If you’re looking for Frequently Asked Questions on using ShopWiki, you’ve come to the right place. Below are some general questions people often ask us.
What is ShopWiki?
* ShopWiki is the Web site where you begin all your shopping adventures. Whether you’re just beginning to research a product or know exactly what you want, ShopWiki is here to help you find products on the Internet with ease.
Is ShopWiki a store?
* No. ShopWiki does not sell any products. Like general search engines, ShopWiki scans the Internet to find the best deals for all our users’ searches. All purchases are done through the online retailer of the user’s choice.
How do I add a store I don’t see?
* We crawl a wide range of products from more than 200,000 online stores. However, our crawler sometimes misses a site. If you’d like to see a site included, enter the URL here. If you get an error that says we already have a similar site, it means that we have found you already.
Does ShopWiki have any direct relationships with online retailers?
* We work diligently to bring our shoppers the best deals possible by forming partnerships with online retailers. We mark many of our trusted partners on our search results as an Premier Store.
What does it mean that you “crawl” the Internet?
* Crawling is an entirely automatic and, therefore, unbiased way to gather the Web’s information in one place. By crawling the Internet, ShopWiki pulls product listings directly from online stores, instead of requiring merchants to submit their information to us via data feeds, as other sites do. That means more products (200 million+) from more stores (200,000+) in the US.
How are you different from other shopping comparison engines?
* ShopWiki does not accept payment from online retailers for inclusion in our search results. We want to index everything there is to buy online, which means we have to include all stores—big and small. The result is more products from more stores.
Can I trust the buying guides?
* Of course. The ShopWiki community attracts impassioned and expert shoppers who know their stuff and hold each other up to high standards. We’re serious about providing reliable information. Since it can be hard for users to catch all mistakes, ShopWiki has a team of professional editors who monitor every single change to the wiki guides, helping keep the buying guides fair, accurate and vandalism-free. The editors are also active community members who contribute their own guides and keep the existing ones up to date.
Is ShopWiki affiliated with Wikipedia?
* ShopWiki is not associated with Wikipedia. However, we both use wiki technology to allow users to write and edit information on our site. We’re honored to share half a name with a Web pioneer.
How do you make money?
* You’ll find small, relevant and unobtrusive keyword ads appearing on the side of the search results pages. If we didn’t rely on advertising, we’d have to charge our merchants for inclusion and that would mean less choices for you, the consumer. In addition, we believe that ads, when highly relevant and clearly identified, can offer an added benefit to users by highlighting special deals and providing yet another shopping option. We also work with merchants through affiliate networks to promote those merchants more often as they will share a small commission on successful sales.
How does having more stores benefit me?
* More stores means better selection. With ShopWiki’s comprehensive results, you have the satisfaction of always finding the right product, no matter how obscure, and the right price. If you can buy it, we can find it.
Why are some of the product images and titles unusual?
* The Web is a swell resource, but it can also be a little wild, unwieldy and just plain weird. We list product information exactly as we find it on the Web. Sometimes even the best stores have odd images (if any at all) and product titles you might not have used yourself. That doesn’t mean you won’t find great products. In many cases, it’s those quirks that gives these sites, and our results, their character.
The only search engine that crawls e-commerce stores to become a unique shopping search engine.