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Alan wrote to tell me about a new site he discovered. Price Protectr is a smart little web app that helps consumers save money after they’ve purchased big-ticket items.

There are lots of stores out there that offer price protection policies — when the price drops on an item you’ve purchased, they’ll refund you the difference. But there’s a catch…it’s up to you to watch prices. Price Protectr makes it simple to keep track of your purchases and get your money back. It’s free. It’s easy. It’s free and easy money. How often do you get that offer?

Here’s how it works:

  1. Buy something from one of 70 supported merchants, including Amazon, Costco, Target, and The Sharper Image.
  2. Find the item you bought online. Copy-and-paste the URL to Price Protectr.
  3. Enter your e-mail address. (Price Protectr promises not to spam you.)
  4. Sit back and relax. If Price Protectr notices the price drop at any time during the protection period, you’ll receive an e-mail.

I’ve never paid much attention to price protection guarantees. I’ve never understood how I could make them work. I don’t pay close attention to ads, and I’m certainly not going to keep going into a store for thirty days after I buy something just to save a few bucks. But Price Protectr sounds like a great way to make this process painless.

The site also includes:

Alan also pointed me to yapta, which applies a similar concept to purchasing airfare.