VAT discount at Mediamarkt and Saturn – is it still worth it?

“19 percent VAT free”, advertise the two large electronics chains media market and Saturn again. From June 22, 2023 at 8 p.m. to June 25 (online even until Monday 8:59 a.m.), certain products will be available both in the branches and in the two online shops of the electronics retailers in question (which, as is well known, are becoming more and more standardized). be.

However, by now it should be common knowledge that, purely arithmetically, it is not 19 percent cheaper to buy goods from Saturn or Mediamarkt. Ultimately, with the almost 16 percent that go down from the price, attractive offers are still possible – provided you are lucky and the company has not previously raised the prices for the desired products above the usual market price level.

In principle, however, customers must know that almost all products have not been reduced for a long time, but that there are plenty of exceptions that seem to be increasing in number every year. Apple, Amazon, Blink, Tchibo, Tchibo Cafissimo, ISY, AVM, Synology, Sonos, Iris, Creality, Ankermake, Flashforge, Snapmaker, Plustek and Thrustmaster are once again excluded, as well as their own brands Koenic, Peaq and Ok. Smartphones and accessories as well as the product groups smartphones, tablets, wearables, note PCs and true wireless headphones from Samsung and respective accessories from Samsung, as well as Playstation 5 consoles and bundles are excluded. Also not included are film & music, software & games, individual PC components, pre-order items, any kind of download/content/gaming cards and codes, digital credit cards and last but not least what is in the treasure trove would find.

Anything left? Rather little – and of course all this only applies to normal household quantities, although the branches in particular have been very generous in recent years. The offers cannot officially be combined with other promotions, although discounted vouchers have always been accepted in the past.

In principle, all those products are interesting that are otherwise considered to be particularly stable in price. On the one hand, this affects the bundles and offers of game consoles such as the Nintendo Switch – but not the Sony Playstation 5 (because it is explicitly not included) – although individual games are not reduced. In some cases, for example, household appliances, televisions and TV accessories are of interest, as are large appliances, since these are often not more expensive in the branches than with relevant mail-order companies. Also in the photo area (as long as Mediamarkt and Saturn still have something exciting there at all) one or the other bargain can be made, as long as it stays at the regular prices currently advertised.

You shouldn’t forget that both Mediamarkt and Saturn offer the campaign, which is not always priced the same, especially if you include the branches. There is also a cashback increase at Mysaturn and Mymediamarkt, where you can dust off triple the number of points during the campaign. As usual, shipping will be free from 59 euros, although it can also be worth comparing between the store and online prices. It has always been our experience here that it is not possible to say in general where the goods in question are cheaper – there are definitely price differences.

Ultimately, however, the campaign has increasingly become a sluggish discount campaign in recent years, which has annoyed many customers from Mediamarkt and Saturn, because the exclusions have been adjusted upwards more and more and in many cases also demonstrably beforehand. That doesn’t mean good deals are out of the question though, they’re just harder to find.

However, one should not forget that in three weeks time Amazon will again have some (much more!) interesting offers as part of Prime Day, so you don’t have to be angry if you don’t get a chance at Saturn and Mediamarkt this weekend .