How to shop online in the UK?

March 10, 2009 9:02 AM

What are some good places to shop (online) in the United Kingdom?

I've just moved to the UK and am trying to acclimate one step at a time; currently, I am at a loss of where to buy stuff. I used to live in the US and I used to buy the majority of non-groceries online. I am looking for some good, reliable UK shopping sites that are priced below retail and have a variety of items: clothing (sites like revolveclothing.com, bluefly.com, eluxury.com, delias.com, victoriassecret.com), fragrances/cosmetics (sephora.com, beautyhabit.com), and interesting miscellany (ebay.com, amazon.com). Obviously amazon.co.uk and ebay.co.uk are options, but compared to ebay.com, ebay.co.uk is pretty barren. Likewise, internationally shipping items from US sites is another option, but international shipping is pretty killer lately and the aim here is to not only make shopping easier but to also save a little money in the process. Recommendations for good sites with reasonable international shipping is very welcome, though.

Amazon.co.uk looks like it will work for things like books/media/electronics, but I am having a lot of trouble finding places to buy clothing and cosmetics. Any help is appreciated!

posted by Polychrome to shopping (15 comments total)

A lot of the UK supermarkets have pretty good online shopping and delivery services. Tesco is probably the best known. They have groceries - but also practically everything else.

Photobox is a nice site for processing pictures.
posted by rongorongo at 9:11 AM on March 10

For books Book Depository are good. Free international shipping worldwide too.

For music, games, gadgets, etc. try Play.

I always buy electronics from Amazon. The small price difference is worth the return policy.

Clothing and cosmetics? Can't help you on that one.

Lots of people get their food delivered in the UK. Try Ocado and Tesco for that. Ocado ship from Waitrose but price match to Tesco.
posted by devnull at 9:12 AM on March 10

Figleaves for underwear (though I see they have a US site so you might know it already).

Cos for clothes?
posted by patricio at 9:18 AM on March 10

Also, have a look through Time Out's shopping section on their web site and in their hard copy guide as both have pointers to online shops.
posted by patricio at 9:24 AM on March 10

Seconding Play.com, free delivery, it's ace.

For groceries, I can't recommend My Supermarket highly enough. It basically allows you to shop online at Tesco, Asda, Ocado or Sainsbury's, and compare, in real-time, how much your basket of shopping would cost at each. You'll need an account at one or all of the four to actually buy and get your shopping delivered, but the MySupermarket interface is so, so much better than most of the supermarket's own, and the 'Swap&Save' features that let you choose cheaper alternatives is amazing.

Also, I've just started using Milk & More, which is a shiny web front-end for Dairy Crest milk deliveries. They also deliver all sorts of things, from bread to toilet roll to fertiliser. Top stuff, and great for saving money and always having perishables on hand.

Most major retailers in the UK have websites and will deliver. Marks and Spencer, John Lewis etc.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:25 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]

My girlfriend is a big fan of Next for buying clothes (and also the occasional piece of furniture or washing machine/fridge/etc) - they have highstreet clothes stores as well where you can return your clothes purchases (bought online) if they don't fit or whatever, which can be handy as an alternative to returning them by post.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 9:59 AM on March 10

Lakeland has a massive range of kitchen gadgets and home accessories. As well as everyday stuff it has a plethora of exciting-looking gadgets.

I know you didn't mention you specifically wanted a pineapple corer or a mango splitter, but, you know, just in case.

(Also seconding Happy Dave's suggestion of Milk & More - excellent service and a very usable web interface.)
posted by Dali Atomicus at 10:17 AM on March 10

Everything -

Tesco

Clothes -

Asos
Topshop
Yoox (designer)

Shoes -

Schuh
Office
Soletrader

Electronics -

Ebuyer

Music/DVD -

Play

Cosmetics -

Boots
Perfume Shop
Superdrug

Bargains -

Hot Uk Deals
MoneySavingExpert
posted by fire&wings at 10:54 AM on March 10

if you're looking for a bargain I'd second MoneySavingExpert also Ebuyer is a great place to shop for electronics.

