The most amazing thing is that the prices are so low that I don't even bother to comparison-shop anymore.
This is how I feel about Newegg.com. I used to be a daily visitor to pricewatch.com, which compares the prices of electronics, until I found myself regularly ending on up Newegg, and decided that it was easier to just hit newegg directly. Now I buy almost all my gear from them.
I feel the same way about Amazon. I find myself there for everything; books, MP3s, electronics, even parts for my bike. They are usually pretty reasonable price-wise, and since I have Prime, I know I will get my item in a day or so. It's wonderful. (No more dealing with places that have good prices, but ship your stuff whenever they feel like it, like a week after you order. With Amazon, you always know how long it will take, and that they are not absconding with your money.)
I must second the notion that amazon + prime gives me 85% of my online goods. Newegg is still better at most of the nuts and bolts computer hardware stuff but not by much. I was frequenting pricewatch but found it a waste of time to evaluate a new vendor for such a marginal price difference(am I going to get my parts, are they going to sell my credit card number, How long is it going to take for ground to get to me, etc....)
Overall happy with paying a bit(not much) more for a lot more convenience and speed.(newegg gets to me in a day if I purchase by noon to noon-thirty, amazon in two.)
Chances are during that time your income went up too, and you were no longer someone who really gave a shit about a $20 difference on a piece of gear and were willing instead to pay that $20 or whatever it was to an outfit like newegg to make sure their excellent service continued.
This is how I feel about Newegg.com. I used to be a daily visitor to pricewatch.com, which compares the prices of electronics, until I found myself regularly ending on up Newegg, and decided that it was easier to just hit newegg directly. Now I buy almost all my gear from them.