Online bargains More savings

MP3/MP4 players

Typical online saving: 11%

If you are looking to buy an MP3 or MP4 player, BT and Amazon offered some of the best deals – so check them out first. 

Not sure which model to buy? Have a look at our reviews of MP3 players.

Best saving Apple iPod 30GB

Cheapest online store BT, £149

Cheapest high-street store John Lewis, £179

Games consoles

No overall savings

Prices for games consoles, such as the Wiii, Xbox 360 and PS3, are similar wherever you shop. 

The trick to bagging a bargain is to discover which store offers the most extras. For example, while John Lewis sells the PS3 for £398, HMV sells it for £425 but with four games (which cost up to £50 each) and an extra controller – which is the best deal we found.

Best saving Xbox 360 Premium Console

Cheapest online store Play.com, £280

Cheapest high-street store Currys, £265 including a free game 

DVDs

Typical online saving: 2% for DVDs; 31% for HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs

Shopping online didn’t typically offer large savings for DVDs, but it certainly pays off for high-definition discs.

Best saving Doctor Who Complete Series 2 DVD Blu-ray disc: Pirates of the Caribbean

Cheapest online stores CD Wow, £37.99. Blu-ray disc: Choices.com, £17.89

Cheapest high-street store HMV and Virgin for both disc types, £70 DVD/£27 Blu-ray

CDs

Typical online saving: 7%

There are small online savings to be made – we found consistently low prices at Dvd.co.uk.

Supermarkets also offered some good deals but can't match the best online stores for range.

Best saving Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles

Cheapest online storeDvd.co.uk, £6.49

Cheapest high-street store Sainsbury’s, £9.77 

Books

Typical online saving: 14%

Shopping online typically offered better savings and the website Play.com consistently had the cheapest prices. Supermarkets Tesco and Asda did offer the best prices for certain titles, but between them they had only four of the ten books on our shopping list.

Best saving The Lord of the Rings boxed set, JRR Tolkien (ISBN 9780007203635)

Cheapest online store WH Smith, £16.59

Cheapest high-street store Waterstones and Borders, £30

Champagne

Typical online saving: 2%

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a drop of the sparkly stuff, in this case one of our Best Buys, Lanson Black Label. 

However, with most online stores requiring a minimum purchase of six bottles, you need to buy in bulk to make savings.

Best saving Lanson Black Label Champagne

Cheapest online store Virgin Wines, £125.93 for six bottles

Cheapest high-street store Nicolas, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Threshers, £143.94 for six bottles