Many people have stories of saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars shopping online. Those stories can easily tempt you into making your own purchases online, but it is just as easy to pay more as it is to pay less. Following the simple guidelines included here will ensure you find the deals, run away with the steals, and leave everything else.
Give the Little Guy a Chance
Don't assume that you have to purchase what you want from the official website of it's manufacturer. For instance, you can purchase DeWalt tools from the DeWalt website, but you can also purchase the exact same tools from Amazon and hundreds of smaller online retailers. Give these other websites a chance before paying the (often higher) prices demanded from the brand.
You do have to make sure the smaller sites are legitimate, so look for the following signs:
• Secure payment sites
• Acceptance of PayPal (you don't have to reveal financial info to the site)
• Customer service phone lines that reach real people
• Addresses to brick and mortar stores
• Better Business Bureau registration
You should always be offered a secure payment page when ordering online. Paying through PayPal gives you access to a mediation system if something goes wrong and ensures your payment details do not go right to the business. Websites connected to real stores somewhere in the world and which have customer service agents to answer your questions are more likely to provide acceptable service.
Finally, if a business is registered with the BBB they are more likely to treat each customer with care and protect their business name. You can also Google "company name scam" and "company name reviews" to see if there have been any complaints from others on the business.
Cut the Shipping
You probably already know to figure the shipping expenses into the price of the product for your total purchase price. What you may not know is that you can get creative to lower what you pay for shipping. Some websites like Amazon offer free shipping if you spend a minimal amount on the site and others may send out special shipping discounts if you subscribe to their email newsletters.
You can also find your own creative ways to cut down on shipping prices with specific products that tend to weight a lot.
For instance, if you are shopping for backyard play equipment for your children, you can order from Plan It Play. They sell everything needed for playground set ups without the lumber. This makes the package lighter and you can purchase the wood from a local hardware store.
Consider Store Delivery
Rather than having your items shipped directly to your home, consider having them shipped to a local store. You can do this with big stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and many other major retailers. The charge to pick up in the store is usually less than it is to have it shipped to your home and in most cases it is completely free.
You may be wondering why you would do this if you could just walk into these stores and pick it up. Many times you can get lower prices online than in stores. There are special deals going on all the time that you can take advantage of only if you know they are happening. By shopping online and opting for in-store pick up you can get the special deals without paying shipping.
Don't Lose Your Cool with Auctions
Auction sites like eBay are now being topped by penny auction sites that have the allure of getting something for nothing. You have to keep your cook when using auction sites because it is so easy to get caught up in a bidding war and pay far more than you would have paid with a straight purchase.
Make sure you know the rules for the penny auction sites you use. Keep in mind the total cost of the item, which often exceeds the price of the actual bids you place. For instance, if you have to purchase tokens or bids and then place the bids and pay the final price, you should add the cost of the original bids into the final price for the product.
Make sure you know what items are worth before you get into these auctions. If you aren't getting a substantial discount, it isn't worth risking a bidding war.
Finally, note that many penny auction sites will not refund the money you spend purchasing bids, chips, or whatever they want to call them on different sites. If you purchase these and end up not bidding in an auction, you lose that money in most cases. If you bid and don't win, your money is simply gone.
You can save substantial amounts of money shopping online. You just have to use logic along the way.
How to Save Money Shopping Online
