How we verify a store, and what we refuse to publish

The checks every listing passes before it appears, what a blank field means, and the things that will never appear on this index at any price.

An index is only worth reading if the reader knows what its entries mean. These are the rules this one runs on. They are published here so you can hold us to them.

What we check before a store is listed

• That it is an independent store rather than a marketplace reseller front.
• That it controls its own checkout.
• That the products are real and the prices shown on its own site are current.
• That it ships to at least one country reliably.
• Who legally operates it, where it ships from, and in what currency it sells.

What a blank field means

It means we have not confirmed it. A field we have not verified reads “not verified” rather than being filled in with a plausible guess, and a store with no connected catalog publishes no prices rather than estimated ones. If this index ever looks smaller than a competitor, that is the reason.

Where the product data comes from

Prices, stock and specifications are read from each seller's own public catalog and carry the date we read them. We do not retype them, we do not adjust them, and we do not mark them up, because we take no commission and have nothing to gain from a different number. Check the store for the live figure before you buy.

What will never appear here

• Invented products, estimated prices, or stock levels we have not checked.
• Reviews we did not receive.
• Affiliate links inside listings.
• Paid placement presented as editorial. Anything sponsored is labelled as sponsored.
• A store we could not verify, listed as though we had.

Corrections

If something here is wrong, tell us. We will correct it and re-date the record, and the date on the page will show that it changed. A correction is not an embarrassment; an index that never corrects anything is not being checked.