Shopping online has turned into a solid way to save money for me not just because it obviously saves much time that I can spend on earning money but for one more important reason that I can do a proper research before buying anything.

Really, the Internet has provided with a plenty of handy options that allow for a "surprise-free" shopping: you can learn customers’ feedback, read and compare user and expert reviews, find the seller’s previous records and, what’s most important, locate the best price ever.

Saving Money with Smart Alerts

In this post I am listing three most useful and effective ways to be able to spot a good deal and locate the best price in a timely fashion:

PriceGrabber

PriceGrabber is a handy free service that allows you to track any product price. It works as follows:

1. Register at the site and use the search feature to locate the product you are interested in buying;
2. Click "Track price" next to the product and set the price you would like to get the product for;
3. Wait for PriceGrabber to send you an email alert once your chosen product price drops below the set level:

2. Buxr

Buxr is a community of bargain hunters who share coupon codes and deals. The site offers a really handy way to get alerted of deals related to some product (type) or a particular seller. To create a customized email alert, you will need to register and set one of (or a combination of) parameters:

• The name of the store (choose "All" if you have no particular seller in mind);
• Type of a deal (product, coupon, sale or all);
• A key phrase to track:

Once a new deal corresponding to your search parameters is shared by the site members, you will receive an instant email alert:

3. PriceAdvance (FireFox Addon)

If you are using FireFox browser (which I love due to the huge number of addons), PriceAdvance is your best choice (there’s also an Internet Explorer version, but I haven’t tested it). Once you visit the seller’s website, the addon searches the same product at Amazon.com, BestBuy or WalMart and lists you the price list for easier comparison.

When prices are found a small overlay window will appear in the top left of your browser window. To view a product in the overlay, click the price or company logo.

This way, the addon is really clutter-free. If you are not shopping, it will never bother you:

Any Other Smart Alerts?

Does anyone else use smart alerts to help them when shopping? What sites do you use? What’s the most effective way to use them?