Stolen ha ?
check this http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22Social+Price+Comparison%22&btnG=Search&meta=
Oct
08
2007
Social Price Comparison
7 Comments
Right - I've invented a new phrase (putting my money where my mouth is) and stating it right here so this time the name doesn't get stolen! ha!
Social Price Comparison is the ability to actually show where other users went to go and buy a product, in effect showing where the crowd went, and in particular, if anyone in your trusted network went to one of the merchants in the list.
The idea behind this is that from my Kelkoo days, I remember that a lot of people didn't always go to the cheapest merchant as they wanted some confidence that the brand was trusted and to feel comfortable that they're going to a place others have been before and approved of. Often you can see merchant ratings to help in this decision but they're often skewed and not that helpful, but seeing where people you trust went to go and buy something - is pretty intuitive.
A second point is that a few people use multiple price comparison engines and sites to make sure they really are getting the best price, and this was mentioned by Simon Willison in a previous post on Kelkoo and Yahoo. So, we've put some tabs down the left hand side in which you can flick between the results for places like Amazon, Shopping.com, and Kelkoo (with more to come).
(click it for the full annotated version) You'll also notice in the middle right, an area showing "the best price found so far is merchant X via price comparison engine Y", which keeps a running check on where the best price so far actually is, and you'll be able to suggest other places in the future if you've found it cheaper - and we'll add them in. So - this is phase 1 of our "where to buy section of the site" and while it's not our main product or focus - I definitely wanted to go back to my original principles of really helping people find the best price or the best deal at a trusted place that people you trust have been to.
(click it for the full annotated version) You'll also notice in the middle right, an area showing "the best price found so far is merchant X via price comparison engine Y", which keeps a running check on where the best price so far actually is, and you'll be able to suggest other places in the future if you've found it cheaper - and we'll add them in. So - this is phase 1 of our "where to buy section of the site" and while it's not our main product or focus - I definitely wanted to go back to my original principles of really helping people find the best price or the best deal at a trusted place that people you trust have been to.
Comments
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Oct 8 2007 -
Oct 9 2007
That's not social price comparison - that's price comparison with some people "liking" products...
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Oct 9 2007
This is being oversold. Every price comp now has feedback criteria on the merchants to give you an idea on reliability - and it's in the engine's favour to make sure their merchants are good one. And sometimes the crowd act like lemmings anyway.
Still looking for what's new above the flannel...this is just aggregation of aggregators. Trading on old reputations, Phil? -
Oct 10 2007
Jim - I just put this up to show a small % of what we're doing as our focus in not on price comparison at all. Basically just wanted to show that even with a little bit of thought, you can enhance the experience.
It saves time because you don't have to keep going into different engines to search for the product again, you can see the prices amongst many more merchants and comparison engines, or even just use your favourite one so you're not dictated to by the site. -
Oct 11 2007
What about providing a 'secure shopping service' a portal that users can log into once store their payment details once and then browse for the best price in the knowledge they will be directed to a reputable online retailer offering a competitive price?
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Oct 11 2007
Interesting one Charles. I've seen cash-back services offer something along these lines. Is there much interest in this?
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Oct 12 2007
I have no empirical evidence of demand, but several of my friends have 'internet paranoia', which essentially boils down to a fear of the unknown. If the they use their CC to buy stuff online they get visions of internet hackers selling their private details to organised criminals.
Internet savvy folk know that if you use reputable sites you are no more at risk than if you use the phone but perception is everything.
If you can get people to sign up out of paranoia I believe they would stay for the convenience of not having to keep entering their payment / address details.
