Giving Up Google for Bing, Day Four: Shopping

A down economy has opened the eyes of many to the money-saving idea of frugality. So when the time comes to make a purchase, you should look for every possible way to save extra pennies–and Bing can help.

Along the left side of the Bing homepage is a shopping link that took me to the site’s commerce area, Bing Shopping (formerly MSN Shopping). Once there, I keyed in “Xbox 360 Arcade” into the search engine, as that’s a gift that I’m planning to give to my younger cousin for his birthday next month.  What’s interesting is that Bing doesn’t just sniff out the lowest prices; it also offers cash back on most many listed items, depending on the seller. For example, after Bing spat out the lowest current price for a new Xbox 360 Arcade system ($166 from Tech For Less) I noticed that the number was the result of a 9 percent cash back bonus; purchasing it through the site typically costs $183. On top of that, the $166 was $33 less than what was offered at both Best Buy and Gamestop, two companies that didn’t opt into Bing’s cash back program.

If you want information on an item before whipping out the plastic, Bing displays two types of review that run along with each product entry: User reviews, and Expert reviews. User reviews, as one would expect, typically provide quick and dirty opinions from customers. Expert reviews, on the other hand, provide in-depth analysis from a media source.  Color me biased, but I found the expert reviews far more thorough and engaging in explaining the pros and cons of the Xbox 360 Arcade.

I don’t make many purchases online, but on the future occasions when I do, I think I’ll turn to Bing for assistance. It provides significant savings if you’re willing to purchase from smaller, lesser known sellers. And in this economy, who wouldn’t mind a few extra bucks in hand?