How to Save Money While Shopping Online
The world of internet has changed our shopping habits; from going to market and examining the product before buying to sitting on our favourite couch and browsing what exciting deal an e-retailer (e-tailer) has to offer. Most of the time we find a good deal, but there are times when we discover that one of our friends has got a better deal. Since I too am a fan of shopping online, here are a few helpful tips that I personally use when I shop online:
Have you heard of the term ‘dynamic pricing’?
You must have heard that Airline’s price shoot up when you keep on checking for one flight over and over on your browser. This happens because of the dynamic pricing system that these companies follow. They sneak into your browser cookies and see your search and browsing history; then the dynamic pricing system increases the price of the item that you have already looked for. This system has gained popularity among the e-retailers too and consequently, this may affect the price of your favourite shoe too!
Well, the good news is we can bypass this by employing simple techniques like:
- Erasing browser history
- Logging out of all social media sites (like Facebook, Google+, Twitter…)
- Turn off your location/GPS
- Go to ‘incognito mode’
Rest assured- you have outwitted them!
Wait until its time
Tuesdays or Wednesday are generally the least expensive days for online shopping, and Saturdays are the costliest. There are many companies that give out special coupons on Tuesdays. Or, if you can wait, you should look for upcoming festivals that may bring great discounts with them.
Don’t buy in one go
You may find it easy and comfortable to ‘add to cart’ many items and make payment, but this might not be the best way. Many times, we get some coupon/cash back after buying something that arrives after a couple of days of the purchase and remains in our emails or e-wallets. And after a few days, we see that there’s some cash in our wallet and spend that money carelessly or for just for the sake of spending that money. Hence, we must keep in mind the next purchase and do it when the cashback arrives.
Find discount coupons
Do not directly go to the e-retail site and enter the search query. Look for some coupons on your emails or leading coupon sites. These can give you a nice deal like Vouchershops.co.uk, just give them a look. You can subscribe to them to get emails about new coupons and offers.
Bargain with the customer care
If you have missed a good coupon and the coupon has expired, don’t worry, you can go to their Customer care and ask for it. There are promo departments in e-retail companies, they can extend your coupon deadline or can give you a new coupon code. They may say it’s difficult or not possible but if you bargain well, they’ll agree for it. And it costs nothing!
Add items to your cart
Add the items you want to purchase and leave them for a couple of days. There are many companies that ‘see’ that and will try to retain you and mail you some coupons, use them and save some more!
Bargain for price drops
If you have purchased a product and it is on sale now, you can go to their customer care and ask for refunds. There are many e-retailers that understand the frustration that their customers may have in this situation and refund the difference.
Go for free shipping
There are many of these websites that offer free delivery for a certain minimum purchase amount. See how short you are from that amount and add a few things that are from your daily needs and add them. Or, you can check with other sites that are giving free shipping on the same product with the price that might be the same or a little higher but cumulatively, it is lower. Go for that deal.
Check on the return policy
This advice might not look coherent here, but believe me it is. No matter what the company is, you must see if they have a clear return policy. You never know when a faulty product will arrive at your place.
Most important – Compare offline
It is possible that a product online is at 50% discount but in the local store it is available even cheaper and that too without delivery charge! Don’t go with the big discounts; know the actual price the product is worth of.
In the end, I would say, online shopping is easy and comfortable, but it is up to us to make it a cheaper and smarter option.