopping sites such as www.pricescan.com . . . .
The Kim Komando Radio Show
October 5, 2002
Online Shopping
PriceSCAN is a Web site devoted to comparison shopping online. Just pick a category and product, and check out the features and specifications for all similar products. The site gives instant price-comparison reports from several vendors. You may also name a price for the item and see what pops up. Become a smarter shopper by finding the lowest price on any item.
Dispatch, York, PA
August 26, 2002
Some Favorite Sites for Freebies, Advice
By Jan Purnell
Once you find a product, you'll want to find the best price. Price[SCAN] can include both online and offline vendors who can offer you the best price for merchandise. They guarantee that their price and product information is unbiased.
Advance-Register, Tulare, California
Advocate, Newark, Ohio
Baxter Bulletin, Mountain Home, Arkasas
Californian, Salinas, California
Central Journal News, White Plains, New York
Chronicle-Tribune, Marion, Indiana
Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio
Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi
Courier-News, Bridgewater, New Jersey
Courier-Post, Camden, New Jersey
Daily Journal, Vineland, New Jersey
Daily Record, Parsippany, New Jersey
Daily Southtown, Chicago, Illinois
The Detroit News, Detroit, Michigan
Eagle-Gazette, Lancaster, Ohio
Enquirer, Battle Creek, Michigan
Free Press, Burlington, VT
Gazette, Chillicothe, Ohio
Herald, Wausau-Merrill, Wisconsin
Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, West Virginia
Home News Tribune, East Brunswick, New Jersey
Journal, Ithaca, New York
Journal and Courier, Clarksville, Tennessee
Leaf-Chronicle, White Plains, New York
News, Greenville, South Carolina
News Herald, Port Clinton, Ohio
News Journal, Mansfield, Ohio
News Journal, Pensacola, Florida
News-Leader, Springfield, Missouri
News-Messenger, Fremont, Ohio
News-Press, New York, New York
North Journal News, New York, New York
Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York
Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wisconsin
Press, Asbury Park, New Jersey
Press, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Press-Citizen, Iowa City, Iowa
Putnam Journal News, Carmel, New York
Quad-City Times, Davenport, Iowa
Rockland Journal News, Nyack, New York
South Journal News, New York, New York
Spectrum, St. George, Utah
Star, Marion, Ohio
State Journal, Lansing, Michigan
Sun, Jackson, Tennessee
Tribune, Coshocton, Ohio
Times, Salisbury, Maryland
Times, Shreveport, Louisiana
Times-Delta, Visalia, California
Times Herald, Port Huron, Michigan
Times Recorder, Zanesville, Ohio
Tribune, Coshocton, Ohio
Tribune, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
August 19, 2002
Battle of the Online Stores
By Russell Shaw
Comparison-shopping sites can help you find the best deal from among discount retailers. . . . [Some] popular comparison-shopping engines include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
MSNBC.com
July 4, 2002
How to Pick the Best Barbecue Grill
By Jennifer Mulrean
Shipping costs (both time and money) are the big deterrent to buying a grill online, though it's a great place to research your purchase before walking into a brick-and-mortar store. . . . Try a shopping bot such as . . . PriceSCAN to quickly hunt down the best online deals.
Eagle-Tribune, Lawrence, Massachusetts
May 3, 2002
UltraBar Integrates with IE Browser Toolbar
By Bill Dubie and David Sciuto
What makes [UltraBar IE Toolbar Companion] ultra-cool though, is its ability to let you customize any search-oriented site. Using its simple programming script, we added dictionary.com . . . and PriceSCAN to satisfy our verbal and value urges.
Reader's Digest
May 2002
Bot and Paid For
By Kathleen McCleary
To save on Web merchandise, visit a "bot"–short for an on-line robotic personal shopper. Type in what you want, and the bot lists sites that sell it. Most bots, however, showcase merchants that pay to display. So what's the top unbiased bot? Kiplinger's says PriceSCAN.com, which simply ranks products you want from cheapest to costliest.
Computer Shopper
May 2002
Price-Comparison Sites
PriceSCAN.com is an unbiased source for comparison-shopping that includes both brick-and-mortar sellers and Web merchants. Categories include office equipment, sporting goods, watches, and health, plus computers, digital photography, and electronics.
Pocket PC Magazine
May 2002
Best Sites for Windows Powered Pocket PCs and Handheld PCs
PriceSCAN.com named among best "sites optimized for small screens" in category "Shopping/Price Comparison Search Engines."
Argus, Rock Island,
Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
April 26, 2008
Online Bargains
Compare prices at www .pricescan.com.
Money
March 2008
When Getting a Deal Just Isn't Worth It
By Jean Chatzky
It's no exaggeration to say that a large chunk of my early winter was wasted trying to buy a wide-screen TV. . . . I started online: Consumer Reports.org, CNET.com and a dozen or so reviews from magazines and newspapers. Then, more confused than before, I went shopping: Costco, Best Buy, Sam's Club, Costco again, where I discovered that none of these sets would come close to fitting in my car. Back to the computer, where I decided to let PriceSCAN.com, with its star ratings from consumers and search engine for the best prices (including shipping), have the final word.
PC World
February 1, 2008
The Best Places (and Times) to Buy
By Jeff Bertolucci
. . . The Internet is a great shopper's tool even if you don't buy online. Pricing engines such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . work in pretty much the same way, allowing you to search by product category, vendor name, or another criterion to find the best deal. Some sites, such as PriceSCAN, even let you enter a target price and will notify you via e-mail . . . when the service locates a price that hits your target.
Minnesota Lawyer, Minneapolis, MN
December 10, 2007
Technie Holiday Gift Recommendations
By Barry D. Bayer
. . . Of course, you're going to purchase your gifts online. The process is fast and as safe as handing your credit card to a waiter in a restaurant . . . I suggest using a pricing service such as . . . PriceSCAN to see who has what for how much.
Indianapolis Woman, Indianapolis, IN
December 1, 2007
Avoid the Holiday Blues
By Elaine E. Cedel, CFP, MBA
. . . According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 36 percent of Americans use the Internet to search for products. Many comparative shopping sites, such as . . . PriceSCAN.com, provide prices for specific products from a variety of vendors. Even if you plan to shop in a local store, check the prices first.
Press-Enterprise, Riverside, CA
November 21, 2007
Planning is Key to Successful Post-Holiday Shopping
By Dave Ammenheuser
Know your product: If you plan to make a big-ticket purchase, make sure you do your research in advance. Don't buy a 57-inch plasma television from a manufacturer you've never heard of. . . . [P]riceSCAN.com compare[s] products and prices before the sales begin.
Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, HI
November 1, 2007
Ins and Outs of Online Holiday Shopping
By Robbie Dingeman
Price cutting can be easier at comparison shopping sites that offer a choice of places to find the items you select. . . . They include . . . www.pricescan.com.
NBC10.com, Philadelphia, PA
November 2007
Avoiding The Mall? Shop ONLINE - Here's How!
Comparison shopping is a great way to find the best deals and with the internet it only take seconds! . . . [G]reat sites for online comparison shopping [include] PriceScan.com.
Post and Courier, Charleston, SC
October 30, 2007
Holiday Shipping Can Get Tricky, If You Get My Drift
By Lisa Brown
You can find some great discounts online. One really cool site out there is www.pricescan.com. This site returns a handy table where you search for an item sorted in descending order by price that shows where you can purchase whatever you want for the least amount of money, the cost of shipping (because you have to add that into the overall price) and a vendor rating (to give you a warm fuzzy that you are not buying from a disreputable source).
Communications of the ACM [Association for Computing Machinery]
August 1, 2007
A Classification of Product Comparison Agents
By Yu Wan, Satya Menon and Arkalgud Ramaprasad
From the very beginning of the development of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, comparison-shopping has been a popular activity among consumers due to lower search costs in the online environment. . . . .
In the last decade, a large number and variety of product comparison agents have emerged to assist consumers making choice decisions in online envornments. The earliest of this breed that gained wide popularity was the bargainfinder introduced by Andersen Consulting in 1995. It allowed a shopper to enter the name of a desired music CD and the software would then search for the selection at nine online stores and return the price list to the shopper. Subsequently, many other types of comparison agents have emerged, such as PriceSCAN.com . . . , operating in very different ways to assist consumers in the same task.
News-Democrat, St. Louis, MO
May 10, 2007
Web Sites Give Consumers a Fighting Chance
By Roger Schlueter
Whether they're looking for coupons, wanting to swap junk or wondering how much a neighbor's house is worth, consumers can have a field day on the Internet. . . . Smart consumers will want to comparison shop, and there's no end to that on the Internet. Try . . . www.pricescan.com.
Marketing Science
April 2007
The Effect of Cultural Orientation on Consumer Responses to Personalization
By Thomas Kramer, Suri Spolter-Weisfeld and Maneesh Thakkar
The advent of the Internet and electronic commerce has enabled consumers to select from among a seemingly endless variety of products. However, consumers can only benefit from this plethora of choices if they have an efficient way to evaluate their options . . . . Internet recommendation agents, such as those found on . . . . PriceSCAN, have been developed to help consumers cope with this potential information overload and to make their search for the best option more efficient.
Birmingham News, Birmingham, AL
East Valley Tribune Mesa, AZ
Erie Times-News, Erie, PA
Express-Times, Easton, PA
Fort Pierce Tribune, Fort Pierce, FL
Greenville News, Greenville, SC
Herald (Broward County Edition), Miami, FL
Herald and Review, Decatur, IL
Lima News, Lima, OH
Modesto Bee, Modesto, CA
Scottsdale Tribune, Scottsdale, AZ
St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, FL
Stuart News, Stuart, FL
Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC
December 3, 2006
Finding Deals Online
Shopping robots, or "bots," offer a convenient method of comparing prices on products and finding deals online: . . .
www.pricescan.com
Search for a low price on an item or for a specific retailer.
Denver Post, Denver, CO
Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI
Florida Today, Melbourne, FL
Journal News, White Plains, NY
Lansing State Journal, Lansing, MI
Livingston County Daily Press and Argus, Howell, MI
Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY
Sunday News Journal, Wilmington, DE
Tribune-Review, Greensburg, PA
Tribune-Review, Pittsburgh, PA
Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK
Visalia Times-Delta, Visalia, CA
November 27, 2006
Safeguard Your Internet Shopping Spree
By Kim Komando
Each year, more people do their holiday shopping online. Nothing beats that convenience. But before you buy anything online, make sure you're staying safe . . . and getting the best deal. . . .
Use price-comparison sites
Many sites aggregate prices from other sites. . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . offer[s] price-comparison searches.
Newsday, Long Island, NY
November 24, 2006
Shop, But Not 'Til You Drop
By Keiko Morris
Hard-cord shoppers already know to search the circulars, advertisements and flyers in the newspapers on Thanksgiving, but most retail experts say using comparative shopping Web sites, such as . . . PriceSCAN . . . could help save time, money and aggravation.
Nevada Appeal, Carson City, NV
Standard-Times, New Bedford, MA
November 23, 2006
Experts Offer Tips for Shoppers
By Keiko Morris
For those who relish the quest for find the ultimate bargain, retail experts are offering a few tips to enahnce the fun and manage the less savory challenges that await on Black Friday and this weekend – the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. . . .
Shoppers can also use sites such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . to compare prices among retailers, said Tod Marks, Consumer Reports senior editor. Consumers can then judge whether the advertised deal is worth the trip.
Monroe Evening News, Monroe, MI
November 22, 2006
Hints for Strategic Post-Thanksgiving Shopping
Make sure it's a bargain. If prices [at retailers] seem low, go online to make sure. . . . PriceSCAN . . . [is] worth visiting.
The Washington Times, Washington, DC
November 20, 2006
For Web Sites, A Reason to Give Thanks
By Jen Haberkorn
After the plate of turkey is cleared and the football games are over this Thanksgiving, many Americans will turn their attention to the Internet. . . . Holiday shoppers have many Web sites at their disposal this season. . . .
Price shopping: . . . PriceSCAN.com
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
November 12, 2006
Web Sites
http://www.pricescan.com
This site gathers prices from Web sites but also gets product and pricing information from vendor magazine ads, catalogs and daily faxes from vendors.
The New York Times, New York, NY
November 11, 2006
Testing the Shopping Bots
A test of the most popular shopping bot sites looked for the lowest price for a Canon PowerShot SD550 7.1 megapixel digital camera, which sells at Circuit City for $350. The sites found lower prices, but were mixed on ease of use. . . .
PriceSCAN.com - $275 [best price] - 19 [listings] - E-mails alerts when product hits price target.
Ventura County Star, Ventura, CA
November 6, 2006
Take a Holiday from Crowded Malls and Shop Online
by Dave Peyton
PriceSCAN at http://www.pricescan.com says it goes the extra mile to find the best deals. It claims that the Web site's staff not only gathers prices from Web sites, but also gets product and pricing information from vendor magazine ads, catalogs and daily faxes from vendors. The information is entered into a searchable database that . . . is updated daily.
Consumer Reports
November 2006
Digital Cameras: Some Big-Camera Features Come in Strikingly Small Packages
When shopping, compare prices by using an Internet shoping "bot," which gathers prices from a number of retailers. . . . [B]ots include . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . .
