Internet Shopping / MoneySavingExpert.com Discuss...

[MSE Andrea]

Click reply to discuss the new Internet Shopping article.

This discussion is now closed as two new, re-written articles are now available.

Shopbots: Internet Shopping Techniques To Slash The Cost

Cashback Sites: How To Make Bucketloads Of Money On Your Online Shopping

[nitejar]

I tend to use Kelkoo http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/ because the price shown includes delivery. Do people know of other sites that do this?

Would it be helpful to include this information in the article?

Nick

[buckleys52]

how does http://themutual.net/ compare to the other cash back sites e.g. Rpoints.

[MSE Andrea]

Hi buckleys52

Themutual.net/Mutualpoints was included in the research and didn't rank in the top five of the comparison.

Andrea

[Roehyde]

Two shopbots that didn't get a mention, but I would suggest are worth consideration, are:

www.dvdpricecheck.co.uk and www.bookbutler.co.uk

[grahawk]

I've never found shopbots particularly satisfactory and rarely bother to use them. Kelkoo often produces ridiculously long search results many of which are not relevant. They seem to search a very limited set of stores and are completely useless for vaugly specialist items.

[sab]

Hello

I'm suprised there is no mention of www.froogle.co.uk or www.froogle.com I've been using these to great affect for quite some time, much more relevant results than Kelko, Lycos, Dealtime and the like. Also often finds items when other shopbots don't find any.

I would highly recommend giving Froogle a try, only downer is that it doesn't display postage costs. Not yet anyway, I've asked them to add this. Tip - select 'Sort by: Price low to high'.

My second fav' shopbot is www.pricegrabber.co.uk Not too many useless results, often gives postage/delivery. On some products eg computer hardware you can refine long lists by selecting from many filters eg laptops/notebooks select type of processor, optical drive etc. Basically there are many useful features if you have a look.

Another tip is that you can get nearly all of these sites as search engine plugins for Mozilla Firefox www.mozilla.org/products/firefox here http://mycroft.mozdev.org Happier & safer browsing than under the Bill Gates monopoly.

My last point is that I think charitable cashback type shopping gateways should get a mention. Life isn't all about saving cash for oneself, although anything that stops fat cats getting too rich & greedy is good, but it's nice to give to charity. See if you'd rather do your shopping via www.shoponlinefor.com and select the charity of your choice, I go for CIWF, many big retailers are listed. There maybe other sites like this one but I don't know about them.

Bye

[eldad]

Second that about Froogle. They've just updated their interface too, making it even easier to use. They have way more products than Kelkoo, Pricerunner etc.

On the subject of buying books, http://www.bookfinder.com/ and http://www.addall.com/ deserve a mention, though IMHO www.fetchbook.info is the best of the lot.

[Dazza.mk]

One item on the current article is now out of date as Quidco have now removed their minimum payout threshold (although the £5 annual deduction still applies)

[nemo183]

Originally Posted by eldad

Second that about Froogle. They've just updated their interface too, making it even easier to use. They have way more products than Kelkoo, Pricerunner etc.

On the subject of buying books, http://www.bookfinder.com/ and http://www.addall.com/ deserve a mention, though IMHO www.fetchbook.info is the best of the lot.

These are all good sites. In addition I would also include http://www.bestbookprice.co.uk/ , which is quite comprehensive and includes delivery costs.

One weakness of all these sites is that although they may seem to point you in the direction of a bargain, it's always worth a quick visit to www.ciao.co.uk to make sure the bargain site doesn't appear in their "Hall of Shame".

Just from personal experience, I note that www.selectcheaper.com (previously known as www.selectdvd.com) often appears to offer a good deal, and yet, whilst quick to take your money, can leave you high and dry with no product, and refuse to answer emails or pick up the phone.

When using any of these sites, I'd suggest that it may be worth paying just a tiny bit more and order from a company whose name you recognise, than just going for the rock bottom price - which in any event is only likely to be a few pence cheaper.

[TwoBob]

If you can't be bothered to spend hours searching for the best price online (or aren't very good at it like me!) then you can use a site called www.haggle4me.com.

You simply list what you are looking for, where you have seen it and for how much. Other users then compete to see who can find it the cheapest. In return for the info on where to buy it, you pay the person with the lowest price a finders fee equal to 20% of the saving they found you. Payments are automatically taken and passed on through the site so there's no messing about with Paypal and you get your info straight away.

I really like the idea because I seem to spend hours online to save myself a fiver! I'd much rather pay someone a share of the saving if I'm going to get the best price but with none of the hassle!

I have a speed camera detector listed on haggle4me and have also started a thread on here, so it will be interesting to see if haggle4me or MSE users find the best price!

