Product research is almost a favorite past-time of mine. I say almost because, it’s not necessarily something I do unless I have a purchase in mind that I believe will benefit my life in some positive way. Buying just for the sake of buying isn’t any fun, and results in accumulating a bunch of overpriced crap you’ll never use anyway (see Unclutterer).

Luckily, product research is incredibly easy with the aid of the internet. After picking up my camera the other day from a long two-week hiatus, I realized the grip of my hands to the camera wasn’t comfortable at all — a battery grip would surely make handling more pleasant. I immediately went to my computer to check the prices at local stores (seeking instant gratification). The product in question: Canon BG-E3 battery grip.

• Best Buy — $220
• Circuit City — $220
• Local camera store — $160

I found it interesting how the specialty store had a much better price than the huge consumer electronics stores. Usually it’s the other way around. Didn’t matter to me though, because at $160, that was still $20 higher than the prices I knew the battery grip should be:

• B&H Photo Video — $140
• Adorama Camera — $140

This was getting a little ridiculous in a good way. In just 2-3 minutes, I virtually saved myself $80 over the uninformed consumer shopping locally in the store. Anyway, here’s the big one:

• Amazon.com — $120

Yup, $120 for the same product, new, at an incredibly reputable dealer: Amazon.com. One hundred big ones cheaper than the local consumer electronics stores. And no, this product wasn’t coming from a 3rd party, it was coming from Amazon.com itself, so free shipping was available (and not to mention, no sales tax).

All this talk of price for a particular product isn’t really the point of this post though. I believe I’ve made my point that the internet is a great research tool for product research, but the real trick is finding the right product to purchase that fits a particular need/want best for a reasonable price.

To find the best product for a reasonable price, product research takes a much longer amount of time. That’s okay though, because (hopefully) you will be purchasing something that will meet your needs better than the average product you will find in your local stores.

And here’s where I sort of drift off, because to further explain will require many examples, of which I plan on providing here in the future as my needs and wants arise. I’ll be posting the results of my research within the category “Product Research” (among others).