If you didn’t already know, I do a lot of online shopping because it helps me not to get out of my house. But the best part about online shopping is that I can save more money. And the reason for that is pretty simple.
The retail stores have more overhead costs than online stores. And because of that, online stores can afford to sell the products at a lower price. And it’s not just the money you’re saving on the MRP. You are also saving on other things like parking, gas, and more importantly, you save a lot of time. Recent studies show that the amount of time it takes to choose a product and checkout online is much lower than if you would do the same thing in a retail store.
Folks will say that you won’t save much if you are paying for shipping, but that’s not true. Even if you pay for shipping, you are still saving on gas, time and parking, etc.
But if you are a new online shopper, then this is a completely new territory for you. And just like everything else, you will have to learn how to save money. And not just save money, you will have to find the best way to save money.
In this post, you will find the 3 best ways to save money on any, and everything that you purchase online. So without any further ado, let’s get into it.
Auction sites like eBay
Auction sites are one of the best places to buy, well anything. Because even if you are looking to purchase something that is less popular, for instance, a money clip, you can still get a bargain. There are a ton of auction sites like eBay out there. Yahoo Auctions, Online Auction.com, uBid, etc. are just a few of them.
One thing you should make note of while searching for auction sites is that they should be old and that they are trusted. There are a lot of scam websites out there that will just take your money and never give you the product. If the deal that you are getting on an auction website seems too good to be true, and you can’t find the same deal anywhere else, that site is probably a scam.
Another thing you should look for before buying is the seller’s rating. All legit auction websites make sure that the customers receive the best service and products possible.
Another way to search for great savings is to shop at overstock.com website. These stores have surplus goods and they also have returned goods. This is one of the best ways to save massively. One of the most popular overstock websites, is, of course, Overstock.com
They specialize in everything that you can come up with. All you have to do is search for it.
Another way to search for more overstock websites is to head on to Google and type in the product that you are looking for, and then add the word overstock. I’m pretty sure that you can find some good quality overstock websites offering some great quality products.
Online Sales
This is a no-brainer. You want to make sure that you are shopping somewhere that is having a sale. I know you might be saying that this is easier said than done.
If you’re walking down the street, you can see which shops are having a sale and which aren’t. But how do you do that online?
That’s when those coupon websites come in handy. These websites make sure that they list the sales as soon as they are live on these eCommerce websites. In short, if you keep an eye on these coupon websites, you can know exactly when online stores are having sales and you can save a lot of money from that.
For those who are still in the dark, an online sale is just like a normal sale that you would have in a local store. And instead of walking into a store, you are purchasing the products online. Also, instead of being followed by a salesperson, you will be hit by sales literature, images, etc.
Just like local stores, the most popular sales on online stores is the end of the season sale. This is the time when they want to get rid of their current stock. And this is the perfect time to get some of the best bargains.
When scouring through these deals, make sure that you know that if it will be cheaper for you if you buy in bulk, because shipping and handling can be costly. In countries like Canada, it is common sense to buy in bulk as that brings down the overall cost of shipping and handling.
Also, take time to read the store’s T&C’s because they might highlight a certain purchase amount at which the store will waive the shipping charges completely.
Coupons and Vouchers
This is one of the best-kept secrets. Coupons, vouchers, or promo codes are anything that ends in codes that are given out by online stores to website owners so that the consumers can save money shopping from them. This means that the consumers could either get free shipping, a gift, a discount, free samples, etc. anyone of those things.
The next time you are purchasing something online, notice that there is a small box at the end of your checkout saying ‘enter your promotional code here.’ This is where your brain should start working and tell you to go get some promo codes. And that begs the question – where should you find these promo codes?
The first step is to start from search engines. Search for “overstock coupon 20%” if you are shopping online at Overstock.com.
Most of the coupon websites are extremely time to consume as they have to make sure that the coupons are active, and also being updated. One thing you should remember is that most of these coupon codes have a limited shelf life. What this means, is that they can only be active for a couple of hours, or a couple of days. So make sure you read the details correctly.
The best way to get updated whenever these coupon websites add new coupons is either to subscribe to their newsletter or click on the RSS symbol at the top of most sites.