Don’t Be Duped by Comparison Shopping!

January 26th, 2012 |

Comparison shopping at most places today has ceased to be what it was meant to be. Some habitancy have started using it as a marketing tool, to redirect customers towards affiliate websites. So as a buyer you need to be aware either the comparison shopping is genuine or either you are being duped by a marketing gimmick.

Here are some tips to do that:

Shopping

* Listen To Facts: One thing that ought to be done while comparison shopping is developing a liking for facts. A statement like “it is one of the best” should not convince you. There is inherent ambiguity and you can conclude nothing. A statement like, “it has got 5 more benefits than the nearest competitors” should catch your attention. Although your final decision should be based on analysis, you should compare on basis of facts. There is such an awful lot of data out there that you cannot afford to listen to opinions and waste your time.

* Check The Result: Make sure that the results are separate for separate people. Sometimes the comparison shopping tools on the websites are blatantly fraudulent. No matter what data you put in, the yield hint will be the same. This ought to be termed exercising undue influence on customers! But at the occasion it is legal and many customers make the mistake of not checking the yield with separate details.

* Check The Parameters: someone else way of production comparison shopping misleading is by using selective parameters. The wholesaler will not be lying, but they won’t tell the perfect truth. Suppose I am a car wholesaler and I know that my preliminary cost is economy but maintenance is higher than competitors. Here is what I will do. I will set up a tool which compares preliminary costs and some other parameters where I may be slightly lagging behind my competitors and then have my own product’s yield for the comparison.

An unsuspecting customer, even if he checks the details, which he rarely will, will find that all that has been used to draw this inference is true. But the qoute may lie in factors that have not been considered.

* Check Weightings: As customers come to be aware of the techniques mentioned above, comparison shopping crooks come up with new tricks on their shopping blog. They will list down all the relevant parameters, but high weightings will be given to the factors where the wholesaler may be leading. This masks the effects of the attributes where the goods may be lagging.

* Check data Sources: Sometimes when the corollary is not based on factual information, shopping blogs will selectively use the information. It is foremost to know where the data came from as the whole diagnosis might be based on the same.

* Check Reviews: If you find all rosy reviews about the products while doing online shopping, it is an indication, that the reviews may have been manipulated.

Comparison shopping is a great tool, but it is being misused. So the next time you take a decision based on it, make sure you know who is honestly production the recommendation.

Don’t Be Duped by Comparison Shopping!