When I talk to merchants who are listed exclusively on Froogle, they say it’s because Froogle is free and as a small business, they can’t afford to list on the other comparison engines. BUT small businesses aren’t always the most savvy of marketers…if they are selling products online at a profit, most likely they could afford a per click fee on a major comparison shopping site and at the very least, they should test out marketing on NexTag, Y! Shopping, PriceGrabber, Shopzilla, and Shopping.com.
-b

That said, I DO WISH that someone would figure out how to stifle the ads that seem to appear everywhere, not just in Froogle. Was doing research on the African practice of infindibulation (female circumsion) recently and quickly discovered that it’s widely available at e-bay. Go figure!

Last month I mentioned that Google Base was full of spam – and to be fair, Google has made genuine efforts to remove some of the junk. But now Comparison Engines is reporting that Froogle, Google’s shopping comparison engine, has the same pro…

I hope you don’t get “CNETTED” because this blog is spot on. Too many Google apologists aren’t willing to point out the plain truth — Google USED to be the best way to find things online, but by no means is that the case today. Good vertical engines beat Google on many fronts and from a general search perspective, they have lost a step IMHO.

While Froogle can be ROI positive given the cost (free), there is a time cost to set up and optimize listings. As you point out, it may be better spent optimizing comparison engines that provide real value to their end users.

For the end user, I would look elsewhere unless you want to spend time clicking around eBay affiliate sites.

Posted by — Loren Baker, Editor @ 11:44 [...]

Q: Out of stock for an item?
A: Lower its price on Froogle.
(psst… you might also be interested in these -related- products…)

These clicks are worth less, but not worthless. They might not justify the “old switcheroo” on paid engines, but nothing is ROI negative on Froogle.

But to give Froogle its due, it got a helluva lot better in the last month. To be sure, I would NOT use Froogle for popular searches where other engines have plenty of offers, plenty of structure. Yet on many products, Froogle has zero competition.

For example, I was researching high-end server products, and most shopping engines are lucky to have a related category, much less the specific product, much less a decent selection. In a few cases, Froogle gave a nearly complete “lay of the land” on very niche $,$$$ products.

IMHO, Froogle has become an essential tool in the shopping tool belt, but it should be used sparingly and carefully.

ComparisonEngines.com points out a problem with Froogle:Froogle has a problem, and I assume Google Base will have the same problem. Because there are no setup fees and no per click fees, the results on Froogle are often made up of