Try debenhams for clothing (both mens and womens).
posted by nam3d at 11:58 AM on March 10

Clothes:

Asos
Monsoon
Warehouse
Oasis
Wallis
New Look
Ted Baker
Hobbs
French Connection
Dorothy Perkins
Coast
Phase Eight

Shoes:

Aldo
River Island (also clothes)
Kurt Geiger
Dune

Perfume/Makeup

If at all possible, buy this stuff at Boots. Get one of their loyalty cards, which give you 4 points for every £1 you spend and they frequently have specials where you can get say, triple points on purchases over a certain amount. The points add up fast and I've probably gotten at least £100 of free stuff accumulating points from just buying everyday toiletries there. Bigger Boots stores will have most of the higher end perfume/makeup lines (eg Lancome).

Electronics:

Argos
John Lewis (also furniture)

Deaprtment Stores:

John Lewis
Debenhams
Marks & Spencer

Miscellany:

I Want One of Those
Read It Swap It (book swapping site)
American Soda (American Food online, also Skyco)
Lovefilm (renting or buying DVD's)
Abel & Cole (organic food delivery)
Donald Russell (Scottish butcher - best meat ever)
Gumtree (to the UK as Craigslist is to the US)
101 Really Useful Websites

I've used pretty much every one of the above sites at one time or another. Also, don't give up on Ebay UK, I get TONS of stuff on there.
posted by triggerfinger at 12:37 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]

Pedlars is an interesting "farm shop" type of website
posted by rongorongo at 1:54 PM on March 10

DO NOT USE ARGOS!!! (self link) Not only do they have HORRIBLE customer service, a lot of their crap is crap quality.

I love ASOS. 3.95 for normal delivery, just a pound more for next day! (if ordered before 3pm).

Random, but if you are a knitter, I get a lot of stuff from GetKnitted.com

Warning if you buy stuff from the US, some of them go through Parcel Force which I had poor experience dealing with.
posted by like_neon at 3:20 PM on March 10

Oh yeah, seconding Lovefilm (aka Netflix) and Gumtree (aka Craigslist).

For grocery shopping I have been having great experience using mysupermarket.co.uk which lets you comparison shop between Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, and Ocado. I've found it pretty useful even though I just print out my list. So far I for me, have found that Tesco has been the cheapest (yes cheaper than Asda!) and ocado the most expensive.
posted by like_neon at 3:23 PM on March 10

Asos and Uniqlo (which has flagship stores in London, and there's only ONE store in the US, arrrghhh) are my absolute staples. Hands down, the best quality gear (Uniqlo jeans are to die for, and so so cheap), the best delivery time, the best service.

In terms of eBay, it worked pretty well for me once I figured out how to search for high street items - look up Primark especially, but also New Look, Next, Topshop, and the vintage section often yields fun items. You're right though, eBay.com is a megachurch in comparison.

Also seconding Play.com, Lovefilm and Figleaves. Topshop is slightly overpriced now, but Peacocks is almost as good online as it is on the high street, and their delivery is pretty fast.

Seconding the urgent plea to NOT USE ARGOS. They have the worst customer service, they often don't deliver when they say they will, I've had to continually chase items... just a headache for cheap crap. Not worth the stress.

PS - I'm in a similar postion, but I've moved from the UK to the US. So I'll be checking out the sites you've linked to in your post. Thank you!
posted by saturnine at 4:05 PM on March 11

A comment on Argos: I've never ordered anything online, but I've also never had any issues when I just buy stuff instore, or reserve something online for pickup at a store (handy if you don't have much time and want to be sure it's in stock when you get there).

Also, yeah eBay UK is OK, my girlfriend gets some real bargains on women's clothes on there.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:15 PM on March 11