Just like anything else, it pays to shop around. I was checking prices for Crystal Reports software and noticed something interesting. Software sites will list one price on their site but a much lower price through a comparison shopping site like PriceGrabber. The links below show that this can make a dramatic difference. Prices are for the full version of Crystal Reports XI Professional Edition (product number W-1RP-E-WX-00):
Business Objects website price $495 ($470 in a 5-pack)

Atomic Park $292 (and sometimes $399)

Atomic Park through Price Grabber $204

CheckOutSoftware $327

CheckOutSoftware through Price Grabber $279

If the prices are different when you try them it may be that I can’t link directly to their price. Just go to PriceGrabber.com yourself and search for Crystal Reports.

These are both legitimate, highly rated software sites. I even called Atomic Park to confirm that this price was not an upgrade or academic edition. It may just be a mistake or a short term sale, so if you want an inexpensive copy of Crystal this is a good time to get it.

What was really strange is that once I came to the site through Price Grabber, the site pages showed me different prices for several products. Then a few minutes later the prices would revert back to the regular prices. For Atomic Park I got 3 different prices within 2 minutes, all with the same URL. Anyway, the moral of the story is to check out one or two comparison site’s before you buy.

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Update as of 7/2007 - Best price I can find this month on Price Grabber is $399. The vendors mentioned above are no longer the lowest.