Summary: Most consumers do a little Googling for the best price and terms for their desired product, but they rarely get the absolute lowest price, the best possible terms, and the most reliable retailer. At some point, they draw a line under the time and effort they're prepared to expend.

Yet, for most consumer products, it is actually feasible to avoid the hit-and-miss Googling and just follow the same steps to efficiently achieve the lowest price and best terms from a reliable retailer:

- Shortlist the most suitable and value-for-money products

- Use the manufacturer and model number to check the most comprehensive and useful price comparison websites

- Find the most reliable retailer with the best terms, that also price matches and ask it to price match the lowest price found

Gain: ~$200 per year by getting the best price, terms and reliable service for common products.



Details:

1. Shortlist the most suitable and value-for-money products

Suitability for your circumstances and needs may include size, capacity, features, reliability, etc.

Value-for-money may depend on price, expected lifespan, maintenance needs, warranty, water and energy efficiency, etc.

When you have your shortlist, note the manufacturer and model of each for searching purposes.

This post does not cover how to select the most suitable and value-for-money product. There are many aspects to this including checking trusted reviews.

The browse and filter functions of the most comprehensive price comparison sites are useful for making shortlists:

> MyShopping.com.au - Washing machines
> GetPrice.com.au - Washing machines
> Google Shopping

For our example of washing machines, I will use a popular washing machine recommended by Choice Magazine: the LG WD12021D6 7kg front loader.


2. Use the manufacturer and model number to check the most comprehensive and useful price comparison websites

Searching the most useful price comparison websites for "LG WD12021D6" will return a range of prices (including delivery) from $659 to $805.

MyShopping.com.au - tends to be the most comprehensive in listing all retailers

GetPrice.com.au - is reasonably comprehensive and very useable

For example, the listings for "LG WD12021D6" are:

> MyShopping.com.au - LG WD12021D6
> GetPrice.com.au - LG WD12021D6

GetPrice.com.au - LG WD12021D6

Reviewing these results determines the lowest price inclusive of delivery is $659 via Billy Guyatts.

Note that in addition to searching, you should use the browse and filter features of the most comprehensive price comparison sites as often the format of the model number (e.g. existence of a hyphen or space) will not turn it up in search results.



3. Find the most reliable retailer with the best terms, that also price matches and ask it to price match the lowest price found

An ideal retailer will:

- Be around for longer than your product lasts
- Be extremely reliable, efficient and easy to deal with
- Have plenty of products in-stock and be able to deliver within a day
- Have value-for-money, highly-reliable, optional extended warranties
- Offer free installation and removal of the old appliance (e.g. washing machines)
- Offer paid installation services for more complex installations (e.g. hot water systems)
- Prioritise customer satisfaction and repeat business
- Have a physical presence in your city
- Be a potential provider of multiple products over many years
- Offer a free change of mind exchange or credit service

Often the most desirable retailer won't have the absolute lowest price but most of them will either have a formal price match policy or will price match upon request. Note that price-matching generally takes delivery costs into account.

So rather than buy each product from the absolute cheapest retailer, it's better to settle on a preferred retailer that price matches and use them as much as possible.

For example, I bought our washing machine from Appliances Online and it readily price matched with the cheapest offer from another retailer. In our example of the LG WD12021D6, this would mean a $30 saving. In the case of our washing machine the saving was $50 on the listed Appliances Online price.

Appliances Online has a great track record and offers exceptional terms and customer service and so is our preferred retailer for any appliance. For example, it has a free exchange and return offer for 14 days:


By using it for multiple products, we are likely to have even less of an issue should anything go wrong - like a product failure outside of the warranty period but before the expected end of life.


Further Info:

OzBargain

Choice

Finder

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