Let the shopper beware

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 3, 2000

Thinking of letting your mouse do the grocery shopping on Priceline.com? Here are things you should know:

The first 90 days of membership are free; after that, you will be charged $3 a month if you use the service. Good news is that if you don't participate, you won't. Bad news is this nugget is buried in the "Terms & Conditions" section of the site.

Credit card or debit card? To join, you must give Priceline the number of one which will be tapped immediately when a bid is accepted. Linda Rady, director of education at Consumer Credit Counseling Service in St. Petersburg, warns that if you don't pay off your credit card monthly, you'll be paying interest on your groceries. That could wipe out some, or all, of the savings you are getting.

When you buy a 4-pound bag of dog food, make sure that is the size you pick up at the store. Otherwise, the full price of the incorrect product will be charged to your credit card or taken from your bank account via debit card. Too many boo-boos could get you kicked out of the program because Priceline considers this fraud.

Is the store out of a product you've already purchased? Your price is good for 90 days, but you have to remember to return to collect what you have paid for. Priceline will not send you a friendly reminder.

To earn half-price tokens, you join "partner programs" which entail subscribing to a magazine, taking a survey, joining a CD club, or even switching long-distance providers. Be aware that if you sign up for something and then cancel, you may have to pay a penalty. Also, signing up for partner programs ensures you will get junk e-mail.

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