How to Save Money - Buy Online

1. Guide to
Saving Money
by Buying Online

2. 2 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Shopping online can be a huge money-saver for consumers
these days. Buying online provides benefits such as comfort and
convenience, and a way for people to find what they want quickly
without taking too much time out of their busy lifestyles and
schedules.
Saving money online can be tricky for shoppers. We’re constantly hit
with advertisements and recommendations for buying quickly ‘before
time runs out’, with many websites claiming to offer the best price,
but unfortunately carrying unwarranted guarantees in the process.
These days, however, there is no shortage of ways to shop on the
Internet. The amount of money spent online is rising every year,
as more people are accepting the affordability and convenience of
online shopping and gaining more confidence in its safety.
Guide to Saving Money
by Buying Online

3. 3 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Businesses that sell online have no choice but to
offer attractive rates, mainly because the online
competition is stiff.
The nature of the Internet makes it easy for
consumers to comparison shop, so in order to
remain competitive, companies must always keep
their prices to a minimum.
With online shopping becoming more and
more affordable and secure, it’s no wonder that
consumers are continually taking advantage. With so
many bargains and such a wide selection of products
available, it’s never been more convenient or easy for
shoppers to buy online.
In the next article, we’ll discuss the affordability and
benefits of shopping online, and show you how you
can take advantage and not miss out for yourself.
Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online

4. 4 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Always search for coupons before making a purchase
online. One of the best options for finding online coupons
is retailmenot.com, which has codes for more than 65,000
online merchants. And sites like coupons.com and others
have many coupon codes for all types of companies, from
small online vendors to large chain stores.
Most online coupon services offer printable coupons, but
they also offer other convenient services such as price
comparison lists and promotional codes for online shopping.
They can additionally provide big discount opportunities for
larger purchases such as travel, electronics, and appliances.
The services of these sites vary. Some offer printable
coupons for groceries, and others provide online coupon
codes that you can use while shopping online. Of course,
many coupon sites are not legitimate and will lead you
nowhere, but if you can find and discover the coupon codes
that work, it will save you time and energy as well as money.
Search for Coupons

5. Online Marketplaces
Take advantage whenever you can of goods and services sites. Online marketplaces enable you to buy almost any
kind of service – ranging from high-quality, professional services to gigs that are just for fun.
Goods and services sites give buyers
a cost-effective way of buying things
they need, without making any
monthly commitments or having to
pay too much. You can use online
communities to do anything from
learning new skills or buying birthday
gifts, to having someone review and
edit your resume. Just ensure that
when using these sites, you look
for listings with high ratings and the
turnaround time you need. Contact
the seller providing the service also,
to explain what you want and to make
sure they can do the job for you.
5 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online

6. 6 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
One ‘trick’ you can use to save money online is to fill up
your shopping cart on any retail site and start the checkout
process, by first filling out your shipping information and email
address, but by holding off on actually entering the payment
information.
If you then leave the site and wait, you’ll see that most of the
time, the retailer will email you some kind of reminder to come
back – usually with a coupon, free shipping, or other enticement.
For example, you may receive an email that says ‘We noticed you
left XYZ product on the shelf today. As a one-time offer, we’re
offering you a voucher code to receive 30% off your next order’.
Keep in mind that for this ‘trick’ to work, you will need to have
an account set up at the retailer’s site, and be logged in when
you abandon your cart. But with online stores today tracking
consumers’ every move, they will know when you visit their site,
add things to your cart, and abandon your cart even seconds
before you make a purchase.
Abandon Your Shopping Cart

7. 7 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Most people don’t think of using social media when
it comes to saving money online. But many smaller
vendors – don’t appear on aggregators or cashback
sites. In cases like these, you can search a store’s social
media accounts for posts with codes that might still
be valid. You may or may not have to follow and like the
companies you want to purchase from, but it could pay
off to do so in order to take advantage when their promo
codes hit your feed.
With social media, companies also often engage both
potential and existing customers in contests where they
can win coupons, products, or cash prizes. These contests
are a great way for you to shop online and save money.
As detailed here, you can use social media and save
money in other ways too, such as by taking advantage of
hashtags for Twitter, ‘Insta-Sales’ on Instagram, and more.
Use Social Media

8. 8 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Retailers also know what time of the
day most people shop online. Many
businesses will lower and raise prices
during the day accordingly. To make
sure you’re getting the best prices,
you can check out websites such as
ShopAdvisor, to alert you when the
products you’re looking for are at
their lowest prices. You can also set
up price drop alerts on major online
retailers such as eBay and Amazon,
to keep track of the goods you want
and find out when the product you
want gets to the price you can afford.
Online businesses generally know when consumers make the most purchases, and they adjust their prices
accordingly. Many people shop on Sundays, for example, so prices usually go up as the weekend nears.
The best deals occur earlier in the week, so it’s best to purchase things on those days in order to get the best deal.
Shop at the Right Times

