Shopping.com Web Address Resurrected

Shopping.com, a once-prized Web address dumped into the Internet’s bargain bin two years ago, is being dusted off for another audacious business plan.

DealTime Inc., a profitable survivor of the dot-com shakeout, is adopting Shopping.com as its new identity today in hopes of establishing its product comparison site as an e-commerce cornerstone.

“We want to be mentioned in the same breath as Amazon.com and EBay,” said Nirav Tolia, chief operating officer for Brisbane, Australia-based Shopping.com Inc.

The lofty goal -- and name change -- reflects the gains that product comparison sites have made as more consumers and merchants discover how useful the services can be.

Consumers have been flocking to Web sites such as DealTime, NexTag, PriceGrabber and BizRate for potentially valuable information about a potpourri of products.

With a name that promotes spending, Shopping.com was viewed as a potential gold mine near the peak of Internet mania.

In January 1999, Compaq Computer -- AltaVista Co.’s former owner -- paid $257 million for Shopping.com, a struggling Corona del Mar company that lost $56.6 million on revenue of $9 million during its first two years in business.