(CBS) It's now possible to drive a hard bargain for yourself in a store before you ever step foot in it - by going online first.

As AOL Consumer Adviser Regina Lewis explained on The Early Show Saturday, it's being dubbed "e-haggling" and, with economic times as tough as they are, this is one way to get the most for your money.

Lewis says it works for almost everything, from cars, to jeans, even household repairs.

According to Lewis:

E-haggling is about using the power of the Internet to make informed purchasing decisions in a very price-sensitive climate, at a time when there are more tools and sources than ever - and increased receptivity on part of retailers and service providers.

Not since the 1850s, when department stores went to fixed-pricing, have many people even considered asking for a better deal once they see the sticker price. That's changing, as consumers are empowered by information and deals they find online. Suddenly, almost everything is negotiable via the Web. It's being called "the eBay effect."

According to a recent New York Times article, on stocked items, "Most store policies on bargaining are informal. Some major retailers, however, are quietly telling their salespeople that negotiating is acceptable."

Do your homework. Compare prices at multiple stores and check for online deals before you buy.

Start your search on a comparison shopping site, find your bargain, print it, and take it to the store as evidence to support your haggle. Make sure it's an apples-to-apples comparison; in other words, it has to be the exact product the store has.

In a nationwide survey of 2,167 U.S. households by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, most respondents who tried to talk their way to a better deal achieved some success. As the survey results show, more than 90 percent of those who haggled over furniture, electronics and appliances, floor and demonstration models, and even medical bills scored a lower price on at least one purchase during the past three years.

Asked about their biggest coup, most successful bargainers said they'd saved $50 or more. In the case of cell-phone deals and medical fees, more than one-fourth saved at least $100. (Lewis' source: Consumer Reports.org/November 2007)

Use wap.aol.com/shopping to get a better deal in a mainstream retailer

Old way: Take tag or sticker on item at face-value.

New way: Comparison shopping online/e-haggling on the fly, in-store via your cell phone; mobile comparison shopping at wap.aol.com/shopping.

When you're bargaining, you need to do it with information, even if you're getting it on the fly. That's where your cell phone comes in. It's called the "third screen," and you can and should use it to your advantage.

Mobile comparison shopping at wap.aol.com/shopping enables you to compare prices on nearly 12 million products right on your cell phone, while you're in the store. You do this by entering the product's model number or the UPC code off the box.

It works either way:

Search and view 11,500,000-plus products from more than 11,500 stores.

Compare prices for the best deal.

Find retailers near you.

Click-to-call: With one click, you can call retailers directly.

To Get Mobile Shopping on Your Cell Phone:

In your web browser on your cell phone, go to AOL Shopping by entering http://wap.aol.com/shopping. Once you're at the AOL Mobile Shopping site, enter a keyword into the search box (such as a brand name, product name or product model number). Your mobile phone will instantly display a list of products, prices and user ratings.

If you uncover a lower price online or at a retailer down the street, try showing that to the salesperson; it could move the needle in your direction, or at least help you make an informed decision.

What happens if we buy an item and, the very next week, the price drops or the item goes on sale? Go to priceprotectr.com.

Old way: Continually scanning the Sunday circulars, in-store prices, or prices on the Web. Who has time for that?!

New way: Automated "e-haggling" with price-watching sites such as priceprotectr.com. It monitors price fluctuations for you and alerts you via e-mail if there's a price drop.

At PriceProtectr.com, they watch prices so you don't have to. If an item drops in price after you purchase it, they'll notify you by e-ail so you can get a refund of the difference. To use the service, just enter the URL of the item you purchased via the Internet located on the product page. The product page is the one where you can add the product to your shopping cart. They support 112 stores including Amazon, The Apple Store, Best Buy, Circuit City, Costco, Future Shop, Sears, and Staples.

Most retailers offer what are called "price protection" policies, in which they promise to refund a portion of your purchase price, if the product you bought drops in price within a certain timeframe after you buy it. A typical period of time is 30 days. They offer this so you can feel comfortable knowing, if you buy today and the price drops next week, you're covered. It's up to you to request the refund. Durations of price-protection guarantees vary widely by retailer, from seven to 90 days.

Price Protectr.com also assists with in-store purchases: To monitor your in-store purchases, find the URL for the product on the store's Web site, then go to PriceProtectr.com and insert the URL, so the price can be tracked.

For more bargaining sites, go to Page 2.

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