Ecommerce is here to stay and is a dream come true for all the couch potatoes around the globe. You can shop your groceries or furniture and get it delivered on your doorstep without leaving your couch.
Online shopping is easy-breezy, reliable, and fast and convenient relief for shoppers who no longer want to spend hours in traffic jams and crowds in the stores. Shopping online is a relief to our shopping woes. Isn’t it?
Well, there is yang for every yin, and there is a dark side to shopping online. How can you ensure your credit card details are secure online? What do you do if you buy the wrong dress size? What if your shipment fails to arrive? If your head is already buzzing, take a deep breath because we’ve got the deets on all tricks online shopping. We’ll give you some tips and tricks to ease your online shopping stress:
Shop only from “clean” sites
You’re online, and you see a sassy pair of shoes you love. You add it to your cart and proceed to payment. You can’t wait to rock these beauties at your best friend’s birthday party. Then bam! Your shipment doesn’t arrive. Days turn into agonizing weeks with no delivery and zero refunds.
To avoid your worst-case scenario, only buy from reputable, trustworthy retailers. Think of big players like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Target and Alibaba, among others. They are pretty scam-proof and safe.
We are not advocating you snub smaller, newer stores. There are tons of lesser-known stores that are reputable, but you need to give them a second thought. Find out online customer reviews, safety features in place, and acceptable payment methods.
As for bidding sites like eBay, you need to take extra precaution to avoid sneaky online sellers. Google the seller’s phone number and email, and if the price is too good, run!
Transact via secure payment gateways
Check the credentials of the seller before transacting online. Does the site have an HTTPS:// at the top of your URL browser? This plays a significant part in safeguarding your personal information when you’re making a transaction online.
Payment gateways like Paypal, Skrill, ePay, Mastercard and Visa secure your transaction online without diverging your financial details to the merchant. To protect you against online fraud, use strong passwords with unique combinations, do not make purchases from public hotspots or computers and be wary of phishing emails.
Seasonal deals are King
I know the mania of Easter, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday to name a few is a total turn-off. But if you want to snag that new Apple iPhone 8, you better rethink those holiday deals.
Seasonal sales attract ridiculous deals and insane bargains enough to let you shop till you drop. Make sure you stick to your budget. With https://www.bestreviews.guide/ you’re sorted in every category from makeup to electronics, clothes, shoes and jewelry. These seasonal sales like Amazon’s prime day are short-lived but are quite the steal.
Filters are your new BFF
Filters are lifesavers and especially if you’re on a tight budget and want to get value for your dollar. Have $200 to spend? No problem. If you’re buying, let’s say a dress, you can filter the results to suit your size, shape, and budget.
You don’t want to waste precious time looking at dresses that don’t align with your preferences. Almost all stores have a sale at some point, and you might find only a particular dress size is on promotion. Use filters to ensure that pair of jeans you want to purchase is not full price.
Shop on the right day
We all know how tempting it is to buy stuff online on a lazy Saturday afternoon. It is no surprise you end up with a full cart over the weekend. But according to statistics, if you want to bag the best deals, shop between Wednesday and Friday.
Most stores roll out massive discounts during these days, so you better think twice before you make that order. Sunday is the best day to snag a dirt-cheap airline ticket while Monday is the most expensive. To buy electronics, especially desktop computers and laptops, Tuesday is the best day major retailers send out coupons.
Run smart price comparison checks
Have you ever paid for something only to find it costs way less on a different site? Sucks, right? To ensure you score the best deals online, install PriceBlink browser add-on for chrome, safari and Mozilla. It will save you tons of time and loads of money by pulling in prices of the same product from varying merchants and informing you of any available coupons.
You can also try out the Pricegrabber app, which does all the above. Plus it scans the bar codes to provide you with “bottom line prices” including shipping fees, taxes and other add-on charges.
Check and organize your mailbox
Many retailers send out coupons over the holiday season through email. The problem is they can get drowned by the tons of emails you receive, and you miss out on great discounts.
Piece of advice, when you want to go shopping, check through your mail and search for stores you’d signed up for and what products are on offer. Also, look into your junk mailbox for hidden coupons. You might save an extra ten or twenty dollars for another purchase.
Signing up to coupon sites, newsletters and promotion lists can save you a bucket load of money. But it’s common to end up with a spammed mailbox. To avoid this, sign up with Unroll.me.
It is an email add-on that allows you to unsubscribe from spam emails, thus decluttering your inbox automatically. You only have to send a single email per day to manage your subscriptions
Shopping is a tedious and daunting task. You have to get up, dress up and hit the store or stores to find what you’re looking for. Compare prices, quality and other perks each store is offering before making a purchase decision. Stressful, right?
But thanks to online shopping we get to browse a vast array of stores, items, prices anytime anywhere. But to get the most of online shopping, you need to be a savvy shopper. You got to learn the tips and tricks for shopping online.