E-Commerce Times
October 13, 2006
Do It Yourself E-Commerce, Part 4: Comparison Shopping Engines
By Andrew K. Burger
One of the big incentives for smaller e-tailers to become adept at using comparison engines is their potential to level the playing field and help them compete with their larger cousins. "CSEs create something of a central marketplace, " said Aaron Rosenthal, director of channels research at Marketing Experiments. . . .
There are . . . several . . . companies fighting for market share, including . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . .
Entrepreneur.com
August 4, 2006
101 Top Tech Solutions: Get Up to Speed on Cutting-edge Business Technology
71. Shopping Online
Bargain hunting over the Internet doesn't have to be time-consuming. Web sites such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . are hubs for price comparisons. They're especially handy if you already know what you want and are just looking for the lowest price.
Black Enterprise
August 2006
Become A Better Buyer: Five Tips for Smart Consumerism
By Tanisha Sykes
. . . Comparison shop . Buying the first thing you see might be the case if you're in a rush, but these days you can find anything at the right price by shopping around. Try sites like . . . www.pricescan.com, and don't forget to [g]et more than one quote, price, or estimate.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock, AR
July 11, 2006
Scent-sational Past
By Helaine R. Williams
Charlie, Aviance, Brut and other fragrances of yore still linger as memories tweak the noses of sentimental consumers. . . . PriceSCAN.com [shows] a 2.6-ounce spray of Aviance Night Musk for $17.89 . . . .
Newspapers and Technology
May 2006
Pay Attention!
By Rosemarie Monaco
In fact, over the past few months, headlines have revealed the closings of one magazine after another. Reeling from slumping newsstand sales and ad revenue, shopping magazines Budget Living and Cargo recently shuttered. [This] should not have come as a surprise. Web sites sites such as PriceSCAN.com address the budget conscious, while more secure gateways and identity protection software encourage shoppers of all income levels. Over the 2005 holiday season alone, consumers spent more than $30 billion online. Already, two out of three consumers who have Internet access shop online. Who needs a print magazine about shopping?
Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL
December 11, 2005
Gift Buyers Flock to Web
By Chris Cobbs
If the thought of browsing for bargains online sounds exasperating, consider using comparison sites that do the shopping—or at least some of it—for you.
[Among] the better-known ones: . . . PriceSCAN.com
Consumer Reports
Antigo Daily Journal, Antigo, WI
Blytheville Courier News, Blytheville, AR
Buffalo News, Buffalo, NY
Coast News, Encinitas, CA
Courier-News, Elgin, IL
Daily Breeze, Torrance, CA
Daily News-Sun, Sun City, AZ
Daily Reporter, Greenfield, IN
Morris Daily Herald, Morris, IL
Register-Mail, Galesburg, IL
Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, WI
South Idaho Press, Burley, ID
Spirit, Punxsatawney, PA
Vicksburg Post, Vicksburg, MS
December 1, 2005
Don't Get Zapped when Shopping for Electronics
By the Editors of Consumer Reports
Research product and price. . . . [W]e suggest you gather product information from the Internet, by phone and in the press before you set out shopping on foot. . . . Then shop for price. Internet shopping "bots," which gather prices from a number of online retailers, can be a good tool. Popular bots include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
USA Today
Advocate, Newark, OH
Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, NJ
Big Sandy News, Louisa, KY
Burlington Free Press, Burlington, VT
Battle Creek Enquirer, Battle Creek, MI
Cedar City Daily News, Cedar City, UT
Chillocothe Gazette, Chillocothe, OH
Chronicle-Tribune, Marion, IN
Daily Record, Morristown, NJ
Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY
El Paso Times, El Paso, TX
Ft. Collins Coloradoan, Ft. Collins, CO
Greenville News, Greenville, SC
Ithaca Journal, Ithaca, NY
Journal News, White Plains, NY
Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Lancaster, OH
Lansing State Journal, Lansing, MI
Leaf-Chronicle,Clarksville, TN
Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI
Pensacola News Journal, Pensacola, FL
Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY
Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY
Spectrum, St. George, UT
Statesman Journal, Salem, OR
Topeka Metro News, Topeka, KS
Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK
November 25, 2005
Price-Comparison Sites Make Online Shopping Easy
By Kim Komando
Want to find the best price for holiday purchases online? You don't have to surf one Web store after another. Tap into the power of a price-comparison site. . . .
Search sites Google (froogle.google.com), MSN (shopping.msn.com) and Yahoo (shopping.yahoo.com) have gotten into the price-aggregating business. All three do a good job of keeping an eye on prices at dozens of stores. In fact, the quantity of stores they return can be overwhelming. Froogle's site is still in testing, so it is not as user-friendly or complete as the others.
But what happens when you know you want a digital camera but are unsure of what to buy? Sites like . . . PriceSCAN (www.pricescan.com) . . . allow you to narrow down choices. You can generically search for items by category, such as apparel, books, computers, digital cameras, movies, and so on.
Stanford Daily
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
October 25, 2005
Web Bargains for the Whole Bunch
By Andrew Leifer
. . . There is nothing special about buying from Amazon. If other book stores have the right book, they will generally offer comparable service. Mosey on over to http://www.PriceSCAN.com to compare book prices and shipping costs across . . . smaller online book sellers.
Bloomberg News
Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, PA
Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, HI
Miami Herald, Miami, FL
New York Sun, New York, NY
August 9, 2005
"Fed Is Running Just to Stand Still," Adviser Says
By Craig Torres
The Federal Reserve's nine straight interest-rate increases since June 2004 failed to change one fact: Money is still on sale in America. . . .
"The Fed is running just to stand still," an advisor to the Philadelphia Fed from 2002 to 2004 and founder of price comparison Web site PriceSCAN.com, Jeffrey Trester, said. The rate increases"haven't substantially raised long-term mortgage rates, nor have they slowed spending or slowed the economy."
Black Enterprise
August 2005
Tips to Help You Become a Better Consumer
Comparison Shop
Buying the first thing you see might be the case if you're in a rush, but these days you can find anything at the right price by shopping around. Try sites like . . . www.pricescan.com . . . .
Galveston County Daily News, Galveston, TX
July 27, 2005
Back-to-School Goes High-Tech
By Rachel Hunter
As students hit the stores for back to school shopping, the latest high-tech gadgets will probably be at the top of their wish list, next to backpacks and binders. . . .
Experts recommend comparison online shopping before purchasing the latest high-tech devices. There are several Web sites that offer easy cost comparisons, including . . . http://www.pricescan.com.
