Shop online for super savings
Shopping online is a fast and easy way to cut the cost of almost anything – from DVDs and books to cosmetics and electronics. Victoria Bischoff explains her four steps for successful saving.
In these penny pinching times, everyone likes to brag about getting something for nothing – and rising online sales indicate that this new generation of price conscious consumers are turning to the web for the best bargains.
Why face the onslaught in the shops, dodging elbows and fighting for the last item in your size, when you could log on to a website at midnight from the comfort of your own home and order it online – almost certainly at a better price than you would get it for in the shops?
By simply following my four step guide, you could make huge savings at the click of a mouse.
Step 1: Use shopbots to locate the best deal
The enormity of the internet can be overwhelming for first time online shoppers. However, using shopbots, or shopping robots, can help make online shopping easier.
These websites will save you valuable time and money by tracking down the lowest prices for you – and all at no extra charge.
Shopbots work in a similar way to price comparison websites. You just enter the product you are looking for into the search engine, and then the website will list the retailers that provide the product in price order with the cheapest first (usually including delivery charges).
BeatThatQuote.com offers a cost comparison service for a wide range of products and allows you to search for everything from perfume and cameras to sporting equipment. Other popular sites include Kelkoo.com and Shopping.com.
Elsewhere, some websites focus on specific products. For example, the Find websites (Find-book.co.uk, Find-cd.co.uk, Find-games.co.uk and Find-dvd.co.uk) are excellent at tracking down the best bargains.
The key to using shopbots successfully is to always run a search through two or three different websites. No one shopbot is able to search every online retailer or pick up all the latest special offers, and so by using more than one you increase your chances of getting the best deal.
It is now also possible to take advantage of shopbots wherever you are by using the web on your mobile phone. Some phones offer special services to make this even easier; for example, T-Mobile has now introduced a ShopSavvy service that allows you to scan barcodes with your camera phone, log onto the internet and find the best prices.
Step 2: Make the most of discount vouchers
In a bid to attract customers in these cash strapped times, retailers have dramatically increased the amount of online vouchers and discounts available to us.
Sites such as Hotukdeals.com and Myvouchercodes.co.uk provide a wide selection of money off vouchers for high street and online retailers. All you have to do to redeem them is either type in the voucher code when purchasing online or click and print the voucher to take into stores.
Step 3: Use cashback sites to claw money back
Cashback sites do exactly what they say on the tin: they can earn you hundreds of pounds in cash back each year if you purchase products through their site.
For example, if you shop at HMV through the website Topcashback.co.uk, you can earn you up to 5% of your spending back.
Cashback sites are able to do this because every time you click through to a retailer from their site, they receive payment for directing your custom to that store. Instead of keeping this revenue, these generous sites return the money to you.
TopCashback.co.uk is one of the best cashback sites available, paying out 100% of the cashback it receives. Unlike many other 100% payers, it does not keep the first £5 you earn each year. However, it is always worth checking other popular websites such as Cashbackkings.com and Quidco.com, as they may have links with different retailers.
Step 4: Spend smart to save even more
Using a cashback credit card to purchase your goods online can offer you even greater savings, as well as providing you with more security.
Cashback credit cards pay you each time you use them – and provided you repay your balance in full each month in order to avoid interest, you could earn hundreds of pounds in cashback this year. (You can learn more about cashback credit cards here.)
Currently, the top payer on the market is the American Express Platinum cashback credit card. New cardholders will earn 5% cashback on spending of up to £2,000 during their first three months.
Paying for purchases that cost more than £100 with a credit card also means you’ll benefit from extra protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This states that if the retailer you’re buying from doesn’t deliver your goods (or they aren’t as described), you have the option of claiming a refund from your credit card provider.
Protect yourself
Many people worry that online shopping is not safe. However, the following tips can help protect you against many of its perceived risks.
• Always make sure you look at the entire purchase amount you will be paying. If needed, take the time to search for the lowest shipping taxes.
• Always read the customer service sections on websites to arm yourself with information on returns policies and guarantees.
• Always be careful when buying from a site you have never heard of before. Check who owns the site and its location. Remember, it is a legal requirement that online shops state a geographical address.
• When it comes to paying for your items, check for symbols that show your transaction is secure. You should be able to see a padlock at the bottom of your screen, and the web address you can see at the top of the screen may change from ‘http’ to ‘https’ (the ‘s’ stands for secure).
Guilt-free spending?
By shopping online you could save valuable time otherwise spent on travel and in queues – so why not take your time and shop around for the best, money saving deals?
However, in these tough economic conditions, shopaholics should remain cautious. It is easy to lose track of how many items you have put in your virtual basket when all you have to do is click on something once!
Online shopping is great for repressing ‘the guilt factor’. Now is not the time to be seen carrying mountains of shopping bags, but if you’re splurging via the internet no one is to know you are single handedly keeping Royal Mail afloat.
Therefore, make sure you follow this final, all-important step when online shopping: however much you can shave off the price of your chosen items, only buy what you know you can afford.
**This material is for information purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. We strongly encourage our readers not to rely solely on this content, but to seek independent advice when making financial decisions.**
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