I hate holiday shopping just as much as the next shopper, but it's inevitable. This year, I'm doing all of my holiday shopping online. There once was a time when making a purchase online felt scary and insecure, but with the increased sophistication of e-commerce and social media, shopping online has become the ideal way to shop.
With the rise of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and the popularity of product reviews on blogs, there has been an immense increase in knowledge sharing and an expanding set of online tools and services to make it easier to interpret this data. What this means for you, as a consumer, is that you can use the tools created for shopping to find the best products for the best price.
Here is a guide of online tools and tips for you to get the most out of your online holiday shopping:
1. Decide what you want to purchase, if you're not sure get gift ideas
2. Utilize user reviews to figure out if what you're buying is a quality product
3. Search for the product to find the best deal
4. Check for a coupon code for the online store that I found the best deal to make it even better
5. Purchase with a cash back card - Cash back debit/credit cards give cash back at the end of the billing period for an added after shopping bonus
1. Get Gift Ideas
Shopping for other people can be difficult, but there are plenty of gift guides on the internet. Here are a few sites to give you more direction in selecting your gift.
General Gift Ideas
• Gifts.com
• Kaboodle
Personalized Gift Ideas
• Red Envelope
• Things Remembered
Geek Gift Ideas
• ThinkGeek
Romantic Gift Ideas
• Loving You
Children and Family
• Kaboose
• Grandparents
2. Utilize User Reviews
Everyone loves sharing their feelings about their favorite products as well as voicing their strong opposition to those they dislike. People are more apt to sharing their honest opinions on the internet because of the lack of human confrontation and the feeling of being anonymous. This brutal honesty can lead the best product reviews in turn to help you as a consumer find the best gifts for the holidays. Here are a few product review sites:
eOpinions
More product review sites:
• Amazon.com
• CNET
• Wize
3. Find the best deal
There are many online services that allow you to shop and compare online and retail stores to find the best deal. Here are a few product searching sites:
Google Product Search
Here's a list of other popular shopping sites for finding the best deal:
• FatWallet
• Deals.Woot
• Overstock
• Bing Shopping
• Pricegrabber
• Yahoo! Shopping
4. Use Coupon Codes
One of the most overlooked things during an online purchase is not utilizing the coupon code box! Just about every online retailer has some type of coupon code box to get free shipping or a discount on your purchase. I never make an online purchase without checking to see if there is a coupon code for it. Use these popular coupon code sites to find one for the online store you're shopping at:
• Retail Me Not
• Coupon Cabin
• Coupon Saver
• My Coupon
• Coupon Smarter
• Coupon Chief
5. Purchase with a Cash Back Card
Since you're going to making all your purchases online with a credit card, why don't you get rewarded for it? The best way is straight cash back, perks are great, but in the long run, nothing is better than a credit card with Cash Back. The more money you spend the more you get cash back, just another reason to do all you're shopping online. Here are a few credit cards with Cash Back:
PayPal Debit Card
If you have a PayPal account you can get a PayPal Debit Card. With a PayPal Debit Card you get a cash back bonus on all purchases you make with your card, as a credit card. Even if the site you are purchasing from accepts PayPal, don't use it, use your PayPal Debit Card and get cash back.
Chase Freedom Credit Card
Chase Freedom Credit Cards can give you up to 3% cash back on all purchases using the card.
Capital One No Hassle Cash Credit Card
This card will give you up 2% cash back with purchases using this card.
Do you shop online?
Hopefully these tips will help with your holiday shopping. Skip the malls, the traffic and the time wasted shopping at your traditional retail stores. What are your favorite tips and websites for online shopping? Share them in the comments below.
Anthony Montalbano
in
consumer trends, free advice
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