Attention shoppers: Website promises best deal
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. and UK shoppers in the market for a television, dishwasher or other big ticket purchases now have a website that will alert them when the cost of an item they want drops to a target price they have set.
"I'm a consumer advocate. This is the kind of stuff I love," said Edgar Dworsky, a former consumer protection official for the city of Boston and Massachusetts.
Dworsky founded ConsumerWorld.org more than 10 years ago, a non-commercial website aimed at saving consumers money.
For years, airline passengers have been able to set price alerts at sites like Travelocity or Orbitz to be notified when airfares drop, Dworsky said. Now consumers can do the same thing when looking for a flat-panel television or a digital camera.
He set up DealAlerter.com (www.DealAlerter.com) powered by PriceGrabber.co.uk (www.pricegrabber.co.uk/) to offer shoppers an easier way to find a better deal.
The shopper picks an item and checks its current price range. If prices seem too high, he or she can set a lower target price. The site automatically rechecks store prices daily, and then sends them an email alert if prices drop to or below their target price.
"DealAlerter takes comparison shopping to the next level. It lets the Internet do some of the work for you," he said.
The program used by DealAlerter and PriceGrabber monitors up to 13,000 online stores.
(Editing by Michelle Nichols)
