Close to nine in ten adults in the UK go to Amazon for online shopping, buying everything from balloons to bicycles, screws to sofas.

But, although millions default to using it out of convenience and the expectation that it offers bargains, it does not always have the best prices, a Money Mail investigation has found.

We price-compared some of the most popular products bought online to find out when Amazon is the best option — and when you could save money by shopping around.

However, we also discovered that Amazon price comparison is far from straightforward, and it is sometimes not easy for customers to work out if they are getting the best deal.

That is because the ecommerce giant uses ‘dynamic pricing’, which means prices change frequently, depending on demand.

It also sells the same item from multiple businesses. Delivery costs vary depending on the seller, and whether you pay for Prime membership. 

This costs £8.99 a month or £95 a year; benefits include free delivery, exclusive deals and access to video and music streaming services.

Consumer expert Martyn James says it is ‘becoming increasingly hard to work out if items sold on Amazon are really bargains or not’. 

He adds: ‘The sheer volume of products makes monitoring or comparisons near impossible, and the dynamic pricing means prices can move hugely.’

To make it a fair comparison, in our investigation we assumed that the shopper did not have Amazon Prime and so may have to pay delivery fees. 

We excluded any non-UK sellers unless stated as this can make delivery times longer. And we compared prices in a snapshot moment on Monday this week.

Books

Amazon started life as an online bookseller almost 30 years ago and it’s often considered the cheapest place to buy books — but is it really?

All of the books we compared were brand-new copies (you can also buy used books on both Amazon and eBay).

First up, we compared prices on the novel One Day by David Nicholls, which was recently turned into a Netflix mega-hit series.

Then we used best-book-price.co.uk, which is a website that lists prices on books across multiple retailers, to see if anywhere could beat Amazon on price.

On Amazon, it costs £7.49, making it joint cheapest with eBay. However, eBay has free delivery, whereas Amazon’s delivery costs £3.99, making Amazon more expensive overall.

Next, we looked at The Last Devil To Die, the fourth novel in the bestselling Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman.

This hardcover is half-price on Amazon, at £11, with no shipping costs as book orders of more than £10 qualify for free delivery. The Works also has it for £11, but you’ll need to fork out £3.99 for delivery.

However, eBay has the cheapest price, at £9.89. Delivery is free, but it’ll take three days to arrive.

Next we searched for Bored Of Lunch: The Healthy Air Fryer Book, by Nathan Anthony. Amazon serves up a healthy discount, with a price of £9.50 (RRP £20). However, eBay emerges again as a cut-price competitor. It lists a copy at £8.51 from a seller in London. Delivery is free and should take less than a week.

Meanwhile, Rick Stein’s Food Stories (to be published September 5, 2024) is £25.76 (RRP £28) on Amazon with free delivery. As it’s a pre-release, shopping options are limited, but it’s the exact same price on WHSmith, also with free delivery.

If you have young children and are looking for a Mother’s Day gift, Bluey: My Mum Is The Best board book could be a contender. Amazon has it for £4, shaving £2.99 off the recommended price. But you’ll have to pay £3.99 for delivery.

Hive.co.uk, which supports independent bookshops, offers a lower price of £6.75 with free delivery, but unfortunately, it’s out of stock at the time of writing.

EBay to the rescue again: a seller in Cardiff is offering a brand-new one for £6.13. Delivery takes three days so you’ll need to be quick if you want it for this Sunday.

Verdict: Rip-off. It seems eBay is a surprisingly cheap option — but do check the delivery times.

Smartphones

We used the price comparison site idealo to compare prices on a range of smartphones.

First up, an Apple iPhone 15 Pro 128GB in blue titanium colour. On Amazon, it’s £949, saving 5 per cent off the retail price. 

But on eBay, the identical model is £939.99, with next-day delivery. Next, a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 12GB/512GB in black. 

An Apple iPhone 15 Pro 128GB is £949 On Amazon. But on eBay, the identical model is £939.99, with next-day delivery

An Apple iPhone 15 Pro 128GB is £949 On Amazon. But on eBay, the identical model is £939.99, with next-day delivery

An Apple iPhone 15 Pro 128GB is £949 On Amazon. But on eBay, the identical model is £939.99, with next-day delivery

This is £1,062.11 on Amazon, but on OnBuy.com it’s almost £80 cheaper, at £983.95.

We also looked at an older, and more affordable, phone, the Google Pixel 7A. The three colours all cost £399 on Amazon, and come with a free charger. John Lewis offers the same price, but there’s no free charger. 

However, if you don’t need the charger and are happy with the charcoal handset, head to OnBuy.com as you can get it for £336.26.

Verdict: Rip-off. Phones are expensive enough — by shopping around and being flexible on the specifications, you could make decent savings.

Stationery

Many of us order small stationery items such as adhesive tape and envelopes from Amazon. Next-day delivery is appealing — but is it the cheapest option?

A roll of Scotch magic tape with dispenser costs £3.10 on Amazon. Postage costs £4.99, giving an £8.09 total. 

On Ryman, the price is £3.99 and delivery £4.95 (£8.94 total), so Amazon is cheaper.

We compared a set of five BIC highlighter pens. Amazon charges £3.29, plus £3.99 delivery, so total of £7.28. 

We are unable to find the pens cheaper elsewhere (for example, Staples charges £3.98 plus £4.99 delivery).

What about a pack of 25 white self-seal C5 envelopes? We spot some costing £3.69 on Amazon. With £4.99 delivery, the total is £8.68. Over at The Works, a similar pack costs £1.50. 

Add in £3.99 delivery, and the total is cheaper at £5.49. Specialist retailers can be even less: Warehouse 14 charges £5.21 including delivery.

Verdict: If you want branded items such as BIC or Sellotape, Amazon could be cheapest. But office stationery websites can be competitive for non-branded products, such as envelopes, notebooks and folders.

Women’s clothes

According to idealo, which compares prices across 50,000 retailers, ‘women’s fashion items tend to be cheaper on Amazon’ — but is this always the case?

We compare a waterproof jacket, a pair of Skechers and some cosy slippers.

Sole trader: Amazon seems to have the best price for a pair of black size 6 Skechers Ultra Flex 3.0, at £53.25

Sole trader: Amazon seems to have the best price for a pair of black size 6 Skechers Ultra Flex 3.0, at £53.25

Sole trader: Amazon seems to have the best price for a pair of black size 6 Skechers Ultra Flex 3.0, at £53.25

Amazon seems to have the best price for a pair of black size 6 Skechers Ultra Flex 3.0, at £53.25 (including delivery). 

Debenhams is the second cheapest, at a more expensive price of £71.20.

We search for a Regatta waterproof jacket — and find a size 14 in vallarta blue for £29.83 on Amazon. Again, this is the cheapest we can find. The next best price is £32.99 on eBay.

Next, some Jack Wills mule slippers in tan. Amazon has them for £25, but you’ll need to pay £4.99 delivery on top. 

The Jack Wills site charges the same price (and same delivery fee). We find them for £24.99 on eBay, too, but there are no delivery fees, so eBay comes out cheapest.

Verdict: Worth a look. Amazon offers some great deals for outdoor clothing and footwear.

Pet food

Pet food can be bulky, so it’s often easiest to purchase it online and have it delivered straight to your door.

A 2kg bag of Whiskas 1+ Complete Dry Cat Food (tuna) costs £9.86 on Amazon (£13.85 including delivery). But you can get it on eBay for £11.04 including delivery.

We compare Hill’s Science Plan mature adult small and mini dry dog food, 1.5kg.

On Amazon it sells for £20.73. The retail giant won’t reveal what delivery costs, instead forcing shoppers to sign up for a free trial of Prime membership. There is no way to unselect this option. 

However, it doesn’t matter what the shipping fee is because another website — petplanet.co.uk — offers the same product for £10.29. Shipping costs are £4.99, giving a total of £15.28.

What about fish food? A 10-litre tub of TetraMin flakes has a price tag of £61.44 on Amazon. According to idealo, AgbZoo is cheaper, offering the product at around £40 including delivery.

However, the online pet shop is based in Poland, so shoppers may prefer dealing with a UK business (the Amazon seller charging £61.44 — KB AQUAZONE — is based in Hampshire), where customer service and applying for refunds can be easier.

Verdict: Rip-off. You can make big savings on big packs of pet food by using other sites.

Toys

Lego Creator 3 in 1 Adorable Dogs is £21.99 on Amazon (£26.98 including delivery). But we find it cheaper on OnBuy.com — £20.59 with free delivery.

The Barbie Fashionista Doll, the first Barbie doll with Down Syndrome, costs £8.99 on Amazon (£13.98 with postage and packing). 

On Argos the doll has an identical price tag, but a lower delivery cost, giving a total of £12.94.

The Barbie Fashionista Doll, the first Barbie with Down Syndrome is £8.99 on Amazon (£13.98 with postage and packing). On Argos the doll has an identical price, but lower delivery cost

The Barbie Fashionista Doll, the first Barbie with Down Syndrome is £8.99 on Amazon (£13.98 with postage and packing). On Argos the doll has an identical price, but lower delivery cost

The Barbie Fashionista Doll, the first Barbie with Down Syndrome is £8.99 on Amazon (£13.98 with postage and packing). On Argos the doll has an identical price, but lower delivery cost

Meanwhile, a Nerf Fortnite MEGA TS Blaster costs £36.99 on Amazon, and qualifies for free delivery. This is the cheapest price online. The next best is £37.61 at OnBuy.com.

The game Dobble costs £8.49 from OnBuy.com, with free shipping. Amazon charges £8.70, with £4.99 delivery on top, making it 61 pc more expensive.

Verdict: Rip-off. Unless you’re buying items that cost more than £25 and are eligible for free shipping, Amazon seems to be more expensive for many toys and games.

Air fryers

Around a third of UK households now have an air fryer — and Amazon frequently has deals on the latest counter- top essential.

We can’t find a single deal on the mammoth 9.5 litre Ninja Foodi MAX with two drawers that beats Amazon’s price of £199 with free delivery.

Currys and Argos both sell it for the same price — although Argos charges £3.95 for home delivery, bringing the total to £202.95.

The Ninja website comes in marginally higher at £199.99, slashed from a previous price of £269.99, with free next-day delivery.

The 7.5 litre Chefman TurboFry Touch air fryer, another popular model, sells on Amazon for £57.99 with free delivery.

But it’s not the cheapest option — eBay stocks some brand-new for £44.99. The £7.99 postage hikes the total to £52.98, but it’s still cheaper than Amazon overall. B&Q sells it for £79.99 with free delivery.

The five-litre Easy Fry Max made by Tefal is available for £79.99 on Amazon with no delivery charges. It’s slightly cheaper on eBay at £78.99, trumping Amazon as it also boasts free delivery.

So eBay is the only major retailer to beat Amazon’s price. Argos is one penny more expensive at £80. Plus £3.95 delivery and this totals £83.95.

Verdict: Worth a look. Amazon comes out on top for many popular air fryers, especially with the attractive free delivery. However, it is still worth shopping around to check you are getting the best deal.

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This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

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