Best online shopping sites

02.Books, CDs, DVDs and video games

Half of our respondents bought items from this category online in the past six months.

• Amazon and eBay are the most commonly used sites - possibly because they offer more range and variety. One survey respondent said: “Books, DVDs and CDs ordered from Amazon UK arrive within a week to 10 days at a cost, including shipping, below the retail cost in Australia – sometimes significantly less.”
• Savvy book buyers told us they like shopping at Amazon’s US site, as the Australian dollar has been trading strongly against the greenback.
• Price is not the only thing respondents value – delivery costs and returns policy are also important. Smaller retailers such as The Book Depository (delivers free Australia-wide), EzyDVD and Booktopia fared better overall.
• Fishpond rated well for finding products, but had the most number of complaints for delayed deliveries, followed by Amazon and eBay.
• Apple rated highly in the delayed delivery category as well. You can buy songs, albums, TV episodes or movies and send them as gifts through Apple’s iTunes website. An email is then sent to your recipient, who clicks on a link to start downloading the song or media clip to their iPod, iPhone or Apple TV.