How We Test Portable Air Conditioners
We track 600+ products across Amazon and eBay UK, checking stock, prices, and specs multiple times per day. Here's exactly how we evaluate every unit — and why you can trust our recommendations.
1. Stock Verification
Every product we list is verified as genuinely in stock within 2-4 hours. We use Amazon's Product Advertising API and eBay's Browse API — not scraping. Each check records a timestamp. If a product goes out of stock, we flag it immediately. No “available to order” fakes — if you can't add it to basket today, we mark it sold out.
2. Price Tracking
We store price history for every product — not just the current price. This means we can spot fake discounts (“was £599, now £299” when it was never £599) and genuine price drops. Prices include standard delivery where stated. eBay prices shown are Buy It Now — we don't track auctions.
3. Spec Verification
We verify BTU ratings, noise levels, room coverage, and power draw against manufacturer specifications — not Amazon listing claims (which are frequently wrong). If a spec can't be verified against the manufacturer's own documentation, we note it as “unverified.”
4. Buyer Review Analysis
We aggregate real buyer reviews from Amazon and eBay, not influencer reviews or paid placements. We look for patterns: do multiple buyers mention the same issue (noise, build quality, hose length)? A product with 4.5 stars and 10 reviews is weighted differently than one with 4.0 stars and 500 reviews.
5. How We Rank Products
Our ranking system weights five signals:
- Stock availability — in-stock units score higher. Obvious, but crucial.
- Price competitiveness — units priced within the sweet spot for their BTU band get a boost
- Brand reputation — known UK brands (Meaco, DeLonghi, Dyson, AEG, Electriq) score higher than generic imports
- Real buyer demand — we track actual click-through data. Popular units rise organically
- Verified specs — BTU, noise, and power draw confirmed against manufacturer data
6. Independence
We don't accept payment for placement.No product can buy its way to the top of our rankings. We earn commission on some outbound links (Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network) — this is clearly disclosed on every page. Commission rates are flat (4-5%) and don't vary enough between products to influence ranking. Our recommendations are driven by data, not deals.
7. Limitations
- We don't physically test units — our evaluations are based on verified specs and aggregated buyer reviews, not hands-on measurement
- We only track Amazon UK and eBay UK — not Currys, AO.com, Argos, or independent retailers
- Prices change fast during heatwaves. Our data is current to within 2-4 hours
- eBay listings from private sellers may have limited stock. We verify availability but can't guarantee the seller hasn't sold their last unit