Thanks to Brian Smith over a ComparisonEngines.com who tipped me off to Buy.com's comparison shopping experiment. If you don't see the comparison shopping links on that page, that's because it seems like they're still testing this implementation. The comparison links appear for some people on some products and not for other people. Here's a screenshot, just in case:
I think it's a great idea. About six or nine months ago, when Dell was looking for people to lead the creation of a new Dell.com site, I asked the someone there how open the management really was to change. Specifically, I asked if they'd consider implementing comparison shopping functionality on Dell.com. To me, it's a no brainer if you're really in the "customer relationship" business - which, IMO, is where growth will come from. But, if you're Dell - i.e., you made all your money because of your efficiencies in manufacturing and distibution - it must be a much tougher call. Good luck to them as they try to right the ship over there.
Buy.com clearly recognizes that their value is in becoming a place where consumers make purchasing decisions, not just in their efficiency in buying, storing and shipping inventory. That's smart, because there are a lot of companies who can buy, store and ship inventory, and some of those companies are pretty big.
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