You ate your turkey. You braved the Black Friday crowds. You shopped small on Saturday. Now, you’re about to head back to work. But there’s one last event of the holiday weekend to be had. It’s when most of America check out and logs on to nab deals and bargains to finish (or start) their Christmas shopping. Cyber Monday Sales are high on hype but do the savings truly add up? Here’s my takes along with some of the strategies I’ve developed over the years to guarantee online shopping success.
Look Local
Believe it or not, I’m seeing better deals at small businesses this years than in the general marketplace. So if you have a favorite small business that you love, be sure to head out to their social media channels or website to check the deals. Their incentive to drive in new traffic and treat loyal shoppers is higher than the big box retailers. Just because it’s not Small Business Saturday, it doesn’t mean the deals won’t be big. Personally, I’m scanning byTavi, Toasty Baby, 240 Sweet, and United State of Indiana.
Don’t Forget Deal Sites
When you’re looking for deals, don’t forget to head to places like Groupon, Living Social, Eversave, Pick Your Plum, and 1 Sale a Day. These sites feature not only the local bargains people love for restaurants and entertainment but also great offers for goods, too. Amazon is already featuring a number of amazing deals, too!
Cash Back & Coupons
Before you shop online anywhere, you want to see if any cash back sites feature your specific vendor. Basically, these sites work as portals to direct all of your shopping through to the site. I personally love EBates (and in fact, I got 10% cash back, Kohl’s cash, and Kohl’s rewards on Black Friday which nearly sliced the out of pocket price in half for me!). Shop at Home is another option. All you have to do is sign up for an account, search for where you plan on shopping (so many retailers are a part of this program), and then click through the link. Your online rebate will be paid to you in a couple of months, so it’s not instant money back but it is money back eventually. Even better, cash back sites also feature nearly all of the online coupons available. So you can see those codes before you click out to order. It’s so user friendly and an easy way to maximize your purchase.
Filters
Any time you do online shopping the very first thing you should do after searching for a product or category is to make the most of the filter options. I always go straight to the pricing option and make sure that things are listed in price from lowest to highest. This keeps my eyes from wandering into price points that I know I can’t afford. If I can, I’ll limit the dollar amount or select a certain percentage off, as well. Anything you can do to narrow the search, from specific sizes, colors, or brands, will help you spend less time online and save more money, too.
Fishy Sites
Be on your guard any time you shop online. If you wander on to a site that looks suspicious, trust your gut and flee. You always want to look in the web address bar and make sure you see https before the address when you get ready to check out. This extra letter is incredibly important and stands for secure. You should see a little picture of a lock, too. Again, you’ll only see it when you begin the check out process. Be safe, Lords and Ladies. It’s crazy out there.
What are your best tactics to save money and stay safe online when it comes to Cyber Monday Sales? I want to know what deal you’re looking for or found! Leave it in the comments.
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