Google: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

Chapter 5. Shopping with Google

Tracking news and finding answers to your burning science questions are nice benefits of the Web. But the real fun online is, as any human with a credit card can tell you, shopping. The Web has it all: belt sanders, pregnancy tests, The Simpsons Monopoly sets, Bulgari jewelry, cotton candy machines, ATV tires, wild fennel pâté. There’s no limit to what you can buy.

But finding the goods is another matter. If dozens or hundreds of sites sell your desired item, you need a team of assistants and a complex spreadsheet just to figure out who has, say, the cheapest rubber chickens or the best deal on hole punchers.

Shave a few months off every product search, then, by clicking over to Froogle (http://froogle.google.com). Froogle—the word is a pleasing mix of Google and frugal—is a service to help you find things sold online and compare them by price. It’s an indispensable shopping tool.

Note

Froogle isn’t a store; it just brings you links, pictures, and product information from e-commerce sites across the U.S. If you want to buy something, you have to jump to the merchant’s site. (Google doesn’t get a cut of sales that come through Froogle searches, nor does it charge e-tailers to be part of Froogle listings.)

When to Use Froogle

Froogle is particularly good at finding specific products and at comparing prices. It’s not, however, great at helping you decide what to buy. If you’re in the market for a portable generator, for example, Froogle shows you about 20,000 ...