FAQ
Q: What's so good about Storeminator? Seen it all before.
A: Actually, you probably haven't seen a shopping site before that so successfully matches eBay items with those from other online stores like Amazon. That's because this is technically a little challenging and we've developed a special algorithm that does it, pretty successfully we think.
Q: So OK, I'll just go to eBay directly then! Why do I need to mess around on Storeminator?
A: Sure you could go direct to eBay. But wait! You think eBay is always cheaper than Amazon? Think again. You would be surprised to see how often Amazon BEATS eBay items in terms of price. Often, though, you can find an item cheaper on eBay through Storeminator, especially second-hand. That's the point of a comparison shopping site - you are trying to beat the retailers and find the best price for yourself!
Q: Why do the matches sometimes stink? I was looking at X and got eBay results for Y.
A: We are very much aware that our algorithm is not perfect yet. Most of our time administering this site is spent in constantly tweaking the code to make the results better and better. However, a computer program will probably never be as good as a human at matching similar items. In the meantime, we are working on a system whereby our users can easily report a poor match and we can figure out why it happened and improve the algorithm accordingly so we get better and better. After all, Storeminator earns commissions from sales on the site, so it's in our interest for matches to be as good as possible!
If you are served up a poor match you can simply click through to eBay via any of the items listed and just use eBay's own search there, at least until we eliminate the poor match.
Q: Are prices all-inclusive?
A: Prices across the site do not include P+P and other possible handling charges. We do not currently have the ability to provide you with all-inclusive prices, but we hope that you have a good idea yourself of the typical postage costs when ordering online, which can depend on the delivery destination, size/weight and other options.
Q: What's all this "Price too low to display" business?
A: On some of its special offers, the retailer does not provide prices to us. This is because the price is so low that they will only supply it on request. This can often mean that there is a very good deal to be had!
If you want to learn the price, the best way is to go to the detail page for the item in question and click the BUY button. You will be taken to the appropriate Amazon page (with no obligation to buy) where you can click the Click here to see the price link and also read a more detailed explanation of this policy. Hopefully you will have found a bargain in any case!