Last year, I popped into the Best Buy to pick up an iDock for some condo music - Franki gave me a price and sent me in. I called her when I got there, and checked on the price in the store. She checked online, and found it was cheaper online. I went to the front desk, and negotiated a cheaper deal with what was shown on the online store.

To make it better, Franki found another store selling the iDock for the same price, but with a $24 iTunes card. I shared this with the manager, who looked it up, verified it, and promptly gave me A $25 iTunes card to go with my reduced-price iDock.

I felt pretty cool, but now that we have smart phones and the iPhone and web access with cheap data plans, the possibility of doing live shopping without the help of someone at home is really going to take off. In addition to shopping at retail stores, we can comparison shop with friends, setting location against location, and pitting both against online versions.

Automobile dealers often complain about customers that come in with calculators. Calculators mean they can't trick you with the complex payments, making negotiation easy for them, and hard for the person who doesn't do complex math in their head.

I've been preaching that social media is going to change the way we shop, interact, and buy. Most people don't go to the lengths that Franki and I do, but I imagine good times are coming when Mom turns to her six year old to text Dad the price of a new Honda Accord.

Last year, I popped into the Best Buy to pick up an iDock for some condo music - Franki gave me a price and sent me in. I called her when I got there, and checked on the price in the store. She checked online, and found it was cheaper online. I went to the front desk, and negotiated a cheaper deal with what was shown on the online store.

To make it better, Franki found another store selling the iDock for the same price, but with a $24 iTunes card. I shared this with the manager, who looked it up, verified it, and promptly gave me A $25 iTunes card to go with my reduced-price iDock.

I felt pretty cool, but now that we have smart phones and the iPhone and web access with cheap data plans, the possibility of doing live shopping without the help of someone at home is really going to take off. In addition to shopping at retail stores, we can comparison shop with friends, setting location against location, and pitting both against online versions.

Automobile dealers often complain about customers that come in with calculators. Calculators mean they can't trick you with the complex payments, making negotiation easy for them, and hard for the person who doesn't do complex math in their head.

I've been preaching that social media is going to change the way we shop, interact, and buy. Most people don't go to the lengths that Franki and I do, but I imagine good times are coming when Mom turns to her six year old to text Dad the price of a new Honda Accord.