Another awesome giveaway today, $500 in Visa prepaid gift card, check the end of this post for more details!
I love online shopping, compared to store shopping. You can be comfortable, at home, don’t have to spend money on gas, park, fight the crowds, queue, or blame yourself for always picking the slowest cashier. It is all there, in one click. And since you can shop in several stores, you can try to find the best deal for every item, while you wouldn’t go to five supermarkets because one has cheaper eggs and the other one cheaper milk. Here are a few tips to save money with online shopping.
Shop local
If you want to send a gift to a friend in Canada, shop on Canadian stores, don’t pay for expensive shipping from the US. Most sites have an English translation even though they are not in an English speaking country. Just enter the brand + Spain on Google, and you will be redirected to the Spanish website.
Leave your cart full and check out.
Companies will sometimes send you an email offering a discount if you come back.
Just buy one item.
It applies for websites for example. If you buy a domain, a couple of days later, you will receive an email with a discount on hosting.
Buy a package
On the other hand, if you buy a laptop, the store may be offering the laptop case or extra battery at a discount. Don’t be tempted to buy more than you need, but if you do check out other items.
Get free shipping
There are plenty of sites that offer free shipping. You can also ask the website if they have a live customer chat, just be nice and ask if they would be willing to waive the shipping fee.
Pay with a reward card.
Whether your thing is to earn miles or cash back, pay with your best credit card. Make sure you pay your balance in full, of course.
To help you save even more online, Rather Be Shopping if offering a $500 Visa Pre-paid gift card, all you have to do is subscribe to my RSS feed or Like my FB page!
Check out the widget below for more entries, good luck!
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I like to use my credit cards buying online and paying bills. I take advantage the rewards that I will get when I earn points. Just last week I received a gift voucher from my credit card rewards points, I will use it to buy gold jewelry for my wife.
My Wealth Desire recently posted..Top 20 Best Personal Finance Websites for 2013
she is a lucky lady!
Great tip on leaving with a full cart – I have received numerous 10% off codes from doing this
Savvy Scot recently posted..Reclaiming PPI is Something YOU Should Do!
counter intuitive, who would have thought?
You can save money online with items you’d never think of. I found that Amazon has substantially better prices on things like cat food and replacement heads for the Sonicare toothbrush than the local Target. These aren’t items that I need immediately, so buying them online is an option.
My Financial Independence Journey recently posted..Should Americans Be Forced to Save For Retirement?
Amazon is pretty impressive, having so many products and such good rates. I would never have thought about buying cat food there. great tip!
I always look for free shipping options as getting things to Australia can cost a fair bit sometimes.
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..The First Child: Opportunities for Savings
Shipping plus customs, I can imagine!
Great tips, Pauline. My fave is the one about leaving your cart full and not checking out. We’ve done this several times and had them email with a discounted price. It works!
Laurie recently posted..Presenting: A Frugal Valentine’s Day Celebration Via Some Linky Love
Rewards cards are a big advantage – I love my cash back rewards! Free shipping is something that I love about Amazon, and I am much more likely to buy a product if it’s eligible for free shipping.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..$500 Cash Giveaway – Save Money with Coupon Codes
I was surprised sometimes that products were cheaper with shipping costs than the ones boasting free shipping. For electronics or stuff with a low margin, this is unlikely though.
I am big on shopping local and buying online as much as I can. There are a few locally run stores my wife likes and it’s never a hassle shopping from them as they’re not at the mall. Thankfully I was able to get all of my shopping done with these two ways last year as I’ll do anything to avoid the mall.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..Giveaway: An Online Shopping Tool for Frugal Shoppers
I hear you, the mall is tedious! Here they have a 20 shop one and it is already too much for my taste! Loud music and freezing AC seems to be what marketers have in mind to attract people in Guatemala. Sadly, it works.
I tend never to purchase online unless a free shipping incentive is offered. Great tips, Pauline. Did you mean to leave your cart full and then leave the website? That is a clever tip! There is one website I frequent that will dutifully send a ‘Hey, we noticed you had an item in your cart but didn’t check out, how can we assist you?’ follow-up email.
Jennifer Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy recently posted..Hello. I’m still here. We’re up and running, again.
yes, that’s it, just leave it and wait for them to seduce you back.
Don’t forget to go through an online shopping portal (ebates, topcashback, ultimate rewards, any airline) to get some extra cash back or miles just for making the same purchase. Heck sometimes you can even double dip by buying an e-gift card and then using that e-gift card to make you purchase! Of course YMMV.
great tip Brian!
Great tips! Thanks for participating.
I would add the tip of asking the Live Chat operator if there is a coupon available for free shipping. Many online retailers have live chat operators standing by to help you with your order and they are told to give out certain coupons if a consumers ask for one. Always worth a shot!
Kyle | Rather-Be-Shopping.com recently posted..Frugal Hack #6: Go Social and Save Money
forgot that one, you lose nothing by asking!
I’ve done the full cart trick, too! Has worked every time
Happy to be co-hosting with you!
The Happy Homeowner recently posted..Saving Money While Shopping…And a $500 Giveaway!
I’ve heard of the full cart trick but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. The rewards deal is another great way to save money.
Justin@TheFrugalPath recently posted..5 Tips for Turning Junk into Cash
full cart is harder to do since you usually need the stuff right now or they make you believe this is the last day of the best promotion ever, but it is worth a try.
Shopping online on Canadian sites is no where near as much fun as on US sites. Canadian sites are so far behind the times. Actually most of the major stores do not even have online stores open for Canadians yet, but they do in the US. The problem is if we buy from the US we could be charged a fee when it enters Canada, which again, stops us from doing it too often.
Tackling Our Debt recently posted..Inexpensive, Fun Ways to Express Your Love on Valentine’s Day
Same here, I sometimes order from the US but if they open it at customs the fees are pretty hefty.
Free shipping is a huge bonus and I will look far and wide to save on the delivery. I haven’t tried leaving with a full cart before purchase, but I will have to remember that one for future reference.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..Using Coupons to Save Money-$500 Giveaway
when they write back to you saying “hey, you left you cart empty!” then you can ask for free delivery!
I enjoy the leave items in the cart. It usually works well at some of the bigger retailers.
Grayson @ Debt Roundup recently posted..Be Money Savvy in 2013 – Use Your PPI Repayment to Get Your Finances in Order
Another method for saving on online purchases is to make a list and then use a shopping list search engine to find the whole list at the cheapest online seller. You can find an entire shopping list at the lowest price and also consolidate your shipping and handling costs too.
Besides the advantage of lower shipping costs there are possible volume discounts from online merchants.