'Online buyers beware'

Consumers buying household electrical products on the internet were today advised to beware of bigger price variations than in high street stores.

An investigation by the magazine Computing Which? found an average eight per cent saving for those who surfed the net for the best buy.

But it also found that it paid to compare prices online, with the total bill for buying all eight products varying by 22 per cent, compared with 13 per cent on the high street.

Malcolm Coles, the magazine's editor, said: "Buying goods on the Net saves you money. But, if you use the first site you find, you may pay more than at even the most expensive high street shop. A couple more clicks with your mouse could knock almost a quarter off the bill."

The magazine carried out its research by comparing the price of a Panasonic breadmaker, Sony video recorder, Magimix juice extractor, Panasonic digital TV, Bosch fridge-freezer, Miele vacuum cleaner, Dyson washing machine and Panasonic DVD player.

Prices were checked over seven days from 6 March by looking on around 20 websites, and comparing them with those offered by 11 high street retailers of varying sizes.