Finding Multiple Prices/Quotes from Many Websites

Hi All

I've recently been asked to look at creating a web site which can access
many other websites to find the cheapest price or quote for a product or
service. Some of these sites have forms which need to be completed over 3
or 4 different web pages to get the price/quote at the end.

Does anybody know of any good resources on this subject which I can look
into?

thanks

small mouse wrote:
 > Hi All
 >
 > I've recently been asked to look at creating a web site which can
 > access many other websites to find the cheapest price or quote for a
 > product or service. Some of these sites have forms which need to be
 > completed over 3 or 4 different web pages to get the price/quote at
 > the end.
 >
 > Does anybody know of any good resources on this subject which I can
 > look into?
 >
 > thanks

Most of the price comparison websites, like Kelkoo, Pricerunner, Froogle,
and Dealtime don't work in the way you're suggesting.....
Instead of your site retrieving the pricing information automatically, the
stores submit a *data feed* to you, which you then add to your
database.....It's normally a CSV file, and the parameters are set to match
the architecture of your database, so that you can simply copy and paste the
information into it.....

Of course, this means that you're going to have to do a fair bit of cold
calling/emailing in an effort to tout for their business......Unfortunately,
theres a glut of price comparison sites out there at the moment.....Some of
them are awful, but some of them shine like a beacon of excellence......Some
charge a fee, others don't, and others allow a trader a trial free period of
a month or two (usually with a limited number of products, or else with no
images or company logo displayed) which allows them to guage how successul
the service is likely to be, before commiting to any payments....

The free trial period option is, in my opinion, the one that's most likely
to get you a good catalogue of traders on board (make sure you get them all
to provide a return link to you on their homepage).....But you need to be
sure that you're pulling high traffic levels, as traders won't pay you if
they're only getting a dozen referrals a day, and they'll leave after the
trial period.....

Given that the internet is choked up with price comparison sites at the
moment, you'll need a real unique selling point.....You need to find a
gimmick or angle that will make you stand out from all the others.....

Hope this all helps a bit.....

--
Sam.
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