Cheap online shopping

Find the cheapest online prices

Get the latest discount codes and hot bargains

This site's chock-a-block with fully checked-out deals, sales and loopholes. There are also plenty of other discount sites that can save you money too. To get started, see the following pages:

• Discount vouchers. Check out MSE's Discount vouchers page, where we compile the best discounts available.

  We only list the very best discounts. So if you can't find what you're looking for, check out other deals sites such as VoucherCodes*, MyVoucherCodes and VoucherCloud*. Make sure the code is valid on the item you want and open to all.

• The hottest bargains. For a list of all the latest deals and steals, have a gander at MSE's Hot Bargains page.

• Fashion & beauty. See the MSE Fashion & beauty page for a list of all new and ongoing deals on clothes, footwear, make-up, skincare, perfume and glasses.

• Christmas Deals Predictor. Each year, as the festive season approaches, we put together our Christmas Deals Predictor to help you plan when's best to buy, and how to spot the duds. 
  
  

Uncover the cheapest Amazon Resale deals with a unique MSE tool

Sign up to retailers' newsletters for big discounts

Online retailers try to reel you in by offering incentives to shop online when you sign up to their marketing emails. It can mean a percentage discount code, or a straight discount off your first shop. Our top ongoing picks include:

• Burton – 15% off everything

• Dorothy Perkins – 15% off everything

• All Saints – 10% off first purchase

• Office – 10% off full-price

No code for the website you're on? Check other stores' sites for multi-brand codes and sales

Don't just check for discount codes and sales with the site you're planning to buy from – sometimes brands operate their own online stores AND have concessions on the sites of other stores that sell a range of brands. Check both and you could save big.

For example, we found a mini dress for £65 at Juicy Couture, yet a promo code for Urban Outfitters, which sells a wide range of brands, meant you could get exactly the same dress for £46.

• First check the price on the brand's own website (say Oasis, Office, or Diesel) and see if there's a sale on or discount code available – check out our Discount vouchers page.
  

• Then check the price of the branded item on other stores' sites too, factoring in codes and sales (make sure the item you want is included in the offer).

Here are 10 stores that offer this kind of multi-brand discount, and some of the brands they stock – check the MSE deals pages below to see what codes, promotions and sales are available:

• Asos – Abercrombie & Fitch, Adidas, All Saints, Ann Summers, Converse

• Amazon – Converse, Nike, The North Face

• John Lewis – All Saints, Calvin Klein, Kurt Geiger, Ralph Lauren, Ted Baker

• La Redoute – Adidas, Converse, Levi's, Tommy Hilfiger, Veja

• M&M Direct – Asics, French Connection, Superdry

• Next – Farah, Havaianas, Monsoon, Puma

• Office – Birkenstock, Dr Martens, New Balance, Toms

• Schuh – Barbour, Crocs, Timberland, Ugg

• Urban Outfitters – Fila, Juicy Couture, Vivienne Westwood

Abandon online shopping baskets to tease them into giving you a code

Fail to finish your online order and companies often send you codes to tempt you back. MoneySavers reckon they've nabbed discounts from 80+ retailers, including Asos, Currys and H&M.

See our Shopping secrets guide for the full list of where it's worked.

Get special discounts for who you are or what you do

Retailers target specific groups of people with discounts – see below for the best:

Make £100s using cashback sites

Buy MORE, pay LESS – the simple trick to get free delivery

Always check what you need to spend to get free delivery – if you're just below it, it can be cheaper to add an extra item than pay for delivery.

For example, we found a £49 John Lewis clutch bag, delivery £3.95, but instead added a £1 Sellotape to be over the £50 free delivery threshold.

Other stores where this works include Asos and Matalan, which have a £40 and £50 free delivery threshold respectively. 

Even better, with Amazon, there's a 'free delivery trick' tool to help. It's also possible to save on supermarket delivery costs as a new customer – read our guide for full info. 

Bag big online store discounts using Tesco Clubcard points

Bag up to 5% off ALL your shopping

Map hidden local eBay bargains

You've MORE rights online than in-store

Many people are surprised to learn you've EXTRA rights buying online (or by telephone/catalogue) due to the Consumer Contracts Regulations.

