There are many bargain shopping tools and resources available online to help you find great deals, compare prices, search many stores at once, get coupon codes and snag sale items first. Here are some of the best:

Price Comparison Search Engines

There are dozens of price comparison search engines on the net currently. Some of them charge the merchants to be listed and to be ranked higher than their competitors. This type of price comparison search engine may not be forthcoming with this information so they may not be as reliable, reputable or provide you as many choices as the sites that don't charge for listings and allow any merchant to submit their products. Some of the major engines that charge for listing and ranking are Shopping.com, ShopZilla.com, PriceGrabber.com and NextTag.com.

The price comparison search engines that do not charge for listings and allow any merchant to submit their products are Froogle.com, ShopWiki.com and TheFind.com. You may find a bigger selection of stores with your item available and therefore a better chance of finding the absolute best price available anywhere.

Deals

There are many websites that cater to bargain hunters and deal shoppers. Most of these include a blog or post style main page that posts the latest hot deals for view, but most of them also offer a community of forums where users can view even more deals, post deals they have found and converse about how to get the best deal via pricematching, coupon codes and rebates. You'll find a haven of bargain hunters at these sites. The best sites include Slickdeals.net, Fatwallet.com, Cheapstingybargains.com, BensBargains.net, Dealsea.com and Dealcatcher.com. Probably the best site would be Slickdeals.net, since they don't allow affiliate links and therefore you are apt to get the most honest deals posted, whereas sites like Dealcatcher.com post mostly affiliate links where they make money from everything you purchase. When affiliate links are allowed, a site is likely to promote the best paying links first, not necessarily the best deals. Watch out for these affiliate and referral links.

If you're looking for tech stuff, games or books, there are specialty price comparison search engines just for these products. They include TechBargains.com for tech deals, PriceWatch.com for tech/computer deals, Cheapassgamer.com for game deals and Addall.com for book deals. These sites will search specific merchants that specialize in these product areas as well as the larger merchants.

Coupons

There are dozens of sites devoted exclusively to posting the latest coupon codes. Coupon codes are available for a wide variety of discounts including free shipping, a free percentage off pricing, buy one get one free, free gift with order or a set dollar discount such as $5 off a $10 purchase. Whenever you buy online, don't hit that SUBMIT ORDER button until you have searched for a coupon code for that merchant. Most large merchants have active coupon codes at any given time. Some of the big coupon code sites are Currentcodes.com, Couponmountain.com, Couponcabin.com, Flamingoworld.com and Couponcraze.com. Again, watch out for affiliate and referral links on these sites too, they often promote higher paying store links first. Slickdeals.net also offers a huge coupon code forum, be sure to check that out for non affiliate codes.

Auctions

Don't forget to check out eBay and Yahoo's auctions for deals on certain products as well. Auctions allow you to search millions of listings and millions of sellers at one time. They may not allow coupon codes or rebates, but auctions are the only buying avenue that allow you to have so much control over how much you pay for an item.

More Tools

There are also some handy tools to use when searching for deals, don't miss Thebestbargainsonline.com's great misspelling tool for searching eBay auctions.

Lydia Quinn writes for The Best Bargains Online, a website that features articles, resources and listings for finding the best bargains online. Visit us at: http://www.thebestbargainsonline.com/

When it comes to shopping, more and more of us are letting our fingers (and our mice) do the walking.

Online sales are expected to hit $211 billion this year. That is a rise of 20 percent over last year and comes just three years after the industry hit the $100 billion milestone, according to the 2006 State of Retailing Online report from Shop.org and Forrester Research. Here are seven reasons it makes sense to shop online:

1. Lower prices. Online shopping can reduce overhead costs in a variety of ways, which can translate to lower prices for you. In fact, one 2004 study found online prices to be 6 to 16 percent lower than offline prices.

2. More savings with online coupons. Many times, shoppers can save even further with an online coupon or coupon code. According to a 2005 Bizrate/Shopzilla report, 71 percent of online shoppers said they were able to find better discount offers and sales online, as compared to shopping through a catalog or traditional retail merchant. Online retailers may issue a button or text link that will apply an automatic savings to your order, or they may issue a specific coupon code to be entered at checkout.

3. Research capabilities. The Internet allows you to easily compare products and prices, so you can be sure that the item you purchase is the exact item you want. Online merchants can publish much more information about their product on a website than they could affordably publish in a print catalog. And online stores give you the ability to share information and reviews with other shoppers who have firsthand experience with a product or retailer. As Internet connection speeds continue to increase for larger segments of the population, these types of interactive features will become even more important. Zappos.com, a leading shoe retailer, for example, allows you to view most shoes from as many as eight different angles, including a close up.

4. Increased selection. Warehousing logistics can be much simpler for an online retailer, and many of the online superstores have a staggering inventory to choose from. Plus, as a consumer, you can avoid the inconvenience of physically traveling among online stores to comparison shop. A simple online search can lead you to the right product at the right price, fast.

5. Convenience. An online store allows you to shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So you can shop at your leisure, regardless of your time zone. This is particularly important for those of us who are limited in our ability to get to a brick and mortar store. The elderly, as well as parents of young children, for example, may have a more relaxed shopping experience in front of the computer screen.

6. Saves time. So much of the vast variety of products and product information is easily searchable. Plus, there is no traveling, parking, and walking involved.

7. Environmental Benefits. Recent studies are showing that shopping online leads to reduced fuel consumption and air pollution, because so much of our car travel is dedicated to shopping. Plus, shopping online reduces the need for print catalogs and excess packaging. And downloadable items purchased online eliminate the need for any kind of material goods at all.

Jamie Jefferson is a frequent contributor to Momscape.com. Visit today for the latest online Coupon Codes including Overstock Coupons