Wal-Mart Vs. Amazon: How to Comparison Shop Between the Internet and the Real World

I have a habit of ordering a lot of stuff online I could just as easily go pick up from Wal-Mart, because that way I don't have to drive to the store. Instead a nice person in a truck comes and delivers the package to me. Most of the time the prices are pretty equivalent, but that's not always the case. Sometimes it makes sense to do some comparison shopping between the real world and buying online. But when doing so, you're not comparing apples to apples. There are plenty of things you have to take into consideration, such as taxes, shipping, time, and the like. Here's how to comparison shop between the internet and the real world.

Let's say that you want to buy some non-perishable items that you would normally get at the grocery store. In addition to all of the local competitors, Amazon now has its own internet-based grocery store. First, write down all of the items that you are going to get at the grocery store. Take that list of items, and head on over to Amazon's grocery section, or whatever site is offering the product that you want to make a comparison on.

For each item, figure out what the package would cost to buy it and have it delivered. Let's say you wanted to buy a 24 pack of soap for $15.00 and it was $2.50 to ship it. This means that you'd be paying $17.50 for that 24 pack of soap, or about 73 cents a bar. For each item, go through and figure out how much each item will cost on a per unit basis. If you have to pay any sort of sales taxes online, calculate that in to, fortunately most of the time you won't.

Now take your list of items to Wal-Mart or whatever grocery store you go to, and go through your list. Figure out how much each item costs on a per unit basis after paying the sales tax, and if the item's cheaper at the store, go ahead and buy it then and there. If it's significantly cheaper online, don't buy the item and just order it online when you get home.

One might think that this process is a lot of work and takes up a significant amount of time, but it really doesn't. With a calculator in hand, I was able to figure out how much 10 items cost on Amazon.com on a per unit basis in just about 15 minutes. The same math added maybe 5 minutes to my Wal-Mart trip. Since all of these items weren't terribly critical needs, I elected to order some of them online. If you need the item tomorrow, say you're out of toilet paper, it doesn't really matter what the online price is because you need it right away. For items that you can wait a few days on, Amazon.com and other online retailers work great as another place to look for better deals.

I saved about $6.00 on my first trip, which isn't a ton, but for the 20 minutes of my time, I'll take it.