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Shopping Online 101 - Tips to Help You Find the Best
Deals Online
The following tips are from the point
of view of an online retailer. They are geared to helping you, the buyer,
find the best possible deals while shopping on the Internet.
Shopping online is supposed to make our lives simpler, but at times
it may seem overwhelming, having to navigate through the endless
streams of information and stores available on the Internet. I hope
these tips help make your online shopping experiences more
satisfying to your wallet, and help save you precious time in the
process.
- Take some time
to compare
prices. There are plenty of free services online
that can help you with pricing decisions. Perhaps
one of the best known, and easiest to navigate, is
Google Product Search, found as a search option on
Google. Just type in any search term, such as "chihuahua
earrings" or "owl tote" and you will be presented
with pages of items matching your description. Each
item should have a photo, title, name and link to
the online store, and price. This shopping engine is
also offering adding benefits such as the ability to
search by price range or store.
A newer comparison shopping engine is called
The Find. It's
similar to Google Product Search but also has added
benefits for shoppers, including the ability to shop
for a particular item by color, as well as coupons
offered by various merchants.
- Check if the
retailer offers coupons. Don't pay full price
before finding out if the retailer offers coupons.
Some stores post coupons visibly on their store
front. Others, including
PJ
Publications and Gifts, routinely rewards its
customers with coupons and specials via newsletter.
It may be worth your time to subscribe to a
retailer's newsletter to learn about deals and
sales. You can always unsubscribe later.
Another way to find online retailer coupons is
through dedicated coupon sites. One such site, very popular
with both retailers and buyers, is
RetailMeNot.com.
Not only does this site offer coupons provided by
thousands and thousands of online stores, but it
offers other shopper favorites, including an active
online shopping community.
Other valuable dedicated coupon sites include
Savings.com and
MonkeyBargains.com and
CouponSnapshot.com
Another option is to look up coupons by search
engine. Just type in the name of the retailer or
item you are interested in along with the word
"coupon" or "coupons." Examples would be "dog lover
gifts coupons" 'animal lover gift coupon" and "cat
lover tote bag coupon." Quotation marks aren't
necessary.
- Take shipping
costs into consideration. That handbag or pair
of earrings may be priced right, but what will your
total be with shipping included? A good portion of
online retailers will post their shipping rates on
the website, so there are no surprises at checkout
time. If they don't, you either have the option of
contacting the store to inquire about shipping or
going through the checkout process (without paying)
just to see what shipping is. On the flip side, free
shipping is not really free if the item is priced
too high. Bottom line: Do the math.
Websites like
freeshipping.org post coupons and codes for
online retailers who offer free shipping of some
type.
- Put customer
service into your equation. The best price isn't
always worth it if the customer service of the
company you're purchasing from is poor. What you're
gaining in monetary savings shouldn't be lost in
time and aggravation. What are some tell-tale signs
of a good online merchant? They will respond to your
emails and calls within a reasonable amount of time;
they will let you know when an item is out of stock
and on backorder; and they will treat you as the
valuable customer you are.
This article is
copyrighted and is the property of PJ Publications and
Gifts LLC. It may not be reproduced without
permission.
Paula Fitzsimmons
paula@pjpublications.com
PJ Publications & Gifts, LLC
P.O. Box 45468
Madison, WI 53744-5468
608-332-7775
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