A new meaning to the phrase, “Let your fingers do the walking”.

I’m not a big time shopper. In fact I’m probably like most guys. Get in, get it and get out of there. However, there have been times when the anal retentive part of me needs to research a purchase endlessly and then meticulously go about finding the best price. Since Al Gore invented the Internet that has become remarkably easier. But what happens when you are standing in your nearest Best Buy or Circuit City looking to buy that new 42 inch Plasma with the 50 watt per channel baby cakes sound system. Do you get cold feet? Do you worry that maybe you’re not getting the best price? My gosh, what if it’s on sale cheaper somewhere else? What is a shopper to do?

Enter Slifter, a new service being provided thru Sprint.  For the mere pittance of a $1.99/month you get a service that culls through more than 85 million products at some 30,000 retail stores nationally that sign up for the service. This includes some of the nation’s leading chains, Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples, Sports Authority and even smaller local stores have signed up.

Getting competitive prices is obviously not new. What is new is being able to get real-time pricing at other stores, with locations and address/phone information.  Oh yes, I forgot, you also get a GPS map that tells you how to get from the store your in to the store with the cheaper price. Imagine, all of that, while you are standing in front of that refrigerator, still trying to decide whether you want to buy it.

Wowee Maui…this could really be the Mother Lode. It just seems to me that this is a no-brainer service that everyone who has a passing interest in good deals will want. I can only hope that it becomes available on Cingular, err, the New ATT.

Mike Morawski