Tips For Getting The Best Deal Online
Finding the best deal used to involve flipping through pages of Sunday ads, early morning wake ups, and driving from store to store. Today, you can still do that, but you won’t find the best deal anymore. Shopping online is the best and easiest way to find a deal, but here are some tips to follow when buying online:
No Brick and Mortar Store’s Website- When looking online for a good deal be cautious about the brick and mortar online stores (Target.com, Walmart.com, etc.) because they will charge tax. Online stores (with no physical presence) don’t have to charge tax. Now, in some states you’re suppose to pay, but the state doesn’t need to know that. An example, just recently I bought an Apple TV from the Apple website (Apple has brick and mortar stores as well) and it was $229 and with tax it was $267. It was still a better deal than other online stores even after tax, but that’s not always true.
Coupon/Promotional Code- During checkout you’ll click by a “Enter Coupon Code” button and you’ll never have a code, but that’ll change with RetailMeNot. RetailMeNot is a (beautifully designed) website that has coupon codes for popular online stores. My experience with the codes is that they work about 25% of the time, which is alright seeing you’ll find a deal 25% of the time. The best code I’ve ever used is 25% off any pair of shoes on Finishline.com.
Open Box & Recertified- I never liked the idea of buying something that has been used or even opened by someone else, but when the price is right I’ll think about it. Many “Open Box” purchases simply mean the box had been opened, returned, and then resold at a lower price. A recertified product is like a certified pre-owned car, the product is inspected by the company and sold for a cheaper price. Being recertified usually comes with a warranty and/or extended return policy.
Just Wait- Can’t find any deals on that widescreen LCD? Just wait! Give some time for the item to age. Online stores will want to get rid of last year’s model and they’ll do it with cheaper prices. But be careful, the discounted item’s will sell fast and you might be paying more than you should. I made this mistake when buying a new TV. I could have bought a 32″ Samsung LCD for $500, but I waited too long and they sold out.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:55 am
Excellent advice, expecially about the popular ‘brick and mortar’ stores charging sales tax.
One other suggestion is to use a price comparison engine to search for the best prices, and then look for a coupon code. With a price comparison engine (like Nextag or Price Grabber), you can enter your zip code to find out the total price including shipping and tax (if applicable). One thing to note is that many smaller merchants submit their products to the comparison engines, and you might want to go with a trusted name (even if the price is a bit higher).
Once you decide which price comparison and coupon code sites you like, bookmark them in a “shopping” folder so that you’ll be ready to rock and roll next time you shop online. I hope you will visit is at http://www.couponheaven.com/