[TopCashBack Company Representative]

Hi

I notice the article states that it is updated monthly. In that case, is there any chance of including/reviewing TopCashBack (.co.uk)?

I am part of the site, so obviously I'm biassed, but I do genuinely believe it is the best cashback site (after all, no other sites pay back 100% of your commission, with no other charges). It should at least deserve a mention surely?

If you check our thread over on the Referrer's Board you'll see that our members are very happy with the site - we are also quite frequently mentioned throughout the other boards!

I hope I'm not breaking any rules asking this question here. I apologise if I am and if so, is there someone I should PM to ask the same question?

Best wishes
Oliver

[Kido]

Can anyone help. I want to import a few books, cds and DVDs from the states as they do not appear to be available over here. Is there an online shopbot or something I could use to compare prices.

Thanks.

[Art]

If you are looking to buy DVDs have a look at this site. It trawls a number of suppliers and comes up with some very keen prices. Some DVDs are even cheaper than Play.com and CDWow!

www.find-dvd.co.uk

Regards,
Art.

[Lyra]

We like to use www.PaidPeanuts.co.uk becuase its specific to getting DVD's and Games. I get to look at the dvd's i want and he orders his computer game things. The site seems a little faster than some of the others.

[Art]

Originally Posted by Lyra

We like to use www.PaidPeanuts.co.uk becuase its specific to getting DVD's and Games. I get to look at the dvd's i want and he orders his computer game things. The site seems a little faster than some of the others.

Yes, it's another good site.
Regards,
Art.

[jancalla]

Originally Posted by nemo183

These are all good sites. In addition I would also include http://www.bestbookprice.co.uk/ , which is quite comprehensive and includes delivery costs.

One weakness of all these sites is that although they may seem to point you in the direction of a bargain, it's always worth a quick visit to www.ciao.co.uk to make sure the bargain site doesn't appear in their "Hall of Shame".

Just from personal experience, I note that www.selectcheaper.com (previously known as www.selectdvd.com) often appears to offer a good deal, and yet, whilst quick to take your money, can leave you high and dry with no product, and refuse to answer emails or pick up the phone.

When using any of these sites, I'd suggest that it may be worth paying just a tiny bit more and order from a company whose name you recognise, than just going for the rock bottom price - which in any event is only likely to be a few pence cheaper.

Hi nemo183,

I agree that www.selectcheaper.com do appear high up the rankings on comparison sites but I personally have never had a problem with them not delivering (but I understand they may have had issues in the past)

I love DVDs, books and cd's and use a lot of retailers and love the sites that compare prices (especially the ones that include the P&P in the comparison)

I mentioned a new site in another thread earlier before spotting this one - not for the comparison side of things (but it is quite good) but more because it willl email you if a DVD or Game drops below your "Dream" price - I think this is an excellent way for things to go (I am always forgetting about things because they are too expensive at the time)

<edit>oops forgot to put the site in - www.billybargain.co.uk</edit>
Janey
xx

[nemo183]

Originally Posted by Kido

Can anyone help. I want to import a few books, cds and DVDs from the states as they do not appear to be available over here. Is there an online shopbot or something I could use to compare prices.

Thanks.

While this is not an exact answer to your question, for US DVDs I've always found www.redsundvd.com and play.com to be useful. As far as other prices are concerned, don't forget you can register with amazon.com, as well as amazon.co.uk, where you will see a different view of the world. Also, ebay.com has a shopping site which can be very cheap - but will only generally deliver to the USA, so you need a friend over there who can forward stuff to you.

Finally, if you are having problems loggin on to a site because it has software that recocognises you are in the UK, and keeps directing you automatically to the UK version of the site, then you could always get round this by using www.the-cloak.com - for $10 per year, you can access anysite without revealing your location.

Hope this helps....

[Inthered]

I came across this site, www.underfivepounds.com you guessed it all items are under five pounds....but there is a £3.50 postage charge. Worth a look.

[brigittejohn]

I have recently made two large household purchases and found that the shopbots were not the cheapest, by far. I tried all of them and then did a simple google search, entering the name of the product and found it £50 cheaper. Later on, after ordering, I did a search for reviews on the product, and found it another £50 cheaper!
So I would have wasted £100 by going via the shopbots! As it is I wasted £50!

The product in question was the expresso maker "Bodum Granos 3020". The cheapest on the shopbots was £350, through google £300 www.coffeemountain.co.uk, and lastly through searching reviews £249 www.gocoffee.co.uk (including two cups, ground coffee and delivery).

I had a similar experience whilst purchasing a washing machine about a month ago.

So you have been warned... don't rely on the shopbots to give you the cheapest prices...

Brigitte