Buzzle.com
June 9, 2005
Save Money and Time By Comparison Shopping Online
By Deborah Lambeth
. . . The crown jewel of comparison shopping sites is most likely PriceSCAN, which offers all of the same features as the other shopping sites, but also lets you search for "functionally equivalent" products–items that meet the exact same specifications as the item you?re researching, but that might save you money while delivering exactly the same quality and service. PriceSCAN offers price comparisons, product reviews, and vendor ratings, just like the other shopping sites, but it also has blogs where site visitors can discuss hot topics and consumer issues.
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL
May 22, 2005
Handy Resources Add to Smart Approach
By Gregory Karp
Being smart about spending money is one of the best ways to improve your household finances. But who can be an expert in every category of spending, from buying groceries to TVs to insurance?
Fortunately, many resource in print and online can help. However frugally you live your life, everybody could use ideas, advice and inspiration. Here are some excellent resources for spending smart: . . .
Comparison sites. Comparing prices is fundamental to smart buying, and the Web makes it easy to find out what things cost, regardless of whether you intend to purchase online or at a store. [Among] several: . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . .
Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY
Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
May 21, 2005
Organization, Persistence Are Key to Winning the Rebate Game
By Bill Lubinger
Retailers rarely are beaten at their own game. They count on us consumers to be lazy and undisciplined, and mostly, we comply. Except for Andy Zamborsky, a guy I'll call Mr. Rebate . . . [H]e saves thousands of dollars every year with rebates. . . .
Zamborsky compares prices on the Internet to see whether the product offered with a rebate is really a good deal. He recommends www.pricescan.com . . . .
Washington Post, Washington, DC
May 13, 2005
When Shopping for Grads, Consider the Gift of Gadget
By Ellen McCarthy
. . . If you want to get graduates something they'll really use, look to the digital world. Computers and cell phones are obvious first choices for young people going off to college or into the real world. . . .
Here are some Web sites for comparison shopping: . . .
PriceSCAN
www.pricescan.com
The Activist
Raymond Walters College, Cincinnati, OH
May 2, 2005
Internet Review: Don't Buy It Before You PriceSCAN It!
By Blake Castetter
Recently, I purchased a brand new TV from a popular electronics store. I swear no more than two weeks later I saw the exact same TV for a few hundred dollars less.
In my disgust and anger, I decided never to buy on an impulse again. For those who have learned the hard way, like me, there is a website called PriceSCAN.com.
This recent discovery of mine has saved me a lot of money, and hopefully it will do the same for you. You can find the lowest prices on anything you can imagine, from electronics to perfumes. There is even a link on the website that can help you find stores that carry a product you are looking for.
The website claims that it has unbiased price comparisons and will provide the consumer with honest product reviews.
The next time you need to compare quality and prices on a new washer and dryer go to PriceSCAN.com. It has a four star review from me.
Bottom Line-Personal
April 15, 2005
Big-Screen TV Buys
By Gary Krakow
Flat-screen TVs are getting bigger and less expensive. . . . Panasonic's discontinued 50-inch TH-50PHD7UY can be found through PriceSCAN.com . . . for less than $4,000.
Today's Pawnbroker
Spring 2005
Psychology Drives Online Bidding
By Bill Kunkel
[Professor Utpal "Paul" M. Dholakia] pointed out that most online bidders claim that searching for items in online auctions consumes far too much of their time.
"People consistently say that they prefer not to search because they have too many other things to do in their life. So they're going to go to a search engine such as PriceSCAN.com or a similar site, compare all the sellers and buy from the one with the lowest price."
South Bend Tribune
March 4, 2005
Coupons Can Make All the Difference
By Gwen O'Brien
You work hard for your paycheck, but making it stretch week to week for the things you need and want can be difficult.
Sometimes you have to work yet a little bit more to find the real deal. . . .
The Internet also offers comparison pricing without having to drive all over town. . . .
Where to look online . . . PriceSCAN.com
Computer Shopper
March 2005
E-tailers with Multiple Identities
Finding the best price online has become something of a low-impact, noncontact sport. The only problem: The online retailers keep changing the rules without telling us, and we always seem to be three points behind with no time left to play. . . .
To make sure real competitors are vying for your business, check the sites' Contact Us or About Us Links, and search for an address. If you can't find one, try a site such as PriceSCAN.com (www.pricescan.com), which usually lists a site's physical address. The Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) also often lists the other names a company operates under and the name of the owner or president.
Computer Shopper
January 2005
Pry Before You Buy
Buying a PC from a Lesser-known vendor has its risks. Worse yet, the usual network of friends and relatives you rely on for recommendations may not be any help because they may never have heard of these companies. Fortunately, you'll find plenty of resources online to help you ferret out information on a vendor's track record. . . .
You can also find customer-generated vendor ratings at shopping sites such as PriceSCAN.com . . . .
Anchorage Daily News, Anchorage, AK
Beaver County Times, Beaver, PA
Colulmbus Dispatch, Columbus, OH
Des Moines Register, Des Moines, IA
East Valley Tribune, Mesa, AZ
Gazette, Colorado Springs, CO
Green Bay Press-Gazette, Green Bay, WI
Herald (Broward County Edition), Miami, FL
Lawrence Journal–World, Lawrence, KS
Miami Herald (International Edition), Miami, FL
News and Record, Greensboro, NC
Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY
Reading Eagle, Reading, PA
Record, Stockton, CA
San Antonio Express, San Antonio, TX
Scottsdale Tribune, Scottsdale, AZ
Sunday Capital, Annapolis, MD
Times, Hammond, IN
Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Vidette Times, Valparaiso, IN
December 3, 2004
Sources for Online Shopping Information
Shopping robots, or "bots," offer a convenient method of comparing prices on products and finding deals online: . . .
www.pricescan.com
Search for a low price on an item or for a specific retailer.
The Record, Hackensack, NJ
December 5, 2004
Scissors No Longer Required: Going Online for Your Coupons
By Kevin DeMarrais
Online shopping has changed the face of retailing, allowing consumers the freedom to comparison shop and buy from merchants across the nation—without leaving the comfort of their homes. . . .
Internet shoppers are already familiar with the wide range of comparison shopping sites such as . . . pricescan.com . . . .
Family Tree Magazine
December 2004
Shooting Stars: Gear Up with the Season's Hottest Digital Cameras
By Nancy Hendrickson
There's no better tool for capturing family get-togethers, heirlooms and old documents than a digital camera. And now's an excellent time to buy. Dozens of new cameras small enough to fit in your shirt pocket and packed with features have hit the market. Best of all, prices are lower than ever, and you can find great deals on Web sites such as PriceSCAN.com . . .
