• Why the sticker price isn’t the whole story — shipping, warranty, and seller reputation matter
• How to check if a discount is real or inflated
• Tools and habits that make price comparison faster and more accurate

Everyone compares prices. Few people do it well. Here’s how to actually know whether you’re getting the best deal — not just the first one that looks good.

Don’t just compare the sticker price

A $79 product with free shipping is cheaper than a $69 product with $15 delivery. A $299 laptop with a 12-month warranty might be worse value than a $349 laptop with a 3-year warranty. The headline number matters, but it’s not the whole story.

When comparing prices, factor in:

• Shipping cost — especially for heavier items or anything coming from overseas
• Delivery time — paying $10 more to get it this week versus next month is sometimes the better call
• Warranty and returns — an Australian retailer with a real returns policy versus an overseas seller where returns are complicated or impossible
• Seller reputation — a slightly higher price from a seller with thousands of positive reviews is usually worth more than the cheapest option from a store with no track record

Check if the discount is actually a discount

A “was $199, now $99” deal looks great — but was it ever really selling for $199? Search the same product across a few different sites. If most retailers are selling it for around $99, that “was” price was inflated to make the deal look better than it is.

Dealiroo tries to filter out the obvious cases, but the best check is always your own 30-second search on Google or another marketplace.

Compare across marketplaces, not just within one

A product listed on Amazon for $89 might be on eBay for $62 — or on AliExpress for $31 with a three-week wait. If you only check one marketplace, you don’t know if you’re getting a good deal — you only know you’re getting the best price on that specific site.

Dealiroo’s comparison tables are built for exactly this. When a product is available across multiple marketplaces, you’ll see them side by side with prices, shipping estimates, and seller ratings.

Use price history where you can

For Amazon specifically, tools like CamelCamelCamel show you the price history of a product going back months or years. A “deal” that’s actually the same price the item has been for the last six months isn’t really a deal at all. Worth checking for big-ticket electronics especially.

Set a price alert rather than checking constantly

If you’re not in a rush, watching a product and waiting for a genuine price drop is almost always better than impulse-buying the first discount you see. Dealiroo’s Hop List lets you track products across marketplaces and get notified when the price actually drops — so you’re not checking manually every day.

Bottom line

Good price comparison isn’t about finding the lowest number — it’s about understanding what you’re actually getting for that number. A cheap price from a dodgy seller with no returns policy is not a good deal. A slightly higher price that includes fast shipping, a real warranty, and a seller who’ll actually respond if something goes wrong often is.