Online Shopping: Hacks You Need To Know About!

Everyone’s shopping online nowadays, and if you not – where have you been hiding? It’s the new way of life, no more waiting in line at the store or getting told your size is no longer in stock after scanning the place for hours!

Everything is made easier now. Not only is it a lot more efficient, but it’s fun!

Here are some hacks that you absolutely need to know when browsing…

 

Free shipping to and from

A lot of sites offer free shipping to you, but also back as well, if ever there’s a problem with the item. So take advantage of this and buy extras and things in different sizes – you lose nothing because you’re not having to pay to send it back. So go crazy, and anything that you don’t like or isn’t the right fit, return it and get a refund.

Just make sure you read up on the return policies online to be sure.

 

Favorites

If you have items that you really love, but just aren’t sure whether you want to purchase them yet for whatever reason, just favorite them. That way, no matter how many times you leave the site, when you come back again the item will still be in your favorites, so you have a lot of time to think about it without having to search through everything all over again.

 

Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays

Start shopping on a Wednesday through to Friday; this is the time retailers are most likely to put out sales and discount codes, so you won’t want to miss out on them. If you are signed up with your own login for their site, you will receive an email telling you about any upcoming sales anyway. If you’re not, just check out the site, it’ll be the first thing you see.

 

Go on the waiting list

Usually, when an item is out of stock, you have the option to join a waiting list which will mean you receive an email when the item has been restocked. But this doesn’t mean it actually will be – sites only restock a product if they know that it’s a good seller, so if you don’t show your interest, it may never come back. – So hit the waiting list button.

 

Stick to what you know

Only buy things from brands and companies that you are familiar with, and that you trust. This can avoid a lot of stress in the future if ever you don’t like the product, or you’re having difficulty in using the site. You will also be rewarded for being a faithful customer, whereas if you always use different sites, you may not be entitled to all the goodies.

 

Ask for discounts

You know when you go onto the site, and there’s a little chat box asking if you need assistance? Say hey and ask if there are any promo codes that they can share with you. Although you will usually get notified through email, they may have some that have been overlooked and forgotten about. You can also do this by emailing them, calling them and messaging them through social media.

 

Follow them

Follow your favorite brands and stores on social media. You are more likely to get ‘special’ discounts that aren’t advertised anywhere else because you’re showing a real interest in what they do, so they treat you for that. They also hold competitions every once in awhile that you can enter and be in the chance of winning something pretty awesome.

 

Amazon filler

If you’re going to shop on Amazon, you should know that in order to get free shipping, you have to spend a minimum amount of money depending on the country you are in (unless you have Amazon Prime.) Sometimes it can be tricky though because you may have just found exactly what you want to buy, but you’re £4 off the price you need. Well, there’s a feature now called Amazon filler item finder, which pretty much does what it says; finds you an item within or just over the price range that you need in order to receive free shipping.

 

Leave it in your cart

If you’re registered with the site, as a pose to entering as a guest, when unsure about buying an item – leave it in your cart. If you’re lucky, the site will contact you about an offer to sway you into buying it, or offer similar items to the one you’re looking at for cheaper. Just make sure that you allow emails about special offers; otherwise they won’t be able to let you know.

 

Use the size filter

When shopping around for clothes or shoes, use the size filter when searching for items, this will save you disappointment if you find something you absolutely love, only to realize it isn’t in your size. The same goes for prices, enter your maximum price so you can stick to your budget and avoid being let down.

 

Set an alarm

Flash sales can be the best, and most stressful thing ever! You can get ridiculously low prices, but only in a short amount of time. So set yourself an alarm to remind you of the sale so you can properly prepare and get things ready to add into your cart as quick as possible.

 

Shop through an affiliate

There are some sites out there that actually give you cash, as long as you shop through them. This method is great if you’re willing to take the time to use the requested sites. The website will get a commission for referring you to an online store, and that commission then gets split with you.

 

Don’t always believe the deal

Sometimes websites will make an item overly expensive to start with, so when a sale comes around the corner, it seems too good to miss out on, when in fact the sale price was actually the retail price all along. So be sure to evaluate the situation before getting all impulsive and buying. Another way you can avoid getting sucked in is by Googling the item, or something similar, and seeing how much other sites are selling it for. You may even find the exact same item for a lot less, so it’s worth investing a little.

 

Prioritize your mail

If you shop a lot online, then your email will be full of all different websites mentioning their offers and deals of the month. – This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can get real messy, and it will be hard to pick out your favorite sites amongst all the others – so it’s time for a sort out.

Take an hour or two out of your schedule and make a new file within your email of all the sites you want to keep a particularly close eye on. You can even favorize the super important ones, so you don’t miss out on any of the good stuff.

Any that you’re no longer interested in, just click on the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email. This will take you to the site to confirm your decision, and then you won’t receive emails from them anymore.

 

Models may not be your size

When shopping for clothes, bear in mind the model wearing them may not have the same proportions as you. So that skirt may come above the knee in the photo, but on you, it might be below it. Most sites will mention the model’s stats, along with the size she’s wearing, so it doesn’t hurt to do your calculations first.

 

Offers without an offer

You can still bag yourself a deal even when items aren’t on sale by buying a discounted gift card online and using that to pay for what you want on the websites of your choice (as long as the site accepts the discount card.) If you buy a lot all the time, then this can really start saving you some bucks. It may take a little getting used to, but it pays off eventually.

 

Promote brands

It is very common for sites to give you amazing discounts if you agree to promote them on your social media, usually by sharing their page or product. You can delete it straight after without invalidating the deal, so no one has to ever know either!

 

Reviews

If you’re looking at a product that’s pretty pricey and aren’t sure what to do. Besides trying to shop around to see if you can find it cheaper somewhere else – read the reviews. They can really help make an important decision. – Don’t just look at the 5-star reviews, dig deep and read the terrible ones too, and see if they sound similar to one another or if they’re random. If the 1 star reviews are all alike, this means there is obviously a common problem that people find they have with the item. Also look if there are any replies – sometimes you will see the manufacturers actually comment and say they have changed or improved the feature, and in this case, you won’t have anything to worry about.

 

Sharing is caring!