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, OR
November 21 2004
Keeping Holiday Cheer in Check: Americans' Holiday Spending Plans Tend to Exceed Prudent Planning Guidelines
By Julie Tripp
The average American household expects to spend about $900 on gifts and related holiday cheer this season–and many of us can't afford the splurge. . . .
To make the most of your holiday spending, check out these Web site for further information on smart ways to plan and budget: . . .
www.pricescan.com , to comparison shop from your computer, offering prices for hundreds of products, from electronics and computers to CDs and books.
Newsday (Nassau Edition), Long Island, NY
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Star-Banner, Ocala, FL
November 14 2004
www.pricescan.com
PriceSCAN says it goes the extra mile to find the best deals. It claims that its staff not only gathers prices from Web sites but also gets information from ads, catalogs and vendors. The information is entered into a searchable database.
Gainesville Sun, Gainesville, FL
November 8 2004
Price Comparison Search Engines Make Shopping from Home Easier
By Tom Meek
November and December are the biggest months of the year for gift purchases both online and off. Web shopping has grown by leaps and bounds over the past five years by offering a huge selection and the convenience of shopping from home. Somewhat less well-known, however, is that online customers can utilize various price comparison tools to find the best prices from major online retailers. . . .
[P]rice search engines worth checking include . . . PriceSCAN (www.pricescan.com ). PriceSCAN is notable as one of the few services where vendors don't pay a fee to have their stores listed.
Cargo
October/November 2004
What's Your Game Plan . . . for Finding Deals on Electronics
Site Seeing
Before you pull the trigger—or click Submit Order—give these hot spots a shot:
Price comparisons: . . . PriceSCAN.com
Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, VA
September 8, 2004
Your Own Personal Online Shopper
By Jim Edwards
Imagine you find yourself in the market to buy a new digital camera and, before you part with your money, you want to comparison shop for the best price online. If you do a search for "digital camera" on Google, the Web's top search engine, you'll get back more [than] 7 million page results. . . .
Even though the web makes it easy to search out the products we want to buy, sometimes that mountain of information makes it almost impossible to find the best deal. To solve this problem there are "personal online shoppers" which help you seek, find, and comparison shop multiple offers for just about any product you want to buy, online or offline.
An online personal shopper-type service enables you to log on to a single site, enter the product details you want to search, and then have the website give you back a list of prices and places where you can purchase the item.
The personal shopping assistant sites that rate the best don't accept commissions for the sale of items through their services because getting paid based on what the customer buys would eliminate unbiased product comparisons.
The best services make their money by selling targeting advertising to merchants and only displaying products in their search results based on price and features. . . .
PriceSCAN.com does not accept accept money from advertisers to manipulate their search results, though they will show targeted advertising on the search results pages. A very nice feature on this site involves the ability to enter features you want in a particular item (such as a computer) and then search all makes, models, and manufacturers matching those features.
You'll find this especially valuable when comparing things like computers, which often carry many different variables and configurations.
WABC, New York
August 14, 2004
Sree's Top Three Sites for Finding Bargains Online
By Sreenath Sreenivasan
Here are some sites that will help you find good deals online. Remember to do your research and shop around!
- ConsumerWorld.org
- LowerMyBills.com
- PriceScan.com
Dental Economics
July 2004
Shopping Online
By Jeffrey B. Dalin, DDS, FACD, FAGD, FICD
Everybody knows that you can always find a better deal on something . . . if you are patient and persistent. The Internet can prove to be an ecellent tool to use in your quest to shop, but you need to be prepared and do your homework. . . .
Here is a complete listing of Web sites that can be used in your search for the perfect product: . . .
www.pricescan.com
Bloomberg.net
June 30, 2004
Fed Raises Overnight Bank Rate to 1.25%, Keeps "Measured" Pace
By Craig Torres
Federal Reserve policy makers raised the U.S. benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 1.25 percent and said further increases can come at a "measured" pace based on "economic prospects."
The first increase since May 2000 was a unanimous vote, a sign that no Federal Open Market Committee member saw enough of an inflation threat to seek a more aggressive move now. . . .
"I don't think a quarter-point rate increase is likely to change inflation expectations significantly,'" said Jeffrey Trester, co-chief executive officer at price comparison Web site Pricescan.com and a business council member for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. "There is the fear that if you were to do something more about this rising inflation, it might trigger some kind of economic smack-down."
Newsweek
March 22, 2004
Money: Wanna Deal? Click Here
By Linda Stern
Last fall some 85 million shoppers spent $1.5 billion a week at Web sites that promised fast, cheap and easy. Naturally, new retailers are flooding the Web. That's great for getting deals, but it also makes them harder to evaluate. It's easy to comparison shop when there are five sites selling a particular pair of jeans; but how do you find the best price among 5,000 sellers? Call in the portals. The biggest shopping sites aren't retailers at all, but services that lure shoppers with price comparisons, discounts and rebates and then point shoppers to specific retailers. Some tips on smart clicking:
Disloyalty pays. The best sites for comparison shopping include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
Vida Actual, San Juan, PR
March 4, 2004
Consique los Mejores Precios en Línea
Encuentra los mejores precios en la Internet visitando páganos que comparan los costs de múltiples tiendas en línea.
Ejemplos: . . . www.pricescan.com te permite buscar los mejores precios de distintos artículos con las mismas características.
Brandweek
February 2, 2004
Priced to Go: A Quick Search for Soda
By Valerie Merahn
While ignorance or laziness may encourage an otherwise rational shopper to purchase a 2-liter bottle of soda for triple the price offered by a store down the street, shopping bots are offering consumers the opportunity to fully research their options without any additional work. The Internet has successfully done away with the need to visit multiple stores or spend hours on the phone.
In fact, even clicking from site to site is no longer necessary thanks to other sites such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . . With pricing information so readily available in one spot, will online consumers soon start setting the prices? Will online retailers step up to the challenge of redefining "excellent service" and identify new ways to distinguish themselves?
Be Your Own Boss
February 2004
Back to Basics
By Amanda C. Kooser
Speaking of finding good deals, never pay more for home-office hardware than you have to. . . . Bargain hunting over the Internet doesn't have to be time-consuming. Web sites such as . . . PriceSCAN.com . . . are hubs for price comparisons. They're especially handy if you already know what you want and are just looking for the lowest price.
Consumer Reports
February 2004
Battle of the 'bots'
PriceSCAN . . . had the top privacy policy. It saves no information beyond 60 days and shares nothing with anybody. Shopping.com requires you to give permission before it shares your information, while BizRate, NexTag and mySimon have you make a special opt-out request. PriceGrabber said it might share information with partners but offered no opt-out provision.
Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
January 24, 2004
Money Concerns Worth Knowing: Online Bargains
Deals, discounts and savings await shoppers on the Internet. . . . Here are just a few opportunities: . . .
Compare prices at www.pricescan.com .
MSN Money
January 2004
Where to Find the Deals in 2004
By Jennifer Mulrean
Ballooning bargains in flat-panel TVs
It seems like every year for the last couple of years has been touted as the one in which flat-panel TVs would finally become affordable. So is 2004 the year? . . .
Where to look: . . . Try shopping bots such as . . . PriceSCAN to compare prices on TVs. PriceSCAN makes it especially easy to target your search by type of TV, size, price and manufacturer. . . .
Video recorders: finally time to junk your VCR?
If you?re simply looking for something to play movies on, plenty of affordable DVD and VCR players exist. But when it comes to recording, VCRs are still the affordability king. For now, you?re still talking about a $250 price difference between a new, decent-quality VCR and a DVD recorder.
Where to look: For now you have to really dig for DVD recorders under $300. Searches on PriceSCAN, however, turned up a number of models in the $340-$365 range.
PC World
January 2004
The Art of the Deal
By James Oliver Cury
If there's a golden rule of shopping, it's that you can always score a better deal. But finding real bargains on PCs, digital cameras, and other types of tech products takes skill, patience, and persistence. To help you get started, we've compiled a list of insider shopping secrets that can save you money, shield you from shady retailers, and help you recognize a genuinely good buy. . . .
Let decision trees guide you: Instead of researching every feature, follow an automated decision tree to find product candidates. Activebuyersguide.com employs an on-screen question-and-answer process that explains key features and ends with recommended products. PriceScan.com offers a similar weeding-out engine for pinpointing the product that matches your needs.
American News, Aberdeen, SD
Freeman, Waukesha, WI
News-Sentinal, Ft. Wayne, IN
Times-Union, Warsaw, IN
Tribune, San Luis Obispo, CA
December 20, 2003
Smart and Safe Ways to Holiday Shop Online
Edited and compiled by Chuck Myers
Shopping bots offer a convenient method of simultaneously comparing prices on a particular product at several retail sellers. Some bots feature a range of product categories, while others focus on specific types of goods.
Here are a few to consider: . . .
PriceSCAN.com, www.pricescan.com
Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH
December 19, 2003
Online Sales May Help Some Niche Businesses
By Chris Seper
Sites that filter or organize Web-based stores are becoming a trend in online shopping, analysts say. Among the more popular sites: . . .
PriceSCAN.com : Search product categories or get reviews on certain items.
Tribune, Tampa, FL
December 8, 2003
Favorite Web Sites
By Sarah A. Knupke
Shopping online for the holidays this year? Don't get that credit card out just yet, check these sites out for price comparisons. . . .
A Prescription for Savings
www.pricescan.com . . . . What sets this site apart is the comparisons include prescription [drug] prices.
County Times, San Mateo, CA
Oakland Tribune, Oakland, CA
December 8, 2003
Net Price Sites Give Shoppers Reality Check
By Francine Brevetti
Shopping comparison sites generated to make shopping easy have grown incredibly numerous. . . .
After reporting that online holidy shopping would jump by 21 percent this holiday season, Jupiter research analyst Patti Freeman Evans confirmed the growth of price comparison sites. She said this more accessible info is "enhancing consumers' ability to make more concerted well-considered puchasing decisions" by providing mountains of particulars.
. . . PriceSCAN . . . stand[s] among the growing phalanx of sites where you can compare prices for that new CD burning computer.
Chronicle, Muskegon, MI
Saginaw News, Saginaw, MI
The Star Ledger, Newark, NJ
Today's Sunbeam, Salem, NJ
November 29, 2003
Online, Compare More than Price
By Allan Hoffman
The Internet has supercharged comparison shopping, transforming what was once an arduous task, involving phone calls and store visits, into an activity requiring nothing more than a quick trip to Web sites such as PriceSCAN.com . . . .
But a certain degree of know-how is required to make good use these shopping "bots," named for their price-seeking software robots.
Just consider a search for a popular digital camera, the Fuji FinePix 3800, at Yahoo Shopping (shopping.yahoo.com). As at other shopping bots, a search generates a list of prices from assorted merchants. The first store sells the camera for $400, followed by merchants offering it for $289, $325, $320, and $297, and on and on. The site lists 79 stores offering the product.
Wouldn't you rather see these listed by price?
Of course. . . .
Which brings us to a matter these sites don't exactly advertise. The initial listings at comparison- shopping sites often reflect their business relationships with merchants. Stores typically pay on a "cost per click" basis to be included in these listings; when a potential customer clicks on a store's product listing, that store pays a fee for the referral. Those willing to pay higher fees, or to be included in special "preferred" merchant programs, are listed higher in the rankings, sometimes with a logo.
Not all comparison shopping sites accept fees from merchants [for placement]–PriceSCAN, for instance, doesn't–but it has become the accepted practice among many of the industry leaders, including BizRate.com, mySimon.com, NexTag.com, PriceGrabber.com and Shopping.com.
Other features vary from site to site . . . . One handy feature, available at . . . PriceSCAN, lets you view a graph tracking a product's price during a period of time. This is particularly useful when you want to get a bargain by purchasing an older model. Check out the graph for a personal computer, for instance, and you may learn you can get it for just $500, when it was selling for more than $1,000 just six months ago.
MSN Money Central
November 24,2003
How Shopping Bots Really Work
By Jennifer Mulrean
More people are spending time and money online--and they're using shopping bots to save on both. But what few realize is that the results they see often aren't the best deals available. . . . [Y]ou might be excused for thinking that the search results on [a shopping bot] are sorted by store rating or best prices. In actuality, results are primarily sorted by which merchants have paid for the honor of appearing at the top of the list. . . . Most other shopping bots similarly sell the prime real estate at the top of their results pages. . . . [And] they make it rather difficult to tell whether someone is paying to be there. . . .
A lone ranger?
Indeed, PriceSCAN is possibly the only bot that doesn't sell its results to the highest bidder. Co-founders Jeff Trester and David Cost are somewhat baffled by this.
"If you're only showing people that pay you to be threre, how can you show who has the best deals?" Cost wondered. "If you really want to have a free market and market transparency, you have to show everyone. Our thought is, this is the best way to do this."
The default display for PriceSCAN's "lowest price" results (the blue links at the top of the page) puts the best prices at the top of the list, regardless of merchant relationships.
"Consumers need to know who has the best price," Trester says. "I think serious buyers will and do care about that."
. . . With is laser-beam focus on the lowest prices, PriceSCAN begs to be used.
