Comparison Shopping for Hockey Equipment

Do you actively comparison shop when you are looking for a specific item online?

Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. It usually depends on what I'm buying. For my media purchases, such as books, DVDs and magazines, I have a few definitive "go-to" sources and typically avoid over-research on prices unless I see an eye-bulging tag attached to an item.

When I'm outside of that main comfort zone, I do like to shop around and compare the different products available at and through different retailers. The wonderful thing about doing this online is being able to access all of that information in one fell swoop versus individually contacting stores, visiting stores or flipping through store sales fliers.

A prime example of the benefit of online comparison shopping exists when one searches for a relatively non-specific category of products such as hockey equipment. A standard internet search would bring up a multitude of sites, some sales oriented, some hype, and some that are plainly informational and not at all product oriented. Some may focus on one type of hockey equipment instead of the overall scope of the search. Each link must then be individually analyzed for the equipment sold and few are going to be a "one-stop" destination. It ends up being quite ineffective.

The comparison sites offer a much better option as they load images, prices, and retailer names/logos for  actual products that can be purchased in a few clicks (or maybe a few more if you're visiting a new site). It ends up being quite handy and a much more productive use of time.

If I'm going to browse the net for hours, I prefer for it to be fun instead of frustrating!