9. 9 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Online sellers often offer rebates after items
are purchased. In a society where now is
always better than later, it’s easy to overlook
rebates and the opportunity to receive an
instant discount.
Rebates can come in the form of online/
instant rebates, or as mail-in rebates. You
can shop online at thousands of name brand
national and local retailers, and receive cash
rebates from them to help save money. So
if you spend $100 a week on supplies and
groceries and get a $5 rebate each time, you
can save more than $250 a year. Saving that
amount of money starts to really add up; any
smart online shopper should consider rebates
carefully, because the money you get back
may be more than you will save otherwise.
Look for Rebates

10. 10 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Sites like Ebates are one great way to
take advantage of rebates. Ebates is a
‘cash-back website’ that lets you log
in before making a purchase with an
online retailer, and then earn a rebate
on what you’ve purchased.
The cashback amount varies by
retailer and may be restricted to
certain products or categories.
However, there are often double
cash back offers, which you can find
out about through email alerts. The
Ebates site actually lists special offers
for each merchant itself, making it kind
of a one-stop-shop to get the best
deal you can. Ebates has agreements
with more than 1,500 stores, including
Target and many more.
Look for Rebates

11. 11 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
If you are placing a large order or buying an expensive
item, try to take advantage of the many free shipping
offers available today. Many retailers will include
free shipping if you spend a certain amount on your
purchase. Taking advantage of these free shipping
offers will save you money in general, but will help you
even more if you’re ordering something expensive to
ship because of the size or weight. And if you fall short
of a required minimum, think about other items you
may need that you can purchase ahead of time.
Many online retailers offer free shipping options.
Some require the usage of free shipping codes, and
others are automatically calculated when you check out.
There are some restrictions involved; for example, not
Take Advantage
of Free Shipping

12. 12 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
all offer free shipping outside of the continental U.S.
But if you’re in the market for new electronics or trendy
clothes, you might be able to find what you’re looking
for from the store you want, and have it shipped for
free.
Many sites like Amazon include free shipping and offer
a number of different items from various categories,
which can allow you to save money on shipping and also
save time by doing all of your shopping on one site.
If you shop online at multiple sites, you can also sign
up for a shipping service such as ShopRunner, which
offers free two-day shipping on all of your purchases
from dozens of online retailers, including Newegg,
Drugstore.com, Lord and Taylor, Toys R’ Us, and more.
Utilizing services like these enables you to get many of
the features of a service like Amazon Prime, only this
way it’s across dozens of sites instead of just one.
Take Advantage of Free Shipping

13. 13 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Group buying on daily deal sites is growing
quickly, and there are lots of new sites
bringing you deals every day. Relatively
speaking, daily deal sites haven’t been
around for very long. But they’ve caught on
quickly, and more and more sites are coming
into the market all the time. Once you learn
how to pick out the best sites among the
many in the market, you’ll be rewarded with
huge savings on your favorite products and
services.
The most well-known of the daily deal sites
is Groupon. According to their website,
Groupon’s mission is to connect local
commerce, increasing consumer buying
power while driving more business to local
merchants through price and discovery.
Daily Deal Websites

14. 14 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Groupon enables you to buy
just about anything you can
imagine, and they also offer
discounted gift certificates
usable at local or national
companies.
Another popular daily deal site
is LivingSocial. LivingSocial,
based in Washington D.C., is a
local marketplace designed to
help consumers find great deals
on activities and stores in their
local area. The site offers unique
and diverse offerings each day,
with everything from weekend
excursions to exclusive
gourmet dinners and more.
Daily Deal Websites

15. 15 | Guide to Saving Money by Buying Online
Although they can sometimes be annoying, email lists from
retailers can offer many good deals that can’t be found
anywhere else. Stores often send out coupon codes via email
that have special codes for members, who in this case are the
consumers on their mailing list. Many retailers will also send
you special offers or discounts, just for signing up.
Signing up for special offer e-newsletters and emails from travel
planning sites, airlines, and credit card companies can also help
you save big. And if you’re an existing customer and a retailer
you’re signed up with is having a sale, they’ll often email coupons
to consumers like you who’ve shopped with them before.
Before you buy something at your favorite retailer, however,
check to see if they offer any kind of discounts before you give
them your email address. And if you don’t want to see your inbox
flooded with sales ads and similar clutter, you might consider
getting a dedicated free email address on the side to receive only
emails such as these.
Sign up for an Email List
All images are subject to copyright.