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Is it me, or is every national newspaper in the country giving out free DVDs at weekends? Perhaps it's really the other way around: buy this DVD and get a free newspaper! Of course, although the DVDs are free to the newspaper buyer, they cost the newspaper itself a pretty penny, thanks to production costs, payments to the copyright owner, etc. However, these discs cost under 20p each, thanks to the benefits of mass production. However, the DVDs that we buy can cost up to a hundred times as much as these cheapies! Still, you'd have to be mad to pay the full RRP (recommended retail price) for a DVD, because it's not hard to find substantial discounts, both on the high street and online. For example, popular comedy Little Britain - The Complete Second Series has an RRP of £21.99. However, here's how much three major supermarket chains charge: ASDA: £12.97; Tesco: £12.99; and Sainsbury's: £13.99. Hence, you can save up to £9.02 (41%) just by buying this disc with your groceries. On the other hand, there are even greater savings to be had by shopping around online. I use several shopbots (short for shopping robots) to compare prices, plus I check prices at a few value e-tailers (online retailers) that I've used in the past. So, sticking with Little Britain, let's run a few price comparisons Major price-comparison websites (all prices include postage and packing) Specialised shopbots Hence, a quick search could save you over a tenner, or 46% off, which is almost half the RRP! By the way, tread carefully if you don't have a multi-region DVD player, because it will play only Region 2 (European) discs, so make sure that you don't buy DVDs with the wrong regional coding! So, how does Play manage to beat the competition? The answer is that it is based in Jersey, so it doesn't have to charge 17½% VAT on its prices, whereas all UK-based websites do. Many retailers have opened Jersey-based subsidiaries in order to avoid VAT. Still, it's important to note that you personally are responsible for paying duty on imported goods, although this is waived for goods with a value of up to £18. Hence, most DVDs fall into this price bracket and can be bought tax-free. Before you start shopping online, read the tips in Save A Fortune When You Spend, which will help to make even greater savings and avoid a few pitfalls along the Internet superhighway! Finally, a little warning: each Christmas sees a few ultra-cheap websites set up to capture cash from bargain hunters. However, some let customers down with poor service, while one or two are entirely bogus, so do take care to check out firms before ordering! More: Enjoy interest-free Christmas shopping with a 0% credit card!