Consider This: You can’t haggle online. But there are websites (such as www.shopzilla.com, www.froogle.com, and www.nextag.com that track and compare Internet prices for products and direct you to the best bargains. They also rate the sellers based on customer reviews.

Try This: To squeeze the price even further, call a regular store that stocks the product and ask that store to match the best price you saw advertised online. “We are very likely going to drop our price to beat another reputable dealer,” says Abe Brown of J&R Music and Computer World. (You can find a list of authorized dealers by contacting the product’s manufacturer or, in many cases, just going to its website.)