Forbes
October 14, 2003
The Revolution That Wasn't
By Victoria Murphy
The hoarde of Web sites that once sprouted up for price-shopping is down to a hardened handful, including Shopping.com, PriceGrabber, NexTag and BizRate. Last month Yahoo jumped into the business, too. They all now rig search results so that the best placements go to the highest bidders, even if a site's digital cameras, say, cost 30% more than the cheapest alternative.
Most shoppers don't realize the rankings are bought, says Jeffrey Trester, co-founder of PriceSCAN, a six-year-old search service that still lists only according to the seller's price. "You can fool a lot of the people a lot of the time," he says.
Woman's World
June 24, 2003
Ask the Money Expert: "How Do We Get the Best Deal on a Digital Camera?"
Q: My husband and I want to buy a digital camera, but all the features are confusing. What do we need to know to get the right one for us–without paying too much?
A: You're smart to buy a digital camera, because it'll allow you to view photos as soon as you've taken them, then transfer the pictures to a computer and e-mail them or just print them out. But with so many available features, you can pay hundreds more than you need to. . . . So where can you get a good deal? Compare prices at www.pricescan.com . . . .
Capital, Annapolis, Maryland
Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi
CNN Money, New York, New York
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, West Virginia
Express-News, Morning Edition, San Antonio, Texas
Free Press, Detroit, Michigan
Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Herald, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Journal, Poughkeepsie, New York
Journal-World, Lawrence, Kansas
News, Buffalo, New York
News-Democrat, Belleville, Illinois
Northwest Indiana Times, Munster, Indiana
Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington
Sun-Herald, Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi
Sun-Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Times, Hammond, Indiana
Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Vidette Times, Valparaiso, Indiana
June 22, 2003
General Shopping Bot Sits
Shopping robots or "bots," offer a convenient method of comparing prices on a particular product. Not all bots are alike. Some feature a range of product categories, while others focus on specific types of goods. If you'd like to do some serious cyberspace shopping or just a bit of Web window browsing, you may want to visit one of these sites: . . .
PriceSCAN.com
www. pricescan.com. Search for a low price on an item or for a specific retailer.
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
June 2003
Fast Forays for Finding Deals
Bargain hungers looking for easy pickings turn to shopping bots–seach engines that compare prices, including shipping fees. In our tests, PriceSCAN.com turned up the lowest prices among the broadest range of retailers. It also ranked the stores in an unbiased order, while other bots, such as BizRate.com, stack their results to favor merchants who pay to place their wares.
We searched PriceSCAN for the latest John Grisham novel and learned that Buy.com was selling the thriller for $15 (including shipping)–which trumped Amazon's discounted price by $5. In fact, PriceSCAN beat a half-dozen rival bots in finding the lowest price among the most bookstores.
KOMO-TV Channel 4, Seattle, Washington
January 17, 2003
Northwest Afternoon Tips for Saving Money
There are lots of ways to use the Internet to save money. Here are just a few examples: . . .
Compare prices for all sorts of purchases by using what's called a "Shopping Bot." They include . . . www.pricescan.com.
About.com
January 4, 2003
Shopping & Price Comparison Engines
With the infinite variety of online stores to choose from, finding the best price online can be a huge undertaking. This round up of shopping related search engines will provide you with the best one-stop comparison pricing web sites available. . . .
PriceSCAN
One of the few shopping search engines that does not charge merchants for listings, this web site culls information from magazine ads, catalogs, web sites and other resources to provide product comparisons for products available at online and offline merchants.
New York Post, New York, NY
December 26, 2002
Tech is Cheap, Say the Pricing Analysts
By Caroline Waxler
Keeping up with the Gateses is getting easier.
Well, sort of.
A basket of "state of the art" tech goodies, like the latest digital cameras, printers, notebook computers–the essentials to impress your neighbors about what a tech-savvy macher you are–costs 80 percent of what it did five years ago. In November 2001, that cost would have been even lower, at 70 percent.
Not all price drops are created equal: Digital camera prices have been relatively steady, while desktop computers, laptops, flat-panel screens and PDAs have been plummeting.
Jeffrey Trester, the co-founder of price comparison Web site PriceSCAN, worked with Drexel University professor Edward Nelling and Harvard senior Daniel Fehder to put the site's economic data into an index made up of 50-plus goods in 12 categories.
They charted the index back to 1997, when PriceSCAN was founded. The results are a consumer's delight.
"It's very obvious–the prices are falling across the board for what are now considered state-of-the-art products," said Trester. "The downward trend over the past years is clear."
The drop is even more precipitous in the PriceSCAN industrial index, which removes the more consumer-oriented items, like digital cameras. That index shows that businesses can spend about 30 percent less to purchase the hottest products than they would have in 1997.
"When the dot-coms and telecoms stopped buying equipment, the effect may have depressed prices," said Trester.
The precise composition of the indices changes often, as hot new products are added and older technology dropped.
One group of products that doesn't seem to be going anywhere in the next couple of months, however, is computers.
"There hasn't been a huge amount of innovation in this area," said Trester. "There's no pressure to get anything hotter than what's on your desk."
When charted against the Dow, the indices showed that falling prices appear to actually foretell a falling market.
New York Post, New York, NY
December 24, 2002
Retailers Ringing in the Blues
By Caroline Waxler
Post-Christmas should look better for both consumers and retailers because of good sales. . . . Jeffrey Trester, co-founder of price comparison site PriceScan.com, said that while sales volume at online retailers appears to be comparable to last year, "there's definitely pricing pressure." He expects huge sales after Christmas.
The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, California
December 15, 2002
InterActive Family: The Web's a Natural for Comparisons
This site is a "shopbot" that comparison shops from sites all over the Web at the click of a button. . . . [S]hopbot sites . . . include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
Black Enterprise Magazine
CNN Money
December 4, 2002
Enlist Online Allies for Shopping Help
The never-ending search for online deals can be made easier with resources like . . . PriceSCAN, which search the Internet for . . . price comparisons . . . (by vendor) so you can get the highest value for the lowest price. On PriceSCAN, you may also name a price for an item and see what pops up.
Morning News, Dallas, Texas
November 28, 2002
Park at the PC Instead of the Mall: Online Comparisons Can Save Your Feet as Well as Your Dollars
By Tim Wyatt
PriceSCAN
www.pricescan.com
You can window-shop from the store directory, then compare prices in a dozen categories. Again, electronics is the big-ticket category, but PriceSCAN also includes comparisons for home and garden, sporting goods, watches and prescription drugs—just for those folks who might want to refill their Valium prescriptions before heading out to the malls. . . . Shipping costs are highlighted in the results.
