Our site is designed to help consumers find an unbiased short list of products like digital cameras to consider (based on their particular preferences), *before* they start hitting the comparison and retail sites...

check it out: www.MyProductAdvisor.com

Yeah, I know there are plenty of great sites, but I would like to avoid a long list of recommendations. I am more interested in the -combination- of sites people have used to arrive at a product purchase. Not the individual sites per se. There are plenty of ways to find invidual sites, but relatively few written accounts of how they fit together in the buying process. I've asked a lot of people this in person, and heard a lot of stuff I'd have never thought of...

Sean,

I don't buy them that often, but generally I go through the following steps:

I usually go to a physical retail store (one that has employees that aren't on comission) first to see what is out, and to actually get a feel for the cameras. I listen to the customer rep. give his recommendations. Then I leave and usually check out Amazon customer reviews to help narrow down my choices. After that, I Google it and see what I come up with. Then I usually check some deal sites and see if there are any deals on any of the cameras I am looking at. I avoid the real detailed review sites because I am not a camera guru and don't need the detailed specs. Lastly, I hit up a number of shopping comparison sites.

Can you post some of this "stuff" that you would have never thought of... Because the chances are I wouldn't have eithier! Thanks.

Thanks Marc, for not leaving me hanging. :-)

re: "stuff"

Okay, awhile back I talked to someone at Google, who would begin the search at Froogle to see what was available in the target price range, before going to other sites. Using Froogle at the start of the process is totally backwards to my way of thinking (at pricing comes along with many more attribute-based search options at other sites), but I guess it worked for her.

Another gentleman described his process in perhaps the most concise manner, "I ask a friend of mine who is a gadget guy what to buy, and I buy it."

Not much else stands out right now (busy with a new post) but perhaps the most common theme is checking reviews at Amazon.com. No matter how much the buying habits varied, Amazon was a constant.

Maybe I'll get the chance to document a "shoppy" purchase soon, been meaning to do it for awhile.