Remember, just because you shop at so-called discount stores doesn’t mean you’ll get lowest prices. The same is true for warehouse stores and online auction sites.

Even coupons that seem like great deals aren’t always a bargain. For example, one online retailer recently offered a promotion where you could buy one board game and get one free. But games cost twice what they cost at a competitor. So it wasn’t really a deal at all.

What’s a bargain-hunting parent to do? It helps if you can find someone who’s done some research for you.

The Shopping Mom to Rescue!

In an attempt to do a scientific, apples-to-apples comparison, I recently conducted a price test of six popular baby product web sites. I purchased a basket of common baby products from each site.

All of sites I chose were well-established businesses, with reliable customer service, and a good selection of products. Many offered extra services, like reader reviews, shopping checklists and helpful tips. The sites were:

1. BabyCenter (http://www.babycenter.com)

2. Babies R Us (http://www.babiesrus.com)

3. Baby Universe (http://www.babyuniverse.com)

4. Baby Catalog (http://www.babycatalog.com)

5. Shopping.com (http://www.shopping.com)

6. Target.com (http://www.target.com)

Shopping.com isn't a retailer. It's a comparison shopping service. But I included it because it’s supposed to be able to find you best deals online. I wanted to see if it lived up to its promise.