Looking for bargains
1. Comparison sites. Shopping comparison sites can save a great deal of time, but a word of caution is necessary; individual comparison sites don’t check all retailers and some direct you to their affiliates. Our recommended sites are Foundem (http://www.foundem.co.uk) and PriceRunner (http://www.pricerunner.co.uk). The latter has an Insider page (http://theinsider.pricerunner.co.uk) with “news, reviews, guides and top tips”,while Foundem shows a “best price history”, which charts the cost of the item over time.
2. Alerts. Another way of spotting bargains is to sign up for an “alert”. At MoneySavingExpert.com (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news), you can sign up for a weekly e-mail that will ensure you “hear everything in time, with up-to-the-minute guides, top bargains, urgent warnings & top forum tips”. You can also get a weekly e-mail from Moneymagpie (http://www.moneymagpie.com) - the site has some good articles too (e.g. twelve money-saving tips for families).
3. Vouchers and cashback. Discount vouchers are a popular way of getting a good price. A site that brings “deals” together, including the ubiquitous Groupon, is Coupobox (http://www.coupobox.com). Use MyVoucherCodes (http://www.myvoucherscodes.co.uk) and VoucherCodes (http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/) for more traditional vouchers from stores like Comet, Hertz and Body Shop.
4. Auction sites. As well as auctions, eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk) also allows you to buy fixed-price items. Click on “condition = new” to see items listed as “buy it now”. An alternative is eBid (http://uk.ebid.net).
5. On the move. Barcode-scanningis another option; download the free Redlaser app (http://redlaser.com) for either iPhone or Android: point the phone at a product barcode and you receive information about how much you would pay online. Reviews so far have been mixed. You can also get an iPhone app for PriceRunner (http://www.pricerunner.co.uk/iphone/info.html).
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