Internet Shopping Guide

This is a quick and dirty guide on how to find the items you want at rock-bottom prices. With the exception of a few products, you can get anything cheaper online than elsewhere. This guide is designed for people in the UK, since that's where I live. Here's a list of the top sites I recommend you look at, even if you don't want to read the whole guide:

1) eBay US/eBay UK etc etc... (choosing your local site is normally better due to some sellers not wanting to post stuff overseas)
2) Amazon US/Amazon UK
3) Google Product Search
4) Craigslist
5) Ebuyer
6) Kelkoo
7) Pricerunner

Where to shop

Just like on the highstreet, knowing where to shop is the most important factor! You should check everywhere for the lowest price before you commit to buying a product online. However for most products, the best places to get good deals are eBay and Craigslist.

Sometimes buying from abroad can be cheaper even with extra shipping. However - care is needed when buying from Hong Kong, China or distant countries. Always check returns policies and warranty for the product, and check you won't need to pay import duty! Examine descriptions carefully to be sure the item isn't a fake, and look for reviews of the product to be sure it isn't poor quality.

Amazon is a good site for finding reviews of items, even if you don't intend to buy the item off Amazon. For example:



Search terms
An important thing about internet shopping is searching properly. Enter in a few keywords related to the item you're looking for to get the best results. If you're too specific, results you would be interested in will be omitted and you will miss the cheaper deals! This does happen, for example:


searching with many keywords


searching with a few relevant keywords

By searching for fewer keywords (and sorting by price, low-to-high) you can save a lot of money! However - postage costs should always be noted and added to sale prices, in order to determine which deal is cheapest overall.

eBay

If you get an account on eBay, you can view completed listings and customize searches. Generally speaking, auctions for new or "mint" products sell for less on eBay than their counterparts on other sites like Amazon. Lots of reputable retailers (with many thousands of successful sales) use eBay, often using eBay is just like using any other online store. "Buy It Now" offers on eBay are also usually cheaper than Amazon and other sites - they should be checked out.

Price Comparison Sites

On price comparison sites, you should always order your results in order of price: low to high, and then find the right sort of price-frame for your desired item. This way no items you want are left out. Ordering by relevance is useful, but not always the way to get the cheapest deal.

Misc.

Always check that the retailer will post/ship your item to where you live. There's no point trying to buy an item which will only ship to the US, if you live in the UK!
You don't need your own credit card and details to do this sort of shopping, all that's necessary is a willing parent. You can even borrow someone's eBay account - there's no rule against account sharing.

Conclusion

After searching all shopping websites for the item you want using a few relevant keywords, you should work out the few cheapest items (incl. postage). Decide which retailer you want to buy from. If the cheapest seller has a bad reputation, it might be worth spending a bit extra for a more reliable one!

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Thanks for reading, I hope this guide was useful. Sorry that it's so wordy, but you can't explain how to shop online using pictures alone.

 

one big advertisement

3/10

 

Very nice guide mate 9/10

Thanks!

 

One of The best Guide. Nice 6 out of 7

 

That 7 reminds me of orlando_jordan's sexual orientation. Surprising.

I think you need more pictures, and more color with the text. 7/10

 

Happy now?

 

Liekd the guide nice pictures which helped alot 9/10