Which Comparison Shopping Site Is Best?

Tracking down the best prices for everything you buy can save some serious cash when economic times are tough.

That’s where price comparison search engines come in. Just type in the item you're looking for and a list of offerings from online retailers pops up, with the best deals clearly highlighted. "Even if you're not buying online, it's an important way to raise price consciousness," says Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org, a consumer advocate. "You'll have some perspective on whether the prices you see [in stores] are good ones."

Finding that right price-comparison search engine, on the other hand, is a tougher order. Each site uses its own formula to determine how, when and from where it gathers prices. Some focus on specific categories, like electronics or books, while others only feature listings from partner retailers. The bottom line: Some comparison shopping sites are better at digging up great deals than others.

We put nine major price comparison search engines to the test, hunting down the best prices on eight products: For children's toys, we searched for Hasbro's (HAS) U-Dance videogame and the Lego Agents Mobile Command Center (both from Toy Wishes magazine's Hot Holiday Dozen list). Then we looked for a purple 8GB iPod nano and 7 for All Mankind "Ginger" jeans. In books, we searched “Hot, Flat & Crowded” by Thomas Friedman and “Nights in Rodanthe” by Nicholas Sparks (both listed on The New York Times Best-Seller Lists). And, among electronics and appliances, we sought a Cuisinart SmartPower Premier 600-watt blender and a 58-inch Panasonic (PC) Viera TH-58PZ800U (winner of electronics review site CNET's Editors’ Choice Award).

Returning low prices was important, but accurate results were just as vital -- receiving a bunch of listings for purple iPod nano cases, for example, when we wanted the actual device. We also took note of sparse listings where just one or two stores were listed for popular products (like the Legos) or widely-distributed items (the books).

PriceGrabber.com was the clear winner, with results repeatedly among the cheapest and most accurate. Its detailed listings -- factoring in everything from sales tax and shipping to an item's condition and store availability -- made for easy, at-a-glance assessment. Yahoo (YHOO) Shopping came in a close second, with great prices and a buyer protection program to protect users in the event of merchant fraud.

Wondering which other sites are worth bookmarking and which are not? Here's how the competitors performed, from best to worst: