Did you waste $ 57 today? I hope not. Unfortunately, many new parents pay more of their products for babies, because they did not know that insiders know the secret.

Remember, just because you shop at discount stores is called does not mean you will get the lowest price. The same is true for warehouse stores and online auction sites.

Even coupons that seem like much, it was not always agreement. For example, one online store that recently the campaign where you could buy one board game and get one free. But the game what they cost twice the cost of competitors. So it does not really handle that at all.

What's a bargain-hunting mother to do? Help if you can find someone who conducted the research for you.

Shopping to the Rescue Mom!

In an effort to make scientific, apples-to-apples comparison, recently I do a price test of six popular baby product web sites. I bought a basket of common baby products each site.

All the sites I choose the well-established business, with reliable customer service, product selection and better. Many additional services offered, such as reader reviews, shopping tips and checklists. Site is:

1. BabyCenter (http://www.babycenter.com)

2nd Babies R Us (http://www.babiesrus.com)

3. Baby Universe (http://www.babyuniverse.com)

4. Catalog baby (http://www.babycatalog.com)

5. Shopping.com (http://www.shopping.com)

6. Target.com (http://www.target.com)

Shopping.com not the retailer. It's a shopping comparison service. But I include it because it should be able to find the best deals online. I want to see if it lives up to the promise.

Results

$ 57 I remember the talk about wasting before? That is the difference between the total cost of a cheap site I shopped and the most expensive. A pretty big chunk change and strong, I just remember the basket four items:

1. A Britax Roundabout car seat in the denim (price may vary depending on the pattern)

2nd In the first year Go booster seat

3. Avent new born starter set

4. A Boppy

I used my address in Maryland to calculate shipping and tax. Of course, the cost to you will vary, depending on where you live.

The winner and ...

Come in on the lean, mean $ 255.55: Baby Catalog concerning the best. And this does not include additional discounts, you can sign up for their Baby Club of America.

Shopping.com came in close second at $ 257.34, so that useful to stop people in the market for baby gear. Plus, Shopping.com is integrated with Epinions.com, so you can get product reviews right there. I also like the fact that Shopping.com calculated the total cost, including tax and shipping, in the face.

Baby Universe came in $ 263.91. However, keep in mind that Baby Universe offers a flat shipping rate of $ 6.95, no matter how many products you buy. So the more you buy, the better to handle this site.
Babies R Us is the most expensive, at $ 312.97, followed by Target at $ 300.74, and BabyCenter at $ 285.06. Interestingly, both Target and Babies R Us under the umbrella Amazon.com, which means that you should always comparison shop among many stores in the Amazon site.

Also note that all retailers offer coupons and special deal from time to time. So always pay to shop around.

(c) Stephanie Gallagher. All rights reserved.

Stephanie Gallagher says he is keeping tight-secret shop in the ezine, The Shopping Mom's Weekly Tip. Click here to get eCookbooks Recipe Sampler cooking as special gift when you subscribe: mailto: theshoppingmom@aweber.com