The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri
November 24, 2002
Web Sites Make Bargain Hunting Easier
By Angela D. Curry
With the start of the holiday season upon us and the country reeling with economic uncertainty, consumers may want to stretch their dollars as far as possible. . . . One way consumers can save is through online comparison shopping sites. . . .
Here are a few comparison shopping sites to check out: . . . www.pricescan.com.
The Wall Street Journal Sunday
November 24, 2002
Comparing Prices on the Internet Is No Snap
By Dexter Webb
With the holiday season approaching, you may be thinking of turning to price-comparison Web sites to ferret out bargains.
These are sites such PriceSCAN.com . . . where specialized search engines promise to make it a cinch to compare the prices charged by competing online vendors for that weed trimmer or digital camera you want. . . .
Trolling for Bargains. A sampling of price-comparison Web sites: . . . PriceSCAN.com.
Nashua Telegraph, Nashua, New Hampshire
November 20, 2002
With the Holiday Spirit in Mind, a Few Spending Tips
By Sherman Smith
Just because Johnny says he wants a particular PS2 game, one for a Sony PlayStation2, or an MP3 player, a device that produces sound from digital audio files usually through headphones, it doesn't mean you need to grab the first one pictured in the first flier you open or buy the first one you see in the first store you visit. Here's where you can stretch that dollar and get your money's worth.
Check out the online comparison-shopping sites, such as www. pricescan.com . . . .
Time
November 18, 2002
Click Smart: Web Shopping Guide
By Maryanne Murray Buechner
Tip. Make sure the price is right. . . . [C]omparison shopping "bots" include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
Family Fun
November 2002
A Visit from St. Click
By Leslie Garisto Pfaff
If you've never used an Internet shopping engine, this is the time of year to try one. Shopping engines help you find the best price on the Net for pretty much anything you're hunting down, whether it's games for the computer or a wreath for the front door. . . .
If you care more about value than brand name, you'll love PriceSCAN.com (www.pricescan.com), which gives you the chance to search for the best prices on "functionally equivalent products"– different items with identical features, sorted by price.
Consumer Reports
November 2002
Digital Imaging 2002: More than Megapixels
Some general advice: Check prices at comparison-shopping sites such as www.pricescan.com . . . .
The Kim Komando Radio Show
October 5, 2002
Online Shopping
PriceSCAN is a Web site devoted to comparison shopping online. Just pick a category and product, and check out the features and specifications for all similar products. The site gives instant price-comparison reports from several vendors. You may also name a price for the item and see what pops up. Become a smarter shopper by finding the lowest price on any item.
Dispatch, York, PA
August 26, 2002
Some Favorite Sites for Freebies, Advice
By Jan Purnell
Once you find a product, you'll want to find the best price. Price[SCAN] can include both online and offline vendors who can offer you the best price for merchandise. They guarantee that their price and product information is unbiased.
Advance-Register, Tulare, California
Advocate, Newark, Ohio
Baxter Bulletin, Mountain Home, Arkasas
Californian, Salinas, California
Central Journal News, White Plains, New York
Chronicle-Tribune, Marion, Indiana
Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio
Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi
Courier-News, Bridgewater, New Jersey
Courier-Post, Camden, New Jersey
Daily Journal, Vineland, New Jersey
Daily Record, Parsippany, New Jersey
Daily Southtown, Chicago, Illinois
The Detroit News, Detroit, Michigan
Eagle-Gazette, Lancaster, Ohio
Enquirer, Battle Creek, Michigan
Free Press, Burlington, VT
Gazette, Chillicothe, Ohio
Herald, Wausau-Merrill, Wisconsin
Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, West Virginia
Home News Tribune, East Brunswick, New Jersey
Journal, Ithaca, New York
Journal and Courier, Clarksville, Tennessee
Leaf-Chronicle, White Plains, New York
News, Greenville, South Carolina
News Herald, Port Clinton, Ohio
News Journal, Mansfield, Ohio
News Journal, Pensacola, Florida
News-Leader, Springfield, Missouri
News-Messenger, Fremont, Ohio
News-Press, New York, New York
North Journal News, New York, New York
Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York
Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wisconsin
Press, Asbury Park, New Jersey
Press, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Press-Citizen, Iowa City, Iowa
Putnam Journal News, Carmel, New York
Quad-City Times, Davenport, Iowa
Rockland Journal News, Nyack, New York
South Journal News, New York, New York
Spectrum, St. George, Utah
Star, Marion, Ohio
State Journal, Lansing, Michigan
Sun, Jackson, Tennessee
Tribune, Coshocton, Ohio
Times, Salisbury, Maryland
Times, Shreveport, Louisiana
Times-Delta, Visalia, California
Times Herald, Port Huron, Michigan
Times Recorder, Zanesville, Ohio
Tribune, Coshocton, Ohio
Tribune, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
August 19, 2002
Battle of the Online Stores
By Russell Shaw
Comparison-shopping sites can help you find the best deal from among discount retailers. . . . [Some] popular comparison-shopping engines include . . . PriceSCAN.com.
MSNBC.com
July 4, 2002
How to Pick the Best Barbecue Grill
By Jennifer Mulrean
Shipping costs (both time and money) are the big deterrent to buying a grill online, though it's a great place to research your purchase before walking into a brick-and-mortar store. . . . Try a shopping bot such as . . . PriceSCAN to quickly hunt down the best online deals.
Eagle-Tribune, Lawrence, Massachusetts
May 3, 2002
UltraBar Integrates with IE Browser Toolbar
By Bill Dubie and David Sciuto
What makes [UltraBar IE Toolbar Companion] ultra-cool though, is its ability to let you customize any search-oriented site. Using its simple programming script, we added dictionary.com . . . and PriceSCAN to satisfy our verbal and value urges.
Reader's Digest
May 2002
Bot and Paid For
By Kathleen McCleary
To save on Web merchandise, visit a "bot"–short for an on-line robotic personal shopper. Type in what you want, and the bot lists sites that sell it. Most bots, however, showcase merchants that pay to display. So what's the top unbiased bot? Kiplinger's says PriceSCAN.com, which simply ranks products you want from cheapest to costliest.
Computer Shopper
May 2002
Price-Comparison Sites
PriceSCAN.com is an unbiased source for comparison-shopping that includes both brick-and-mortar sellers and Web merchants. Categories include office equipment, sporting goods, watches, and health, plus computers, digital photography, and electronics.
Pocket PC Magazine
May 2002
Best Sites for Windows Powered Pocket PCs and Handheld PCs
PriceSCAN.com named among best "sites optimized for small screens" in category "Shopping/Price Comparison Search Engines."
Argus, Rock Island,