Are comparison sites a good thing?

[Dazza30]

Ive just been reading an article on msn about comparison sites and the Financial Services Authority this doesnt make for pleasent reading.

Here's an excerpt


Understanding the problems
First things first, it's useful to understand how comparison sites work. They're not charities offering this service out of the good of their hearts - they are commercial organisations.

They'll take information from a range of providers (but importantly, not all of them - we'll come to that in a moment). You input your requirements, and they attempt to find the best match for you.

You then click through to the website of the insurer (or other financial service provider) in question and buy your product. The comparison site gets commission on the sales, or sometimes even just on the number of people clicking on an insurer (known as "click-throughs"), in return. That's how they make their money.

It's worth bearing this in mind. Comparison sites don't keep this a secret, but they don't exactly flag it up either - and neither, for perfectly valid commercial reasons, do they reveal how much commission they're getting from different companies.

Objective analysis
So remember that there is a big incentive for them to push you in a certain way.

That doesn't mean that their comparison service is skewed - but you should be wary of all the other bumph that appears on sites, such as guides to buying various types of insurance or credit cards, or banners suggesting "our best buys" or "best personal loans" which may be nothing of the sort.

If it's decent information on financial products you're looking for, you'd be far better going to a genuine news site or flicking through the financial section of your daily paper than relying on a comparison site's content.


Here's a link to the article Are comparison sites a good thing?Â*-Â*MSN Money Consumer Centre | Money saving tips | Consumer advice | Scams exposed

[philhancox]

Very interesting. I did a bit of research into price comparison sites and was extremely shocked to see how shopping.com does it. E.g. a popular search would be PlayStation 3, non? Compare Prices on Sony Playstation 3 (40 GB) Console
It's not in price order, so the most expensive might be on top and there are hardly any shops listed - what the hell is BT shop and when did it start selling PS3s?
Dreadful choice and not consumer focussed in my eyes.

[Dazza30]

It would be interesting to hear the opinions of affiliates running comparison sites, what are your views / do you agree with any of the opinions on this article ?

[rammy786]

You have to be really interested in the subject and really love what your doing for anything to work.

[cookie_monsta]

You can't really blame them for that.
I know if I was running one I'd be pushing the merchants with the bigger commissions.
They are only affiliates after all

As a user I think they are usefull
It is certainly a good point you made that you must be weary of the results you get back as like you said it won't necessarily be the cheapest around.

I was searching for car insurance for myself only last week
Used 6 comparison sites in total - It took a bit of time but I covered 100% of the market - So I knew I found the cheapest quote.

I think the next step up for anyone maybe comparison of comparison sites - That would be handy.

BTW in the end I used my own link and got another £40 OFF

[dougs]

We run comparator sites, we get paid if a sale happens. We try to get every supplier on board, but some wont play.

We always show results based on price and the sites ranking is not influenced by what we get paid. If the numbers don't work for us we do remove merchants.

carrentals.co.uk I would now argue is the most comprehensive comparator site out there in its field. Its not a complete view of the marketplace but close.

Doug