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Getting More for Less Online
By Jason Kuan
They say that idle hands are the devil's playground. While I haven't
exactly been idle this summer, I've been doing a little too much surfing
the Ônet. The result has been both a blessing and a curse. I've found so
many bargains out there that I may never have to pay full price again. The
downside is that even bargains cost money. But if you're going to shop
around, you might as well be an empowered and knowledgeable buyer. This is
a quick guide to shopping online. Disclaimer: I may mention several Web
sites, but this does not guarantee that you will have the same experience
that I did.
The first way to shop is the Methodical
Purchase:
Step 1: Do your homework on what you want to buy.
Get familiar with what is available: what features, amenities
are important to you? What is icing on the cake? Simply using search
engines like Google or Yahoo, the amount of information you can pull up is
amazing.
Narrow your choices down to the top three or four of
interest. If you are in the market for popular items or models, you may
want to hear what other people have to say about the different brands.
Keep in mind that this is individual people's subjective opinions. Still,
sites like Epinions will give you an idea of what benefits and encounters
you may encounter.
Useful sites:
http://www.epinions.com/
http://www.google.com/
http://www.yahoo.com/
Example:
I was looking around for bedding sets and wanted to know what to look for.
I soon found out what thread count was (# of threads per square inch,
higher = softer), one ply vs. two ply (two ply is stronger), different
types of materials/blends/processes (pima vs. Egyptian cotton vs.
sateen).
Step 2: Price around to get the best deal
possible.
One way to do that is simply enter the name and
model of the item of interest in price comparing Web sites. Most of these
sites will give an extensive list of stores offering the item, a rating of
the store based on users experiences (usually a one to five scale), and
the price, some including shipping/handling and tax if applicable. Make
note that not all stores are trustworthy. Also make note that some stores
offer refurbished items (items which have been returned but have
supposedly been tested to be up to quality standards of new, unused items.
Unfortunately, this isn't always the case.)
Useful sites:
http://www.bizrate.com/
http://www.pricegrabber.com/
mysimon.com
Example:
The going discounted price for 1200 TC bed sheets, woven with two-ply
yarn, 100 percent sateen cotton was $199.99 from the brand Luxury Hotel.
Step 3a: Purchase the item.
This can be done by
going to the Web site of one of the stores you found in step 2. Otherwise,
you may choose to go to www.ebay.com to see if it is up for auction. If it
is, you may find a cheaper price. However, bidding on eBay has become an
art that cannot be covered in this article alone. Furthermore, eBay is
highly addictive. You may find yourself bidding obscene amounts of money
for things that seemed neat at the time, but really weren't such a good
idea (my friend bought a cowboy hat for $100 because he got caught up in
the competition of bidding on an item).
Step 3b: Find a
similar item that may be just as good, but cheaper. This works less for
electronics and more for bed and bath products.
Example:
Other than the three big names in European luxury linens (Frette, Anichini
and Bellino) most sheets with the same specifications are equal. So I went
to a few Web sites that I know have competitive prices on a variety of
household goods are Smartbargains and Overstock. After snooping around a
little in the bedding section, I found the similar sheets by Bordeaux for
almost 30 percent less at Smartbargains.
Useful sites:
http://www.smartbargains.com/
http://www.overstock.com/
The
second way to shop is the Spontaneous method. Caution: this method
requires a great deal of self restraint. You may end up buying a whole lot
of things you don't need because it's a good deal. There are no set steps
for this method, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind. These
Web sites are forums and/or discount consolidation sites. Their usefulness
is based largely on the contributions of its users. One site that I often
look at is Slickdeals. The latest contributions have included 30 percent
off coupons for Borders books, 25 percent off coupons for Sportmart, free
tasting of five new flavors at Coldstone Creamery on July 2 from 10 a.m.
to noon.
The offers range from the use of coupons to mail in
rebates (MIR) to coupon codes that you enter when buying something online.
If you have questions about how to get that particular deal, you can see
comments listed about the deal in a forum type setting. Dead links or
expired deals are usually updated in a timely manner.
Another
useful site is Spoofee. This site has a lot more Ôfree' items. I put free
in quotes because often you have to give them some personal information
(like your address or your email address or phone number). There have been
instances where goods were not delivered but spam was instead. Be wary of
free magazine offers. If you do give them an email address, I would
suggest creating a separate email address so that any spam that they do
send will not clutter your regular email address. There are a lot of
repeats on the Spoofee site that you see on the Slickdeals site. Their
array of coupons and coupon codes, however, is a bit more abundant.
Useful sites:
http://www.spoofee.com/
http://www.slickdeals.net/
Whenever purchasing anything on the Internet, BE CAREFUL! Identity
theft has been on the rise with the advent of e-commerce (buying on the
web). As such, you must always be vigilant. One way to protect your credit
cards is to have one card with a low limit designated for purchases. This
will limit your exposure as well as the extent of damage done by ID
thieves. As mentioned previously, use a separate email address to limit
your spam exposure. Be wary of giving your phone number and don't ever
give your SSN. If you don't feel comfortable buying things online, just
use the spontaneous method to look for coupons that you can print out and
bring in to a bricks Ôn' mortar, or physical store. There are some thieves
out there, so beware. The flip side of the coin is that there a lot of
great bargains out there, so be aware!
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