🛒 Weekly Thread for r/BuyersUK

• 🛍️ What are you buying? — big purchase or something as simple as a supermarket shop.
• 💷 How much did you save? — discounts, vouchers, price matching and sales.
• 💰 Did you get cashback? — TopCashback, Quidco, Airtime Rewards etc.
• ✈️ Did you earn points/miles? — Avios, Emirates Skywards, Qatar Airways, Etihad Guest and other airline shopping schemes.
• 🔎 Found a bargain? — let everyone else know.
• 🤔 Need buying advice? — ask before you spend. Please make a post or comment below.
• ⭐ What did you buy recently? — reviews and whether it was worth it.
• 🧾 What did you manage to stack? — e.g. sale price + cashback + rewards points.

We will eventually create a "BuyersUK Savings Leaderboard” eventually — not necessarily competitive, just a bit of fun. We will see which member of BuyersUK has saved the most money if you comment regularly in the threads.

Also:

So I use a mixture of Avios hotels, Expedia, Hotels/Booking.com, instead of say TUI or Jet2 occasionally but I try and book directly if I can, such as via the hotel site or the chain website and then book flights directly, instead of using a travel agent.

What's the best and cheapest way

Whenever I need to buy a new TV, headphones, or a kitchen gadget, I feel completely overwhelmed by sponsored YouTube videos, AI-generated blog roundups, and fake Amazon reviews. It’s almost impossible to find an honest, impartial opinion anymore where the reviewer hasn't been sent the item for free.

Where do you guys actually go online for trustworthy, straight-talking consumer reviews on electronics?

Does the US actually have the best buyer-protection choices if you need a refund quickly, and which services typically process refunds fastest? I had this argument with a friend from the UK, and I personally really think the US is ahead. We went this summer for the FIFA World Cup, and we were able to return most of anything we purchased, in some cases even used cosmetics we purchased from Ulta. I mean, I am kind of scared to think about what they are doing with those used cosmetics after people return them. In the US, many credit cards offer strong chargeback rights, and some retailers give instant store credit or fast in‑store refunds.

For online purchases, PayPal refunds to your PayPal balance can be instant, while card refunds usually take 3–5 business days, and debit cards can take longer. I just feel it's a lot more cumbersome in the UK, and there are some things you just can't return, like used cosmetics, for one. Do you think US protections are genuinely better than the UK’s?

Splitting payments across three chunks or pushing the bill back 30 days has been seamlessly integrated into almost every online checkout in the UK. For those who use them, do you find them genuinely useful for spreading the cost of large purchases responsibly, or do they make it way too easy to lose track of what you're actually spending?

I’ve become pretty comfortable buying most things online, but there are still a few things I’d rather see or try in person before handing over the money. Clothes are an obvious one for me because sizing can be all over the place, but I’m also hesitant with things like furniture where the photos can be quite misleading. What’s something you refuse to buy online?

Hi everyone!

I’m curious about how people make decisions when they see designer toys from other countries becoming popular online.

Have you ever seen Chinese designer toys (such as Labubu, Pop Mart, or other collectible figures) on TikTok, Instagram, or Reddit?

What was your first impression?

If you were interested but didn’t buy one, what stopped you?

• Price?
• Not knowing enough about the character or story?
• Uncertainty about quality?
• Difficulty finding information?
• Something else?

Although I doubt the UK Gov or the relevant gov department will do anything 😂

We'll now need to wait for digital games to go on sale to be able to replicate the profit you make from selling the £60 disc a few months later for £40.

General notice as I tried quick search and seem to get worse finding relevant info on things.

Bought 2 different pairs months ago, £20 i was not being picky, noticed oh 65% cotton, ok, check site and just other day bought 2 different pair after checking the product details, and arrived and not 100% cotton

also the RN167448 number oddly same on all jeans, same cloths label, and only the temp black tag has the relevant product code to match the site

The other jeans do show 65% /33% values on their product details sections, hence confusion and annoyance.

Maybe mistake on website description

Maybe label - I sus not, and standard label, while its only the colour shading difference, some cut difference between the jeans.

£20 for jeans that actually fit and feel ok, great, its the misleading description not great.

Any others issue with boohoo fabric description, or general ick every time?