These give you a legal right to return most goods bought online for a full refund (including outward delivery costs), even if there's no fault. You have 14 days to notify the seller of your wish to make a return, then a further 14 days to actually return them (you may need to pay for the return delivery). See the Consumer Rights guide for more.

However, this is balanced by the fact that ordering online means there's a time gap between you ordering and receiving the goods, during which time the company has your money. So if it goes bust in that time, the cancellation rights don't help.

This means researching offline but buying online can be your best bet. See Martin's blog Mrs MSE's a robo-shopper to learn why many people choose to go to a store to view the product they want to buy, but then seal the deal online – also known as 'robo-shopping'.

Search 20+ outlets for bargains without going out of town

Many drive miles to outlet villages to snap up end-of-line bargains. But these days lots of high street and high-end stores have online outlet stores, either via eBay or special websites.

We've a list of discount and clearance outlets for big names such as AO.com, Office and many more.

Uncover hidden big-brand flash sales

Wait for bargains – particularly at Christmas

Spend on a credit card for extra protection

Track historical prices and get alerts when prices drop

There are several sites that track product prices, letting you see historical pricing and set price alerts. The historical pricing charts are particularly handy, because they let you see how frequently an item goes on sale, as well as the price you can expect it to drop to.

This means you can set realistic price alerts, based on the price that item usually drops to (set it too low, and you might find yourself waiting a very long time).

Here are some price-tracking sites worth taking a look at:

• PriceRunner has a focus on tech and gadgets, such as iPads, games consoles, and so on (though you can search for clothing too). Search for what you want, then on that item's page click the 'Price Alert' icon at the top. There's also a 'Compare' function that lets you look at product specs side by side.

• Price Spy covers a wide range of categories, such as gadgets, appliances, fashion, beauty, and gaming. You can set up price alerts to get an email when the cost drops at any of the listed retailers. There’s also a comparison tool that shows you detailed product specs and user reviews side by side.

• CamelCamelCamel tracks prices specifically for Amazon. Pop in the item you’re after (or paste its Amazon link) and you’ll see its full price history chart, showing how costs have shifted over time. You can then set up 'Amazon Price Watch,' which is a roundabout way of saying price alert, to get notified about when it hits the price you want.

• HotUKDeals isn't directly a price tracker, but rather a millions-strong community of deal hunters that posts deals and upvotes them with 'heat' based on how good the deals are. Posters will stack vouchers with deals, find mispriced items, and often find the best prices on the internet. You can set alerts for products, post your own deals, and if you want to get a feel for what a good deal on a given product is, just search for it heree, see how people voted, and read the comments - it's one of the best deal barometers out there.

What to watch for

The price may have changed between when you were sent an alert and when you click through to buy, so always double-check you're getting the best price.

If you've used these sites, please let us know how you got on in the Online Shopping Tricks MSE Forum thread.

Use Martin's Money Mantras

It's easy to get swept up in online shopping as payment can be taken in just a click. To keep you disciplined, use Martin's Money Mantras.

Different scenarios require different approaches, so there's one mantra for those who are skint and one for those who aren't.

If you say 'NO' to any, DON'T BUY!

The most important question here is "is it worth it?" This is a way of saying that while you may use it, could your cash be better spent on anything else? Or could the same money be used on something more practical?

Get a free mini Money Mantras to print and put in your wallet as a reminder. If you're buying a big item, and paying by finance or credit card, use the Budget Planner to work out in advance how much you can afford to pay and whether you can afford any long-term payments.

Check if you can grab goods cheaper from overseas retailers

If you're looking to buy higher-value goods, then consider branching out to foreign retailers. You may be able to pick up some bargains (better when the pound is strong).

As well as big-name retailers, there are bargains to be had on overseas eBay sites, particularly eBay US for clothes and gadgets (though beware import fees and customs charges - see eBay buying tips).

Clever tool Webprice.eu checks prices across Amazon's sites in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. 

