How Border Buy works

Border Buy compares what a single product costs at trusted retailers in different European countries. This page explains exactly what happens when you press "Compare", where the numbers come from, and what Border Buy cannot do. We think being open about the limits is just as important as the results themselves.

1. You search once

You enter one product name, for example "iPhone 18" or "IKEA Kallax", and choose between one and three countries. Currently supported: Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland, Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark. The search term is the only text you type, and we do not ask for your name, email address or any account.

2. We look up current listings per country

For each selected country, our server sends one request to SerpApi, a service that retrieves Google Shopping results as they appear to a shopper in that country and language. The countries are queried in parallel, so if one country fails or is slow, the others still return their results.

3. We keep only verified retailers

Google Shopping includes marketplaces, resellers and shops of every size. Border Buy discards all of them except a short whitelist of established retailers per country, such as IKEA, MediaMarkt, Fnac, Coolblue, Digitec Galaxus, Worten or Elgiganten. A listing is kept only if the seller name matches a whitelisted retailer and, when a direct link is available, the link points to that retailer's own website. We also try to filter out accessories (cases, cables, inserts), used and refurbished items, so the comparison is about the product itself.

Physical stores and online shops

Every retailer on our whitelist is marked as one of two types. Physical stores, such as IKEA, MediaMarkt, Fnac or Elgiganten, have walk-in shops where you can see the product, pick it up or return it in person. Online shops, currently OTTO (Germany), Digitec Galaxus (Switzerland), Coolblue (Netherlands), Coolblue (Belgium), Alza (Czech Republic), are established and trusted retailers but sell online only, so you cannot visit a store in that country and usually need a local delivery address.

Results from online shops carry the notice "Online shop - no physical store". If you plan to buy in person while travelling, choose Physical stores only on the results page to hide them. The filter works instantly and does not start a new search. Because we keep the three cheapest offers per country, hiding online shops can leave fewer than three results in a country.

4. We show the cheapest matches and convert currencies

From the remaining listings, Border Buy shows the two to three cheapest offers per country, preferring different retailers. Prices are shown in the local currency (EUR, CHF, PLN, CZK, SEK or DKK). To compare fairly, every price is also converted to euros using the latest reference rates published by the European Central Bank, which we retrieve from the free Frankfurter API and refresh every hour. Switching between local currency and EUR happens instantly in your browser without a new search.

5. "View at store" takes you to the retailer

When you tap "View at store", Border Buy looks up the retailer's own product page for that listing and sends you straight there. Found links are remembered for 24 hours. If the store page cannot be found, you land on the Google Shopping page for the product instead, where you can pick the retailer.

Sources

• Prices and listings: Google Shopping, accessed through SerpApi.
• Exchange rates: European Central Bank reference rates via the Frankfurter API.
• Retailer whitelist: maintained by Border Buy.

Limits you should know about

• Prices are indicative. Online prices change frequently and in-store prices can differ. Always check the final price on the retailer's website.
• Results are cached for up to 24 hours for identical searches, so a very recent price change may not be reflected yet.
• No price is ever estimated. If no verified store lists the product, you will see "No result found at verified stores."
• Variants can differ. The cheapest result in one country may be a different storage size, colour or bundle than in another. Compare product titles carefully.
• Conversion rates are not bank rates. Your bank or card provider applies its own exchange rate and possibly fees.
• Delivery, VAT refunds and customs are not included. Many retailers only deliver within their own country. See our buying guides for background.
• Fair use. To keep the service free, each visitor can run up to 10 searches per hour.

How we make money

Border Buy shows clearly labelled ads (only after you consent) and uses affiliate links for some retailers. Neither affects the ranking: results are always sorted by price. Read more about us.