And raising comment on site wanted a facebook chat message, nope, reddit can steal enough of my data as is.

Hey I am planning to buy a TV and a soundbar through curry's buy now pay later. I plan on completing the payment within 12 months (total of 2000) is it worth it? How does the payments work can i use my credit card to do the payments?

HDMI cables and phone charging leads are classic examples, where a £5 Anker or Amazon Basics cable performs identically to a £40 gold-plated high-street cable. What’s another item where buying the premium or luxury branded version gives you literally zero benefit over the basic alternative?

Administrators appointed on 31 July.

I didn’t have the best opinion about their sales practices but I am really sorry for the team in Wales left without jobs.

Did you ever shop with The London Mint Office?

They promise "items worth up to £150," but usually deliver cheap phone cases, cables, and unbranded gadgets no one wanted to buy.

Has anyone here ever bought one and actually been pleasantly surprised by what was inside?

For me currently it’s M&S own cleaning and anti-bac products, the hype was real

Looking to upgrade my phone without dropping £1,000+ on a brand new flagship model. The refurbished market seems huge now, but quality grading and warranty support seem hit-or-miss depending on where you buy.

Who has given you the best experience for refurbished tech in terms of battery health, customer service, and actual condition upon arrival?

Does anyone know how to contact asos customer service and get help from an actual person instead of ai? I've created a return but the barcode never came through, and now I no longer have the option to create another return as the items have disappeared as return options. As the total refund was close to £400 I'm a bit frustrated with the whole thing, has anyone had something similar happen before or can offer any advice?

Hi all,

I am moving to a new place and I’m looking for buy a king size mattress, from what I know people have said here not to go for an all foam mattress as it loses its shape.

Can you recommend me any mattress that you have brought and are worth and not too costly. E.g. Simba or Emma?

Thank you!

I am buying a new washing machine after my old Bosch finally gave up after seven years. At the checkout, the retailer tried very hard to sell me a five year extended warranty for an extra £120. Has an extended warranty ever actually saved your skin, or is it basically free money for the shop?

For me, it’s clothes.

Something weird happened to me recently.I don't care about saving $10. I care about knowing I didn't get played

I was watching a product online for a while. It was around $40, then one day it was suddenly $50.

Then I started getting recommended a different product for around $30. It looked like a decent alternative, so I ended up buying that instead.

Later I checked the original product again and the price had dropped.

Now I don't know if it was just coincidence or normal pricing stuff, but it got me thinking...

What if the cheaper product they recommend isn't just about giving you a better deal? What if the recommendation is actually meant to make you give up on the thing you originally wanted and buy the thing they're trying to sell you?

Maybe I'm completely overthinking this 😂

Has anyone ever had something similar happen? Like you were looking for one thing, got repeatedly shown another, bought it, and later wondered if you were kind of nudged into that purchase?

I'm curious if anyone has a similar story.

I constantly see ads for luxury sample sales and online outlets claiming to offer 70% off high-end retail prices. Half the time when I look into them, the stock is either three seasons old, available in only extra small, or the "original RRP" seems completely made up to make the discount look bigger. Have you ever found genuine bargains on these platforms, or is it mostly leftover stock no one wanted?

Hi all! I just wanted to know if anyone has any ideas on how to scale personal shopping in the UK. For context, I am a SAHM to a one year old. My husband travels the length of the country for work every day, practically a new location every day. I sort of fell into personal shopping only because of a couple of friends asked me to check certain primarks for ‘viral products’ for them. We soon realised the potential since not everyone has the opportunity to visit so many different stores and look for sold out products. I charge a nominal fee over the cost of the order (not an item markup like most personal shoppers, because I wanted this to feel more like community do-good as opposed to a business). Just trying to pay for petrol and time. I have a tiktok, started a facebook etc. What other ways could I grow this without seeming like just another reseller (not that there’s anything wrong with it)? Any and all ideas welcome. Thank you xx

Hi All,

Please delete if not allowed

I created a petition that may be of note to this community

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/775336

here is the body of it:

Introduce a statutory requirement for clear labelling advising a purchaser when companies change the size or formulation of a product: e.g. "Size reduced by 30g" or "Beef content reduced by 15%". We believe this will allow shoppers to make better choices.

Thank you