Admittedly, flying the flag of being «Germany’s most honest online shop» is a bit cheeky. However, we’re confident that this statement is not just hot air. Here’s why and what it means in concrete terms for our customers.
Note: This article was first published on 9 June 2022. This is a revised version. Comments may refer to the previous version.
So why is Galaxus «Deutschlands ehrlichster Onlineshop» (Germany’s most honest online shop) – so honest, in fact, that we’ve used the superlative in our German claim? It’s primarily down to our values. We believe in people’s dignity and personal rights. We also believe our customers have the freedom and responsibility to inform themselves as best possible. That way, they're empowered to make purchase decisions independently. Our online shop’s honesty provides the basis for customers to act consciously and sustainably.
If this is all too abstract or off-the-wall for you, here are a few concrete examples:
1. You’re the one who decides what you buy.
At Galaxus, all products are equally important. For example, if you search for «irons», you’ll be presented with the most relevant ones – as opposed to irons by manufacturers who have the most money and pay for their products to be ranked highest in the results list. Galaxus doesn’t do sponsored product placement. Instead, we leave it up to you which criteria you choose for finding the next iron you’ll buy. That’s why we provide more filters than most shops; you can narrow down the results to the product properties that matter to you.
2. Prices on Galaxus are transparent.
Once you’ve decided which product you want, you’ll be looking at the price. Is the quoted price good? You can find out about the development of the price in our shop. For almost every product, there’s a price history that shows you how much the product cost in the past. This provides some context for the current price.
There’s a price history for almost all products on Galaxus. This one’s for the Apple iPad Pro.
The decision whether to buy a product and when is, of course, entirely up to you. The price development simply reveals what our pricing looks like in practice. Product prices change depending on several factors: the number of products available, the price at which we purchase them as well as the demand and prices of competitors. However, it’s also worth noting that our prices are the same for all users. We don’t do personalised prices, such as higher ones if you’re using an expensive device to do your online shopping or if you’re browsing our shop at a certain time. This is all part of what we consider to be honest and fair.
3. Our editors are here to help.
In addition to sales information and the presentation of new products in our range, you’ll also find other content: product tests, reports, news from the world of tech, guides, series and a podcast (the latter is currently only available in Swiss German). All of this is written up and produced by the Galaxus editorial team. It’s made up of professional journalists and a team of experts for video and social media – more than 30 people in total. Each of them chooses the topics they want to report on and puts in critical and independent research work – according to journalistic criteria and free of any commercial constraints. When it comes to test reports, the editors have no mercy if a product fails to deliver and will advise readers not to buy it. Conversely, they praise products they like.
By the way, our authors also answer follow-up questions in the comments below the articles. After all, they’re experts in their respective field and can provide in-depth information. It might come across as strange that an online shop has its own team of independent editors. Find out why we have one here:
Product test
The LG OLED Flex driving me to despair
by Samuel Buchmann
4. The Community is also here to help.
And if you’re still undecided about a product, despite all the filters, customer reviews and editorial articles, you can reach out to the Community. It’s where you can express your opinion about the ugliness or beauty of gaming hardware, or receive answers to very concrete questions about products other Community members are already using. You’ll often get an answer to your question within 24 hours.
The Community is also committed and often critical when it comes to product ratings. Obviously, we don’t delete bad product reviews, but encourage and ask for open discussions, provided both the content and tone remain respectful. More on that in our Community Guidelines. We firmly believe we’re more likely to gain your business long-term if we show you the bad reviews, too. Why? Because they’ll help you make well-informed purchasing decisions you won’t regret. The fact that we also use negative comments to advertise our shop should give you a good idea how much we value honest opinions.
5. You can view the return rate and warranty score.
How likely is your new HP notebook to break down within the statutory warranty period? Are Timberland winter boots returned more often than UGG boots? How long will you have to wait for your Fairphone to be repaired? Galaxus is the first shop in the world to answer these questions directly and transparently on the product pages. The return rate shows how often a type of product from a given brand was returned in the last 12 months. Here’s an example: In the last 12 months, customers returned 2.4 per cent of all Samsung TVs purchased at Galaxus. The warranty score shows how often a type of product from a given brand was defective within the first 24 months after purchase. Just under 6.4 per cent of Medion PCs, for example, end up in warranty claims within two years, while the rate for Apple computers is 0.8 per cent.
Company news
Refreshingly honest – Galaxus now displays warranty score and return rate
by Alex Hämmerli
6. You get expert assistance.
Not a single Galaxus employee works on commission – neither for high sales, nor for selling products from certain manufacturers nor for generating more profit. In other words, all the people who work at Galaxus will provide you with expert, unbiased assistance and will only recommend products you’re looking for and really need. That’s why you can rely on the answers you get from our employees, be it in-store or online.
7. We’re open and honest about our weak points.
Yes, Galaxus strives to be human. And that also involves admitting mistakes and telling our Community when things aren’t running smoothly – warts and all. This might include delivery delays that are giving us a headache or a packaging machine that’s playing up. We also encourage discussions about our range, whether it’s about dodgy filters, features the Community would like us to work on and much more. Suggestions from the Community often lead to improvements to our shop. They lead to new topic ideas for the editorial team or suggestions for products that we later add to our range. By tapping into this open and honest interaction with our customer base, we constantly try to improve our services.
Behind the scenes
Raccoons’ love for Moretti causes delivery delay
by Tobias Billeter
8. You can see both our and your climate footprint.
When it comes to sustainability, Galaxus is all about transparency. We share detailed information on the reduction targets we’ve committed to, the scientific method we apply to achieve the Paris climate targets as well as the progress we’re making. Furthermore, we disclose the carbon footprint of your purchases. Once you’ve popped items in your shopping cart, their carbon footprint is revealed. And if you want to offset the CO₂, methane gas and laughing gas your purchase blasts into the atmosphere, you can do this by voluntarily paying a fee at checkout.
Offset emissions at the touch of a button during checkout.
Find out more about the compensation model we apply here. The calculator not only looks at transport, but takes into account the entire value chain – all the way from sourcing the raw materials to doorstep delivery. Even when it comes to the packaging and filler material, we rely on facts and transparency. The same goes for the touchy subject of returns. Whenever possible, we refurbish returns to keep them in the commodity cycle. For old or slightly damaged products, we work with NGOs that impressively show why residual value is worth its weight in gold.
Got a question?
There you have it. That’s what’s behind «Germany’s most honest online shop». Do you have further questions to any of the points above? Do you think we could be more honest? Thanks for letting us know in the comments! We look forward to an exchange with you.
My career as a journalist began back when printing presses were still a thing. Writing pieces for a publication aimed at breeders of small animals was my first steppingstone. Several years later, I got a call from headquarters. I was put in charge of several digitisation projects and establishing audience management strategies for regional newspapers and the NZZ. I’ve been with Digitec Galaxus since 2020, writing articles whenever I get the chance. As I have semi-superficial knowledge of many things, my spectrum of topics is quite broad.
