Discount Shopping Online

Tips For Discount Shopping Online

If you enjoy discount shopping, it’s time to take your quest for low prices online.

Coupon Codes

One of the best ways to find online shopping discounts is to look for coupon codes whenever you need to make a purchase. Coupon codes work in much the same way as a traditional coupon, except instead of having a cashier scan your coupon at the register, you enter a series of letters and numbers, the “code,” into your online shopping cart. Coupon codes can be better than traditional sales because they allow you to make your own sale by taking 10% off your entire order, $10 off your order of $50 or more, or similar discounts. Of course, for the ultimate in discount shopping online, you can combine sale and clearance prices with coupon codes.

So how do you find coupon codes? Many coupon codes start out in catalogues and promotional mailings to past customers, but once they’re published, they’re fair game and likely to be posted online almost immediately. There are a number of websites devoted entirely to sharing these codes. Member of bargain-hunting forums also share these coupon codes with each other and readers everywhere. If you don’t feel like reading through pages of unrelated codes, you can search for “name of company coupon code” to find coupons from a specific online retailer.

Coupon codes expire regularly, and some truly are only meant for specific customers, such as store credit card holders. If one code doesn’t work, try another. Most sites only allow you to use one coupon at a time, but it doesn’t hurt to try the percent-off coupon along with the free shipping offer. This practice is called "stacking."

Deal Forums and Websites

They may not like to spend money, but online discount shoppers are typically generous with their knowledge. Some popular sites and forums devoted to good deals include MyCoupons.com, which requires free registration to view forum posts, SlickDeals.net and DealofDay.

Rebate and Points Sites

Another way that online discount shoppers save money is through sites that allow users to earn rebates or points toward prizes with every purchase. A 3% return on your purchase may not seem like much, but every little bit adds up. A few popular sites include Ebates, MyPoints and FatWallet.com.

Clearance and Outlets

If you’re used to shopping the clearance racks in your favorite department store or heading to the outlet mall, you can do the exact same thing online. The selection will be limited, so you should check back frequently to avoid missing out on a deal you’ve had your eye on. Links to clearance and outlet sites should be easy to find by looking carefully at retailers’ websites. You can also search for “name of store outlet” or “name of store clearance” to start your discount shopping online.

Compare Prices

There are as many different prices as there are online stores, so it can pay to shop around. Visit comparison sites like Froogle and PriceSCAN.com. When small, unknown web retailers have the best deal, you’ll have to weigh whether the discount is worth giving up the security of shopping at a well-known site like Amazon.com.

Auctions

You can enjoy some great discount shopping at online auction sites like eBay and Yahoo! Auctions. The deals will be even better if you’re willing to consider purchasing a used product.

Price Errors

If you frequent deal forums and websites, you’ll eventually come across a deal that is obviously a pricing error, like a Sex and the City DVD set priced at $4.99 instead of $49.99. It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon and order one for everyone you know. These deals are rarely ever honored, though, and the orders are canceled before they get a chance to ship. There is a certain “you never know…” feel to these deals, so it doesn’t hurt to try, but don’t get your hopes up.

Overall, a little bit of searching, reading and digging can save you a lot of money through discount shopping online.