Making Use of Search Options

Our Search Options allow you to enahnce the way you want to search. There are 2 types of search options available. They are:

1. Standard Search Options
   
   Our standard search options are available to visitors who are not registered as well as registered Price Detectives. In order to access the standard options you can:
   
   - Click on the far top right of the screen at any time (illustrated below)
   
   
   
   
   You will then arrive at the "Search Options" page, where you can change the settings of the standard options.
   
   You will notice that the first set of options shown are the Detective Options - if you are not signed in or do not have an account, these options are unavailable to select.
   
   NB. We recommend that you sign in to use the full power of our search options.
   
   Below the Detective Options, you will find the Standard Search Options (illustrated below), which can be used by any of our users.
   
   
   
   Option 1: Stop interrogating me, I do not want any options or suggestions
   
   - Please select this option if you do not wish PriceInspector to prompt you with questions / tips.
   
   
   
   Option 2: Automatically search Unique Products if there are no Compared Products
   
   - This option is a time saver that is only available for the registered Price Detectives.
   
   When conducting a search, PriceInspector initially searches the Compared Product database, i.e. products with more than 1 retailer. If a search has returned 0 Compared results, we will notify you that there are also a number of Unique products that have been matched for that search, and advise you to click the Unique Products tab to view them (illustrated below with this example when searching for a "cordless drill")
   
   
   
   If this option is selected, we cut out the above screen and automatically run a Unique Product Search if the initial search returned '0 Compared Products'. So instead of finding 0 Compared Products from the search we will display the 3 unique products automatically. (illustrated below)
   
   
   
   TIP: To learn more about why PriceInspector splits its products into Compared and Unique, please click here
   
   
   Option 3: Store and show my searches
   
   - Select this option if you wish PriceInspector to store the phrases that you are searching for and show them down the right hand side of each page (Your Recent Searches) - illustrated below.
   
   
   
   
   
   Option 4: Suggest potential categories
   
   - Select this option if you want PriceInspector to suggest categories related to your search. These categories then link to the category drill down pages.
   
   
   
   
   
   Option 5: Search Description on every search
   
   - Select this option if you want PriceInspector to search the product description on each search. Although this will slow down the speed of your search, PriceInspector looks for for the phrase you have searched within each description, which will generally widen your range of results as there is a lot more generic information to search on.
   
   An example of when this is useful is when retailers add the model number in the Product name.
   
   e.g. in the search shown below, we ran a search for an LCD television and our first result was the Panasonic TX26LXD60 - had we not searched the description, this product would not have been found. Notice the description box is ticked.
   
   TIP. If you are searching using a "general" keyword such as television or fridge, make sure you search the description as many of our retailers do not include these words in their product name.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Detective Search Options
   
   
   In order to use our more advanced search options, you must be registered as a Price Detective.
   
   To access the Search Options when signed in you can click on the My Office link at the top right of the page, and then click "Search Options" from your notice board.
   
   As well as having all of the above standard search options available, you can also use the options illustrated below:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Option 1: Send me product surveillance reports (view current surveillance)
   
   - This option turns on the Price Surveillance reports. If you have set up price surveillance on a product, you must select this option in order to allow PriceInspector to email you when the price changes on a product.
   
   
   Option 2: Suggest similar products (not available as yet)
   
   - Although this option is not yet available, PriceInspector will be suggesting products that are similar to the ones that you are currently viewing.
   
   
   Option 3: Remember which products I have visited so I can find them easily next time
   
   - This option keeps a track of which products you have recently visited and archives them on the Recent Cases page. This is handy if you are doing a lot of comparisons and want a quick reference to where you have been.