You can find some bargains at Chinese online outlet AliExpress*, for example on computer internals, headphones, and so on. You can often find the same goods for significantly cheaper, but also tread carefully, because some sellers here flog fake merchandise, and your rights are basically reduced to what the company itself dictates. While AliExpress has a Buyer Protection policy broadly in line with UK's online return laws, it's ultimately at the company's discretion.

See the Cheap travel money guide on the best cards to get near-perfect exchange rates every time you use an overseas site.

What to watch for

There are a few things to consider when buying from abroad:

Stay on top of the MSE Forum's hottest bargains

Our forumites have an insatiable appetite for deals, so check the latest on the MSE Forum's Grabbit board, alerting you to the hottest deals around.

These are posted by users so aren't official MSE content. They're normally fine, but take care and double-check before using them.

(Tentatively) use ChatGPT as your shopping assistant

ChatGPT (and other LLMs) are becoming increasingly prominent in helping people to their online shopping. You can set price alerts for specific products, set your own thresholds, and even specify which retailers you want the LLM searching through. It's totally tailored to you.

The actual accuracy of results is mixed however, so consider it very much a work-in-progress. For example, when searching for an anti-fatigue foot mat for standing desk workers on Amazon, it found the mat on Amazon no problem, but marked it as 'in stock' when it was clearly marked out of stock on the site.

Where it DOES work is in providing inspo and lists of products, so if you're stumped for what to buy a semi-distant relative for Christmas, have a chat with ChatGPT about it and see what it comes up with. Here's one of the categories ChatGPT offered me when I asked what I could get my (non-existent) sister-in-law who's bookish and awkward for Christmas within a £30 budget (complete with links to product pages):

Sniff out cheap perfumes and smell-a-likes

Know your rights with online glitches

Mistakes can and do happen, especially in the fast-paced online world, and there can be some right whoppers online. If a £50 brand new iPad seems too good to be true, it usually is.

With these kind of offers where items are listed well below their RRP, you can't force retailers to sell them to you at that price. Retailers don't have to sell anything to you if they don't want to – deliberately misleading you is criminal though and Trading Standards can investigate.

If you spot a mis-priced mistake, you can try your luck. Online retailers will sometimes honour it if the price difference isn't too big.

Just be aware that if you do order a glitchy item, it can get cancelled, can run out of stock or at the worst, you'll be charged full-price, so weigh up these factors before going for it.

Planning to buy something at Boots? Wait for bonus points weekends

Always spend gift cards as soon as possible

Here are some of the most popular gift cards you can get in the UK, and when you can expect them to expire:

How to avoid Amazon's delivery charges

Reclaim costs for failed delivery

It's enough to make you fume. You've been told you need to be in for a delivery and take a day off work but end up twiddling your thumbs because they're either hours late or don't bother turning up at all.

Yet you CAN fight back if you know your rights. You may even be able to force compensation for the lost time.

See the Delivery Rights guide to make sure you're armed with the full info.

How to check websites' legitimacy

Bogus websites are often set up to cash in on popular products such as iPads and Tiffany necklaces, so be wary if you're shopping on an unfamiliar site. And don't think that because it appears on a reputable search engine, that makes it a reputable site – always check.

Nothing is perfect, and there are flaws in all of the methods below, but in general it helps if you follow these quick tips:

• Look for a padlock sign and "https" in the address bar. Most folks know to look for a security padlock on a website's bottom right, but that doesn't mean the site's legit, just that payment's secure. When making a payment, the "http" should appear as "https" in your address bar, This is important when shopping online because it keeps your personal and payment details private and stops criminals from tampering with them as they’re sent to the website.

• Is it a registered UK company? To find out who registered a UK site and when, search the Whois database. Reputable limited firms (not sole traders) should also appear on the Companies House site, the UK Government's official companies register. Be very wary of businesses with just a PO Box or email address. 

• Google for feedback. The internet's a powerful way to hunt out other consumers' experiences. Easiest of all, do a quick Google search for the company name next to the word 'complaints', for example "Delboy Ltd complaints" and look for trends and feedback. You can also look up 'is [company name] safe' or 'is company name legit'. Reddit and Trustpilot are usually good places to quickly get an idea of customer experiences with a given site.

