Erik
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I decided to write an article about online shopping for the newspaper I also design for my high school. The paper is called "The Free Forum", and this edition of it will be coming out in mid-January. It's from Harriton High School in Rosemont, PA.
Anyway, I gave Spoofee a little push in it so I figured some of you might be interested in reading it!
Online shopping can be a very tricky experience, especially if for people new to the Internet or don’t know the ways that online merchants work. Getting a great deal online can be very easy if one has experience and they know what they are doing, or very hard for a novice. Getting great deals depends on how much time one chooses to put toward shopping for their product.
For example, some items may be smart to purchase online, and some, in the store. Buying clothes online is not a great idea because the person cannot even try on the piece of clothing to see if it even fits! Buying electronics online is a smart move; because once the person has narrowed down what item they want, they can find it online and get a great price, normally lower than any of the retail stores. Generally, it is smart to narrow it down to the product you want in a retail store, and then try to look for the best price for the same item online.
Online shopping has its pros and cons though. Although the selling price of an online merchant may be well below the retail price, be sure to include any applicable shipping and handling costs into part of the total price. Although most shipping prices are low, some are outrageous and completely set off the low selling price that the online seller is advertising. One advantage to buying online is that there is no need to go to Delaware to shop tax-free! As long as the online seller doesn’t have a retail location in the state of Pennsylvania, your order is tax free, which can sometimes save you a good amount of money, or defray any shipping costs the seller may have!
Some pointers to consider before clicking the mouse and submitting that order are to use deal sites and price grabbing sites. Examples of these are http://www.spoofee.com and http://www.pricegrabber.com/. Spoofee, for example, updates daily and includes incredible and unbelievable prices on everyday items and gifts, mostly popular technology items. Many “tricks” are used such as combining coupons, mailing in rebates etc., to create incredible deals. There are also message boards to discuss and communicate about deals etc. The disadvantage to using Spoofee is that the prices do not last long, sometimes as little as a few hours. In addition, sometimes it is confusing to mail in rebates and combine coupons. With some experience, shopping online is a piece of cake!
PriceGrabber is another great site to remember. Type in any product, and PriceGrabber will look up the prices on that item from 5-10 retailers, sometimes more on a popular item. If the shopper isn’t into spending a lot of time in shopping and finding the best price, PriceGrabber makes it simple to check a price on a single item, and therefore making it easy to find the item for a lot cheaper than just buying it at a retail store. PriceGrabber also includes shipping and tax costs, if applicable, making it easy to see which seller has the best bottom line price.
Finding the best price online is not hard with a little experience, but for newcomers to the Internet and online shopping, it can sometimes be a very challenging experience. Checking a couple other sites before submitting the order can sometimes save the buyer tens or hundreds of dollars, depending on the item. Using price-checking sites etc., however, will save you time, and hopefully a lot of money!
Anyway, I gave Spoofee a little push in it so I figured some of you might be interested in reading it!
Online shopping can be a very tricky experience, especially if for people new to the Internet or don’t know the ways that online merchants work. Getting a great deal online can be very easy if one has experience and they know what they are doing, or very hard for a novice. Getting great deals depends on how much time one chooses to put toward shopping for their product.
For example, some items may be smart to purchase online, and some, in the store. Buying clothes online is not a great idea because the person cannot even try on the piece of clothing to see if it even fits! Buying electronics online is a smart move; because once the person has narrowed down what item they want, they can find it online and get a great price, normally lower than any of the retail stores. Generally, it is smart to narrow it down to the product you want in a retail store, and then try to look for the best price for the same item online.
Online shopping has its pros and cons though. Although the selling price of an online merchant may be well below the retail price, be sure to include any applicable shipping and handling costs into part of the total price. Although most shipping prices are low, some are outrageous and completely set off the low selling price that the online seller is advertising. One advantage to buying online is that there is no need to go to Delaware to shop tax-free! As long as the online seller doesn’t have a retail location in the state of Pennsylvania, your order is tax free, which can sometimes save you a good amount of money, or defray any shipping costs the seller may have!
Some pointers to consider before clicking the mouse and submitting that order are to use deal sites and price grabbing sites. Examples of these are http://www.spoofee.com and http://www.pricegrabber.com/. Spoofee, for example, updates daily and includes incredible and unbelievable prices on everyday items and gifts, mostly popular technology items. Many “tricks” are used such as combining coupons, mailing in rebates etc., to create incredible deals. There are also message boards to discuss and communicate about deals etc. The disadvantage to using Spoofee is that the prices do not last long, sometimes as little as a few hours. In addition, sometimes it is confusing to mail in rebates and combine coupons. With some experience, shopping online is a piece of cake!
PriceGrabber is another great site to remember. Type in any product, and PriceGrabber will look up the prices on that item from 5-10 retailers, sometimes more on a popular item. If the shopper isn’t into spending a lot of time in shopping and finding the best price, PriceGrabber makes it simple to check a price on a single item, and therefore making it easy to find the item for a lot cheaper than just buying it at a retail store. PriceGrabber also includes shipping and tax costs, if applicable, making it easy to see which seller has the best bottom line price.
Finding the best price online is not hard with a little experience, but for newcomers to the Internet and online shopping, it can sometimes be a very challenging experience. Checking a couple other sites before submitting the order can sometimes save the buyer tens or hundreds of dollars, depending on the item. Using price-checking sites etc., however, will save you time, and hopefully a lot of money!
Can I purchase a copy of the newspaper/article from you?