One Gate

New Page: OneGate for Shopping

Shopping is more than just buying stuff. You may start with some research, finding out what the experts recommend and what actual consumers think; after that you try to find sales and get the lowest prices. You may not even plan to buy, instead choosing to rent or swap for free stuff. So when planning for our new Shopping page, we decided to focus more on shopping options, letting you know about different shopping tools online and perhaps introducing you to some new ones, and providing them in one easy-to-access place.

There are still online shopping sites on there: we’ve included Amazon.com and eBay, plus some smaller niche sites, and will probably add more mainstream shopping sites as time goes by (so let us know what you want included!), but the focus for now is on other parts of the shopping experience, including helping you discover new products and ways to save money on them. Here's an overview of what we've included:

Coupons

The economy’s not doing so great right now, as we’re all aware, and what better time to make use of coupons? The Coupons section on the Shopping page has several options for you: Coupon Looker finds store coupons for both online and in-store shopping. RetailMeNot is my personal favorite: users share discount codes they’ve found for various websites and rate them. FreeShipping is fairly obvious, finding free shipping deals for online purchases. GottaDeal is a great place to find info on Black Friday deals (the day after Thanksgiving).

Discount Shopping

Similar to Coupons, Discount Shopping scores customers fabulous deals on normally high-priced items. Overstock.com offers discounts on surplus and returned items; Woot! only sells one item a day (usually electronic) but at a significantly reduced price. And eBay fans will be delighted to learn about FatFingers: while eBay’s search only turns up products for your spelling, FatFingers searches for common misspellings of your search term, uncovering deals other people haven’t discovered and making it more likely your low bid will be the winner.

Research and Reviews

Do you research a product before taking the plunge? Consumer Reports is one of the big ones (and non-free ones), of course, but you can also get consumer reviews from Epinions, or professional opinions from CNET. And if you’re researching more obscure products or difficult-to-monetize items like trips to Paris, check What It Costs.

Social Shopping

Social networks are taking over the internet. Social shopping can be casual like iliketotallyloveit, sort of an online equivalent to window shopping in a Digg-like setting, or more involved like ThisNext, a more mature site for people to review, compare and recommend clothing, accessories, furniture and household items with friends. Use social shopping sites to get ideas for gifts or to make friends that share your shopping interests.

Holidays, birthdays and other gift-giving opportunities

It’s easier to give a gift when you have a wishlist or registry to refer to, so we’ve included a wedding registry search from Wedding Channel, and gift wish list sites Wishlist.com and the aptly named TheThingsIWant. Search for your loved one’s name to see if they’ve stored their desires online. Plus, check out fun gift sites Etsy (for handmade gifts), Think Geek (for the intellectuals in your life) and Archie McPhee, king of joke and novelty gifts.

Choosing not to buy: rentals and swaps

You don’t have to make a purchase to shop. If you’re looking for temporary ownership, trying renting. ILetYou is a rental search engine: search for what you need and your location, and find other users and shops in your area that are willing to loan instead of sell. PaperBackSwap is a great alternative to the bookstore, if you don’t mind used reading material. Just go through your bookcase and find some books you don’t read anymore, ship them off to eager readers, and then request books for yourself from other readers. Also worth checking: classified sites like Oodle, which often have sections for exchanges/swapping or freebies.

Support your local economy

Rather support local stores than online sites? Yokel is a great site to find products locally: just search by item and area, and finds products in shops near you. Merchant Circle provides a similar service by offering space online to businesses that don’t have websites of their own. Or use the classifieds website Oodle to buy from your neighbors.

We want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of the new Shopping page. Do you like it? Are we forgetting something? Talk to us below or send us some feedback.