Sadly, BillShrink shut down their services on July 31,2013.
Do you wonder if your TV provider (Cable, Satellite, Fiber-Optic) is giving you the best deal possible?
BillShrink has just introduced a service that will compare TV packages in your area based on your preferences and tell you the best television service deal that’s out there.
Curious to see how this worked I went to BillShrink, to the Television service tab.
I entered in a zip code, my current provider, and what I currently pay for service. Right off the bat this service won’t help some people as you can’t compare bundled packages like that that combine TV, phone, and internet. I’m taking a guess here at what my service might cost without my bundle (I get all three services in one).
Next, BillShrink asks you about your preferences in order to match available services to a package that fits your needs.
You pick up to four basic categories, enter in channels you really want/need in your service, the type of TV equipment you will use (standard, HDTV, DVR), and your credit score range (didn’t I tell you your credit score was used for more than just loans?). Be as honest as you can with the channels you want so BillShrink can find the best package for you.
The next screen asks for an email address.
I’m not so crazy about having to enter an email, but you can edit your preferences so they don’t send you offers and such. If you have an account like Gmail you can put a “.” anywhere in your email and use that to filter out promotions (this is actually a real useful feature of Gmail!).
The last screen shows you the packages they found to fit your criteria.
You’ll see the features of the plan, costs, what you can save per month, and your overall savings for two years. You can check out each plan in more detail as well (I wouldn’t be surprised if BillShrink gets a piece of any sign-ups but hey, if they are saving you money).
A couple of notes here.
One of the options I was given was for ComCast which I’m about 99% sure is unavailable where I am. Another quirk is I tried another search from scratch but this time the system found no matches. BillShrink’s TV comparison option is still in beta (there’s even a small tab to report errors) so it doesn’t surprise me that there are some oddities in the service. These will probably be ironed out.
My thoughts: It might be worth taking a look to see if you are over-paying for your TV service. If they can get you a better deal then why not check it out?
Sounds like BillShrink made a few upgrades. Hopefully, this will prove to be a useful tool to those looking to manage their costs. Thanks for the info!
I have comcast and would love to switch to FIOS but it’s not in my building right now. I had directv and didn’t love it and even if I could save a few cents, it may not be worth switching right now to something else.
As much as there is a free market of sorts there still aren’t enough providers to really bring service up and prices down.
Sounds like it could be a useful tool if they can get the bugs ironed out. I have a package deal too though so it won’t do me much good.
I guess it’s hard to start comparing packages what with having to compare phone and internet deals. But that seems to be the way these providers are gearing towards.
Great work. I’ve heard lots about this service, but havent used it, as my area of the country is sparsely populated (we have 2 cell phone service providers) I dont think that I’ll get much better than what i’ve got. Also, I cut the cable in an effort to pay off debt, and after having it intermittantly for 3 years, I think im beginning to care less if I have it or dont.
Also, there was a bit about this service on the time magazine blog. You did a much better job than they did
http://money.blogs.time.com/2010/05/26/let-someone-else-figure-out-which-pay-tv-option-is-right-for-you/
Jeff
Look at that, my investigative reporting is better than Time’s!
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Bill Shrink. Have you used them for anything else? They compare credit cards, right?
Austin @ Foreigner’s Finances
They do compare credit cards but I haven’t checked out that service.
See if an Over the air antenna will work for you. My area has dozens of free signals- some in hi def. Pay a one time fee then it’s free monthly.