A Guide to Online After Christmas Shopping

Whenever there's any sort of economic downturn, Christmas is always a very stressful time of year for retailers. Due to the fact that they often overestimate their needs during a slow financial year, there's almost always a huge supply of left over inventory that makes for the best online after Christmas shopping. However, you need to know where to go each year to get those unbelievable online only deals.

Hunting Down the Best Online After Christmas Shopping

During the most difficult economic times, there's so much excess inventory that many retailers have too much inventory straight through to the end of spring. Most people think that after Christmas shopping only lasts for a week or two after Christmas, but that's not the case. As fewer people shop after the New Year, retailers try harder to draw in consumers with some of the most impressive deals imaginable - and a large majority of those deals are offered to attract online shoppers. Bookmark this guide, and use it each time you're looking to shop online and you want to be sure you get the biggest after Christmas discounts. These sites typically offer discounts and coupons year round, but they're most useful during the weeks and months after Christmas.

Top Resources for Online After Christmas Shopping

So you've finished the whole Christmas eve thing, and Christmas morning has come and gone - what happens next? The next few days represent the highest item-return rates of the entire year. Retailers are constantly accepting an influx of gift returns for a whole multitude of reasons - the most popular being that it wasn't the item that the person wanted. During these weeks and months after Christmas, retailers are inundated with not only the excess inventory they purchased before Christmas and couldn't sell, but they also have to deal with returned inventory. These two facts translate into unbelievable savings for thrifty shoppers who go shopping online after Christmas.

#1 - Slickdeals.net really does offer the slickest deals

Websites that offer a referral to the retailer aren't usually the best way to go, because it's typically an affiliate, and you can get a better deal directly from the source. However, slickdeals.net is unique in that it's set up like a forum that's constantly updated about the best deals from so many retailers that you'd never be able to find these obscure offers on your own.

#2 - FatWallet.com offers the most valuable online coupons

Another interesting site is FatWallet.com, which is set up a lot like SlickDeals, but it also has a huge coupon area that's constantly updated with ridiculous coupon deals, like 80% off online clearance at Walmart, or a 50% online clearance at the HomeDepot. These are online only deals that you can only get on the Internet, not at the stores. After Christmas, this site is chock full of jaw-dropping offers.

#3 - Dealigg.com for User Voted Deals

Dealigg is one of the most unique "online deal" sites around, because other people do the deal-hunting for you, and then the community votes on how good of a deal it is. This means that you can find the most amazing deals by finding those with the most votes - and it also saves you the trouble of having to sift through hundreds of retailers on the Internet after Christmas to find the best online after Christmas shopping offers.

#4 - Dealnews.com offers the best deals in "news" format

The news stories at Dealnews are actually the best offers that you'll find anywhere online. Like at Dealigg, readers can vote for how good the offer is. There are even occasionally "free" deals, such as a recent offer where customers could download free Mac software from one retailer for a limited time.

#5 - Dealhack.com is a popular discount blog

There are a ton of blogs on the net that try to serve as an affiliate site for their advertisers, but Dealhack offers a constant stream of all of the best deals that the bloggers can find everywhere and anywhere on the net. From electronics to audio books, you'll find some of the sweetest after Christmas deals here.

Final Advice

If you're the type of shopper that enjoys having as many online resources as possible to find the best after Christmas deals, then in addition to the five best resources above, you may also want to check out the top online retailers to see what after Christmas offers they provide on their own websites. Often you'll find that they offer some of the most amazing deals just for visiting their website. The best places to check when your online after Christmas shopping are the following popular online retailers that typically offer some of the most amazing online discounts.

• Amazon.com
• Target.com
• Walmart.com
• Kohls.com

Additionally, when you're hunting around for the best after Christmas deals, the following tips will help you make sure that you're getting the lowest possible price.

• Don't purchase the first deal you find, check out all sources first to be sure it's the best offer for that item.
• If there are any stores that will match competitor prices, show them the Internet deal that you found and ask if they'll beat the offer.
• The most common after-Christmas discounts are on toys and electronics.
• Look for partially outdated items, like Calendars that are partially out of date of slightly outdated software.
• Keep an eye on clothes that are almost out of season for the most impressive clothing discounts.

At the start of each year, as retailers struggle to get rid of the Christmas surplus to make room for the new spring inventory, you stand to save a fortune if you choose to shop during the time of the year when most people are staying at home making their New Years resolutions. Saving up and shopping from January through the spring will save yourself and your family thousands off your budget every year.