Why the same espresso machine costs different amounts at different stores

On products where several of the stores we track sell the identical item, the gap between the cheapest and the dearest is typically $68. Same model, same specification, same country. There are six ordinary reasons for that, and telling them apart is most of what a price comparison is for.

1. Minimum advertised price, and the ways round it

Many manufacturers set a minimum price a dealer may advertise. That is why identical listings so often carry identical numbers — and why some stores show "add to cart to see price". The floor applies to the advertised figure, not necessarily to what you pay.

Consequence: two stores at exactly the same price may not be a coincidence, and the real difference may only appear in the basket.

2. Promotional cycles that do not line up

Retailers run their own promotions, on their own calendars, driven by their own stock. One store's spring clearance does not coincide with another's. At any moment, some stores on a given product are mid-promotion and some are not.

This is the largest source of short-term spread, and it is why the same product can be cheapest at three different stores across one quarter.

3. Bundles, which are not always a discount

A machine sold with a grinder, a tamper or a bag of coffee is a different item at a different price. Sometimes the bundle is genuinely cheaper than the parts; sometimes it is the same machine at full price with accessories nobody wanted.

Our matching rules treat a bundle as a separate product and never compare it against the bare machine. A comparison that quietly does that will show a bargain that is not there.

4. Shipping, which is part of the price

A heavy machine can carry a shipping cost large enough to reverse the ranking. A store that is more expensive on the item and free on shipping can be the cheaper purchase.

Where a store publishes shipping cost we include it; where it does not, we say the shipping is unknown rather than assume it is zero.

5. Stock position and cash flow

A store holding an old model when a new one is announced will discount to clear. A store that is out of stock has no reason to be competitive on the listing at all. Neither has anything to do with the product.

6. Condition, which is not always obvious

Open box, refurbished, B-stock and ex-display all appear alongside new listings, sometimes with the condition buried in the description. That is not a lower price for the same thing — it is a different thing. What each label means.

What to actually do

• Compare the total, not the item price. Shipping is part of what you pay.
• Check the condition on any listing that is unusually cheap. Unexplained gaps are usually explained.
• Check the date on the price. A price recorded three weeks ago is a historical fact, not an offer. Everything we publish carries the timestamp of when we read it.
• Treat a percentage off list with suspicion. List prices are often above what anyone charges. Measure against what other stores are asking today.

What we do about it

We read each store's own published data, record the price with a source and a timestamp, and match listings to the same canonical product only when the variant, capacity, condition and bundle all agree. We currently hold 24,430 recorded price observations across 20,629 products and 13 stores.

Where the gap between stores is largest right now: same product, different price.