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Entry bubble Sneaky Tips for Shopping Online

By: Nancy | December 11, 2008 | Category: Money

Are you finding this holiday season rushed, stressful and confusing?

I am! And my being sick isn’t helping. (Would you believe that I have laryngitis AGAIN? ) Third time this year. The last time I had it back in July, I decided to do all my car buying negotiations online. Bidding seven dealers against each other, I ended up getting a great price. That experience worked so well, I’ve decided during this latest bout of speechlessness to forgo the mall and do all of my holiday shopping online too.

There are some great bargains out there. But I’ve got some sneaky tips that can help you get even better deals, not just during the holidays, but anytime you’re shopping online.

I’m kind of methodical when I’m buying something. I hit websites like CNET.com and ConsumerSearch.com to compare features, read professional reviews and get the ratings and reviews of people who already bought the product I’m considering.

Once I figure out the brand and model number, I use sites like Shopzilla and MySimon to compare prices.

Now for the sneaky part: coupon codes. As you’re getting ready to make your purchase on most online stores, you’ll see a little box to type in a coupon, promotional, or discount code. Online stores usually send coupon codes to their email update subscribers. Happily, you don’t need to clog up your email in-box with every store’s email updates. Just go to a site like CouponCabin.com and type in the name of the online store you’re interested in, to see what offer pops up. Cut and paste or type the coupon code into the box before you check out of the online store and depending on the offer, you can get a percentage off discount or even free merchandise.

The thing I don’t like about buying from online stores is their shipping and handling fee. Is it my imagination or do some online stores seem to inflate their shipping costs? I’m so cheap. So I was delighted when I found websites like FreeShipping.org that search online stores for free shipping deals. In the past week, I’ve saved over $20 in shipping from one online store alone, using the free shipping code I found on FreeShipping.org.

For ways to make sure the online seller you’ve chosen is reputable and for tips on what to do if your purchase isn’t what you hoped it would be, check out USA.gov’s section on shopping from home.

What are you buying online this holiday season?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: coupons   money   nancy   online   shopping  

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