How to find the cheapest shop once delivery is added

The shop with the lowest price on the product page is often not the one that charges you least. Delivery, the minimum spend for free delivery, payment fees and the cost of sending something back can each move an order by more than the difference between two prices. Here’s how to compare what you’ll actually pay.

Compare totals, not prices

Put the item in the basket and go as far as the page before payment. That’s the only place most shops show the delivery cost for your address. Then compare that total with the totals from other shops, not with their product-page prices.

A quick example with the same kettle:

• Shop A: £44.99, delivery £4.95, total £49.94.
• Shop B: £47.50, free delivery over £40, total £47.50.

The shop that looked dearer is £2.44 cheaper.

Free-delivery thresholds

Many shops waive delivery above a minimum basket. If you’re just under it, adding something you’d buy anyway can cost less than paying for delivery. Adding something you don’t need to save £3.95 rarely does. Watch for thresholds that only count full-price items, or that exclude large goods.

Members’ schemes with free delivery only pay off if you order often enough from that shop. Divide the yearly fee by the number of orders you really place.

What a shop has to show before you pay

In the EU, the Consumer Rights Directive says an online shop must tell you the total price, including taxes, and all delivery charges before you’re bound by the order. If it doesn’t mention a charge, you don’t have to pay it. The button that places the order must make clear that you’re agreeing to pay, with wording like “order with obligation to pay”, and the shop can’t charge for extras through boxes that were ticked for you in advance.

The UK has the same rules, in the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. In the US, shipping is usually added at checkout, and the federal rules on hidden fees don’t require it to be shown earlier, so read the last page carefully before you pay.

Payment fees

In the EU, shops can’t add a surcharge for paying with a consumer debit or credit card, or by SEPA transfer or direct debit. The UK has banned surcharges on consumer cards since January 2018. In the US, card surcharges are allowed in most states, within limits the card networks set, so a “cash price” and a “card price” can differ.

A charge for paying in instalments, or a “service fee” that only appears at the last step, belongs in your comparison too.

Currency and conversion

When you buy from a shop that prices in another currency, your card provider converts the amount and may add a foreign transaction fee. Some shops and payment pages offer to charge you in your own currency instead. That’s called dynamic currency conversion, and the rate is usually worse than your card’s. If you’re offered the choice, paying in the shop’s currency is normally cheaper.

Orders from outside your country can also bring import VAT, duty and a carrier’s handling fee. Our guide to ordering from another country explains when they apply.

The cost of sending it back

If there’s a real chance you’ll return the item, for clothes in an unfamiliar size say, the return cost belongs in the comparison. In the EU and the UK, a shop can make you pay return postage when you change your mind, but only if it told you before you ordered. If it didn’t, it has to pay. Some shops offer free returns and others charge a flat fee, which can turn the cheapest order into the dearest one. Our returns guide has the details.

A checklist before you pay

• Is the total, with delivery to your address, lower than at the other shops you checked?
• Is it the same model, size and colour at both shops?
• Does the delivery date work for you? Express delivery can cost more than the saving.
• Are there fees for the way you’re paying, or for paying in a foreign currency?
• Who pays for returns, and how long do you have?
• Is the seller the shop itself, or a third party on its marketplace?

That last question matters more than it seems, because it decides who you deal with if something goes wrong. See buying on a marketplace.

Sources

1. Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU (EUR-Lex)
2. Your Europe: Shopping online
3. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)
4. Revised Payment Services Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (EUR-Lex)

Rules change. If something here is wrong or out of date, please tell us and we’ll fix it. This guide is general information, not legal advice.