Ways to Save Money When Purchasing Online
1. Search for a promo code. It was recently an occasion where I had to send flowers to my mother. The flowers I had chosen for her were a total of $29.99 at the online florist. However before I made this purchase, I searched for a promo code (which is basically an online coupon) so that I could save a few bucks. And it worked! I found a promo code that was save $3.00 on any order of $20.00 or more! To search for a promo code you simply go to your favorite search engine and in the search box you type in the website/company name and then “promo code”. So for instance let’s say I was looking for a promo code for Wal-Mart. I would go to Google (or any other search engine) and do a search for “Wal-Mart promo code”. You’ll be surprised how many of them will come up! Sometimes you may have to click through a link to receive your discount or sometimes you might have to input a word in a box on the vendor’s site before you purchase. But if you buy from the major retailers online, the chances are they will have promo codes!
2. Another way to save money online is to use personal shopper sites. These 3rd party sites go out and spider all of the vendor sites to see who has the best prices. My favorite personal shopper site is called http://www.mysimon.com This way you can see which retailer has the better price on the item you wish to buy!
3. Look for sites with cheaper shipping. You can save money online by purchasing the site that has the cheapest price, but their common trick is to gouge you with their shipping fees! So when you’re comparison shopping, make sure that you take shipping and tax (if applicable) into consideration. You may think you’re saving money by buying the cheapest price but in the end you could be paying more!
4. Never pay full price for CDs, books, or software. There are obviously items that we usually want to have brand new like electronics, clothing, and computers, but never spend full price for books CDs, or software! These items highly depreciate in value so you can not only get them very cheaply, but they are usually in like new condition. The best way to buy these types of products are at auction sites or half price sites. Paying pennies on the dollar for these items is a definite way to save money online!
5. Always read product reviews. If you’ve done your comparison shopping and found the best prices of what you’re looking for, are you sure the item you’re about to purchase is really the item that’s the best suited for you? Reading product reviews on sites like http://www.cnet.com or http://www.consumerreports.org can actually help you weed out the inferior items and in the long run you’ll save money with your purchase. If you buy the latest and greatest product, but come to find out later that it’s junk, you should have read the product reviews. In the end you could actually save money by purchasing a more superior and suitable product!
