Online Shopping: Strategies

Shopping online is a wonderful way to avoid the "black Friday" crowds and a great way to keep your eye on the wallet. "Impulse buys" takes on a different meaning online and there's always the possibility of pressing the wrong button and winding up with the completely wrong item without a way to cancel the order.

A shopper who knows what he or she is doing, can do the wallet some justice, however. Besides the luxury of sitting in your living room while others go belly to belly at the local Target store, having the ability to comparison shop to verify the deal you've just dug up is the deal you think you're getting is key.

Besides using the various internet tools - Google's "Froogle," YAHOO! Shopping, and Pricegrabber - as well as your own favorite shopping sites, you would do well to search for online coupons to stretch that deal even farther.

The drawback of shopping online is buying shipping. Sometimes it is worth the additional expense to avoid the crush and if you are stuck paying for shipping, depending on the class of shipping you're paying for, delivery to a business address is often cheaper than delivering to a residential address. If possible, it may serve you well do take delivery at your work.

Sometimes, you can find promotions for free shipping or free shipping outright. Knowing what you're looking for and buying at one time and in one place may yield significant dividends on those shipping deals.

A recent example of such shopping tactics: At SesameWorkshop.org the new collections "Sesame Street Old School: Volume 1" and "Old School: Volume 2" both list for $39.95. My favorite DVD site, DeepDiscount.com, is offering the Volume 1 collection at $25.88 and the Volume 2 collection at $26.89. At SesameWorkshop, shipping is free with a purchase of $75 or more; shipping at DeepDiscount is always free. A quick internet search for "deepdiscount.com online coupons" finds a 20% off your total purchase. Total purchase price at Sesame Workshop: $79.90; total purchase at DeepDiscount: $42.21. Score one for the good guys.

Amazon is advertising The Bourne Ultimatum DVD at $16.99 and if you're buying something else, you will get it shipped free. Deepdiscount is offering the same movie at $18.58. Add shipping to your Amazon purchase and Deepdiscount is cheaper; add some other products and Amazon wins out.

You can also spread a little seasonal cheer to your favorite nonprofit, as well. One of the local National Public Radio stations in my hometown of Boston, encourages listeners to begin their Amazon.com shopping experience at their site - their site is linked to Amazon as an affiliate meaning shopping sessions originating at their site gives them a percentage of the sale. If you spend $25 on eligible items, Amazon will ship your products free of charge.

If you're an American Express card holder concerned about building your "membership rewards" total, starting your visit at bonuspointsmall.com will net you a multiplier on your membership rewards earned on your purchases.

Perhaps you're not quite sure what you're looking for or where you want to buy. In which case you may still be in luck. Yahoo Shopping has an exclusive arrangement with Woot.com for deals of the day - the only way to access sellout.woot.com is by first accessing Yahoo. Not to despair if you don't find what you're looking for there - woot.com is accessible without a reference. Woot is the online equivalent of an online closeout bargain store, offering one deal each day - sometimes more if they have a "woot off."

And while you're not likely to get your hands on an online coupon for a purchase at woot, you can find them quite easily for online clearance centers such as Overstock.com.

Besides sitting in your adult "feetie pajamas" with your cup of coffee while avoiding those pushing and shoving crowds, you may actually be able to score yourself some deals or some good deeds with a little work.