• Press releases, newspapers & comparison sites. Again, Googling the product or site could bring up press releases on its launch, plus online newspaper stories could give you a good indication whether it's safe to use. When using comparison sites, does it appear in searches?

• Understand that sometimes there's no protection. Ultimately, there's always a risk that a company can go bust. Sometimes you have to make a judgement call on whether you're willing to take the risk of parting with your cash.

Don't be overly scared by all this. Every day we all make transactions based on trust, and this is part of that.

Always read the terms and conditions

We're not denying they're boring, long or full of convoluted business-speak, but the T&Cs are important – that little tick-box confirming you've read, understood and accepted them could be a deal-breaker later if things go awry.

Even if you don't read the legalese, always at least read the standard terms and conditions before you pay to know exactly what is included and excluded in the exchange. Plus, always ask questions beforehand if there's anything you don't understand, in writing or by email if possible, before you seal the deal.

Haggle online via online chats, & other shopping secrets

Spot a window offering a live chat with a help person? Don't dismiss it – you can haggle via online chat to reduce the price.

Our Shopping secrets and Insider MoneySaving tips guides feature this and other insider tricks from the retail world to help you slice down the cost of clothes, electricals and much more.

Score up to £150 vouchers by playing credit card freebies

Think before you tick the extra warranty

Often when you're buying larger electrical goods online, there's are optional tick-boxes for adding a warranty, care plan, breakdown cover, "product protection policy," or whatever else they're calling the guarantee.

These cover your appliance for mechanical or electrical failure, but you'll need to gauge for yourself if they're worth it. A one-year warranty extension for a £1,200 laptop at £30 could be worth the peace of mind, but a £10-a-month 'care plan' for a £250 dishwasher would end up costing as much as the device itself in two years.

It's worth looking out for tricks to get totally free or cheap cover, for example via credit cards, standalone policies and sometimes through your home insurance. 

Don't always assume it's cheaper online

Speaking to staff face-to-face in-store allows you to add a bit more charm and chutzpah to your haggling, especially if bulk-buying or bartering for discounts on faulty items. It can be worth benchmarking prices online, then using the tips in our High street haggling guide to get the costs slashed further.

Get organised to avoid expensive last-minute delivery charges

Before splashing out, could you hire?

If you've got your heart set on a designer number (not MoneySaving), you could hire rather than buy to shave off the cost of a little luxury for an evening. For example, we spotted designer heels you could rent for £16.50 for a day, which would cost £345 to buy new.

MSE Jenny's Top designer clothes rental sites guide goes through the options (including big names such as Victoria Beckham, Jimmy Choo and Whistles), as well as all the need-to-knows.

Do watch for soilage and damage costs and extra charges if items are returned late. Also check eBay – it can be far cheaper to grab items second-hand there, then resell them when you're done.

Mums-to-be can grab special baby club discounts

Beware '£10 off next purchase with our online discount' promises

Some sites boost revenue by allowing membership clubs such as Complete Savings to push offers once you've bought stuff on their sites.

These services typically offer a discount or cash back on your next purchase, but users are signed up to a monthly payment and some have complained the terms and cost are not clear. They're not a scam exactly, but potentially something of a subscription trap. We have several MSE forum threads on this topic, so you can get a feel for how our community feels about these programs.

Things have improved in recent years, but it's still worth keeping your wits about you.

Before buying, check if you can get it for free

Buy out-of-season

Land web prices on the high street

Many high-street retailers will price-match internet prices when pushed and some offer price-beater deals.

Compare prices to find the cheapest retailer, then make a note of the results and see if the shop will match the price. Don't feel you need to buy the product in the more expensive store to get the discount, just tell them about the cheaper deal. If you're feeling naughty, keep your thumb over the delivery cost.

If you have a smartphone, you can compare prices wherever you are, for example via Google Shopping. This involves a bit of thumb-and-legwork but can yield good results: