comparison-shopping

—>The website istobe offers a daily free shipping report for over 500 online retailers, where you can quickly see whether there's a minimum purchase requirement or if the retailer offers free shipping at all. It's a good resource to use as you compare prices, and istobe says they update it daily.  More »

—>Ask.com has launched a new service—ask.com/deals—dedicated to finding the best deals online. We don't know how well it works, but we like the tabs that let you quickly jump to free shipping offers and printable coupons. It might be a decent starting place if you're in the market for something and need to comparison shop first. Update: Our readers say it's not worth your time, at least in its current state—results are paltry and frequently old or expired.  More »

—>After our post yesterday ended up crashing the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' consumer information website, we received an email from them. They said they wanted to explain how the site works to address some reader questions, as well as point out that you too can contribute to the rankings by filing complaints when your insurer does something objectionable.  More »

—>So you suspect your health/auto/home insurer is run by the devil, but you're not sure whether the alternative you're considering is any better. Kiplinger Finance has posted a helpful article on how to find the complaint ratio of an insurer via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' website. Update: here's how to file your own complaint.  More »

—>Kim McGrigg at Blogging for Change took a look at the dollar stores in her neighborhood and found that it can take some work to make sure you're actually saving money. In fact, on a couple of items she actually paid a fraction more than what she would have at a superstore like Walmart. This matches what Consumer Reports' shopping mag, ShopSmart, discovered in their recent "Dollar Mania" report (free PDF download).  More »

—>A non-profit group recently surveyed the prices at 49 different mortuaries and crematoriums in San Diego, and found that "prices vary widely, with some mortuaries charging nearly twice as much as others for similar combinations of services." Although the study focuses on one city, it's a good reminder that you should check around and not assume that pricing is consistent throughout the industry.  More »

If you own a G1 phone from T-Mobile, Google has added a special barcode scanning feature to its Product Search page just for you. Yeah, you've already got other barcode scanning apps, but this one integrates with Google's search functionality so you can scan and see product search results in Google immediately. [Phandroid]  More »

—>Barbara Kiviat in Time takes a look at the one aspect of credit card debt that no amount of government reform is going to fix: the human brain's tendency to fail miserably when it comes to making decisions about spending.  More »

If you have an iPhone or a G1, Google has just announced a new version of their Product Search specially formatted for those phones. Here's a video demonstrating how the mobile version looks and functions. [Google Mobile Blog via IntoMobile]  More »

—>Duane Reade wants you to compare their store brand sandwich bags to Ziploc's bags, and you should, because Ziplcoc's bags are $0.50 cheaper.  More »

—>A penny-pinching reader discovered that Giant Eagle—a supermarket chain that heavily promotes a savings club where you earn slight discounts on gas—has some jacked up soup prices, especially on their private label. Remember, if you're not comparison shopping among local supermarkets, you can expect easy-to-miss price spikes like this one to wipe out any savings you thought you were getting.  More »