More and more people are shopping on-line today than ever before, especially with the holidays just around the corner. We're looking for gifts for our kids, gifts for our family, and gifts for our friends. But is shopping on-line safe? Is our information secure? Is it convenient? For as many of those who are on-line shoppers (and I am a big on-line shopper myself), there are just as many, or more, who don't or won't shop on-line. They cite various reasons for their reluctance. Believe me, it can be scary to try new things. So, I have considered the reasons for their fear and apathy and have come up with what I believe are great reasons you gotta love on-line shopping.
1. Security Issues
Many people are worried about putting their personal information out into "cyberspace". Personally, I feel safer on-line. Identity theft actually occurs more in the malls and department stores than on-line according to a recent report on CNN. They report that there are far more opportunities available in a mall. The truth of the matter is that through the process of encryption, the internet is actually a safe place to shop. Encryption is like coding. The only one who knows what is being coded is the one with the key. Secure socket layers, or SSL, is the protocol that most browsers and web servers use to protect our personal information while it is being transmitted. Keys are created with each transaction and then discarded, with each new transaction producing a new, unique key. There are so many combinations possible with 128-bit, for example, that is has been likened to trying to find one particular grain of sand in the Sahara Desert. You can tell that you are using encryption when you see the padlock symbol on the toolbar. And you should see an "s" appear after the http in the address window.
2. Save Money
These days it is a lot easier to save money on the internet. Shipping and handling can get pretty pricey. However, today many of the stores you can shop at on-line are offering some great shipping deals. In some instances, shipping and handling are waived entirely, if you spend a certain amount of money. Many of the book clubs and stores are offering a low fee for S&H, too, when you purchase a specific dollar amount. The price of gas alone is well worth the cost of S&H. And, although the price of gas has come down some, it can still get pretty costly as you run from mall to mall in search of the newest, hottest, gotta have item.
3. Convenience
This one is a biggie for myself. Rather than fight the throng of mad shoppers, I can shop in the comfort of my own home and buy, compare, research anything I want. You can find just about anything on-line, too, no matter how obscure. I also love the fact that I don't have to beat the traffic to get my shopping done. I don't have to run from store to store to store to try and purchase the items and gifts I know will please everyone on my holiday list. One stop gift shops are perfect in that you can shop for everyone on your list in one place and still get that special something for each person on your list.
4. Comparison Shopping
There are a number of sites on-line where you can comparison shop and get the best deal. The holidays are about giving. That doesn't mean you should break the bank in order to do so. Look at sites like froogle.com, yahooshopping.com, or pricegrabber.com to buy at the best prices on-line or even in your area. There you are. No more reasons not to avail yourself of the convenience and safety of shopping on-line. I hope I have been able to help you become more comfortable in cyber space. You should enjoy your holidays and shopping on-line gives you that extra time to spend with family and good friends. Happy Holidays and Great Wishes to all of you and yours!!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
5 ways to super savings internet shopping
Save at least 200 dollars for 1000 dollars of shopping– that is 20% of the total money spent. With common sense and little prudence you can save hundreds of dollars on your holiday shopping bills. From my past experiences, I have chosen the five best practices that will give you the maximum savings. Peruse them, put them into action and email me your numbers on savings.
Comparison Shopping:
Gone are the days when there was no easy way to compare the price of a product at different stores other than visiting the stores. In this new era of cyber-shopping, there are numerous options to compare the price of a product at different locations of the globe. With very little effort, internet would find the best and right price, at the right store for you to save big bucks.
A few days back, I was shopping for a Mini DV camcorder in the price range of $500 to $700. An ardent internet shopper, I researched on brands, their prices and decided to buy a JVC GRD200 Mini DV camcorder. It is (may be “it was”) my belief that Amazon.com delivers the best products at the lowest prices (It does sell the best products, but not at the cheapest prices – at least in this case). As always, I was poised to buy the product from Amazon.
The comparison on the price of this product (via www.shopping.com) revealed that the product was sold as low as $299.00. With further research I understood that the price was indeed 299 US dollars. Delaying no more, I bought the camcorder from this seller instead of my first option – to save only $400.
As I look back, it still perplexes me how I saved $400 on a single buy. Does it not surprise you when you cut down 400 dollars on a single item? Perhaps the most important thing I did was comparing the prices for this product on www.shopping.com. It paid!
Cognizant Shopping:
As a customer, your goal is to buy the best product at the cheapest price. Right?
You agree with me that it is not an intelligent idea to buy a product for 10 dollars when it is sold at 3 dollars less at the near by store. Neither do you accord it a savvy-shopping, to buy a product for 50 dollars when its price can be reduced by 10 dollars via the special store discount/coupon for the product.
Many of us do not realize the power of coupons. They hold tremendous potential for huge savings. Depending on how you use them, a coupon for 10 dollars for every 50 dollars would save 40 dollars over a period of month, assuming shopping once a week. Extrapolating, it is a 200 dollars savings over a 1000 dollar shopping-money. A typical Christmas shopping would amount to these numbers easily.
Although the example seems to be ideal, it resonates the ideas of retails stores like JC Penny or Sears, whose holiday-shopping-placards read “$10 off for every $50 shopping – JC Penny”, “$35 off for every $250 spent on electronics – Sears”. Get into the habit of using the coupons whenever possible to appreciate the savings accumulating into your pockets.
Selective Shopping:
Depending on which state you buy the product from and which store you buy it from, you may or may not be charged a sales tax. If the sale is exempted the sales tax, it is a savings of 6 percent to 9 percent of total sale amount. Each seller clearly indicates if a sales tax would be applied on the sale in the geographical location. Thus, a little cautiousness would translate to a savings as high as 9 percent.
On the downside, you may have to pay for the shipping for the product which in most cases would compare less to the total of sales tax. And, by the way, due to the immense competition among the internet-sellers, you may end up making a bargain by not paying the taxes and not paying for the shipping either. Free shipping – as it is called, is common on many internet sites these days. For an item priced at $1000 you would save as much as $90 as sales tax savings – all you do is pick the right seller.
Early Shopping:
Planning on shopping near the beginning of the season will give you ample time to compare the prices on the product at various sellers. During this process, you will form a ballpark estimate of the item.
Let me remind you that the variation of the price can be any where from few dollars to few hundreds of dollars depending on the original price of the product, which makes it necessary for you to do this homework as to know the kind-of best price before you finalize on buying the product.
In addition, sellers usually hike the prices as the holiday season approaches so that they can display higher discount-numbers on their sale-advertisements. The higher discounts not only attract more customers but also compensate and compete the prices for the similar items at other stores. The fact is, even when you see greater discounts, you would not realize tangible savings around the holiday season unless you end up getting an early bird discount. I am somewhat reluctant to say this is true all the times, but is the case in several occasions.
Team Shopping:
Like in a workplace, collaborative shopping produces amazing results. You are not mandated to go to a shopping mall as a team, but exchanging ideas and information as a team would be advantageous.
Talk to your friends about their experience buying a similar item in the past. Gather information about the quality of the product, prices at different stores, seller reputation, etc that play a vital role on your buying-decision. Moreover, ask your friends and relatives if they could share any discount coupons. If preferred customer, they would share the coupons with you, which in turn would give you the opportunity to cut down on the final price. Beware that some sellers distribute non-transferable coupons in which cases you need to be creative to maximize your savings.
So finally:
These ideas only scratch the surface of the iceberg. You can get innovative and creative to find the best deals on the market. Websites like www.techbargains.com, www.ecoupons.com, etc are some of the few sites that gather information about the greatest deals of the day. Internet has many such great money-saving ideas.
Armed with this information, I am sure you would be able to craft a good plan which would save you many dollars each shopping trip. If you are meticulous enough, you would save at least $200 for every $1000 dollars spent. I guarantee it. If you deny my proposition or have a different opinion write to me and I will help you see the potential of putting the above facts to work.
Comparison Shopping:
Gone are the days when there was no easy way to compare the price of a product at different stores other than visiting the stores. In this new era of cyber-shopping, there are numerous options to compare the price of a product at different locations of the globe. With very little effort, internet would find the best and right price, at the right store for you to save big bucks.
A few days back, I was shopping for a Mini DV camcorder in the price range of $500 to $700. An ardent internet shopper, I researched on brands, their prices and decided to buy a JVC GRD200 Mini DV camcorder. It is (may be “it was”) my belief that Amazon.com delivers the best products at the lowest prices (It does sell the best products, but not at the cheapest prices – at least in this case). As always, I was poised to buy the product from Amazon.
The comparison on the price of this product (via www.shopping.com) revealed that the product was sold as low as $299.00. With further research I understood that the price was indeed 299 US dollars. Delaying no more, I bought the camcorder from this seller instead of my first option – to save only $400.
As I look back, it still perplexes me how I saved $400 on a single buy. Does it not surprise you when you cut down 400 dollars on a single item? Perhaps the most important thing I did was comparing the prices for this product on www.shopping.com. It paid!
Cognizant Shopping:
As a customer, your goal is to buy the best product at the cheapest price. Right?
You agree with me that it is not an intelligent idea to buy a product for 10 dollars when it is sold at 3 dollars less at the near by store. Neither do you accord it a savvy-shopping, to buy a product for 50 dollars when its price can be reduced by 10 dollars via the special store discount/coupon for the product.
Many of us do not realize the power of coupons. They hold tremendous potential for huge savings. Depending on how you use them, a coupon for 10 dollars for every 50 dollars would save 40 dollars over a period of month, assuming shopping once a week. Extrapolating, it is a 200 dollars savings over a 1000 dollar shopping-money. A typical Christmas shopping would amount to these numbers easily.
Although the example seems to be ideal, it resonates the ideas of retails stores like JC Penny or Sears, whose holiday-shopping-placards read “$10 off for every $50 shopping – JC Penny”, “$35 off for every $250 spent on electronics – Sears”. Get into the habit of using the coupons whenever possible to appreciate the savings accumulating into your pockets.
Selective Shopping:
Depending on which state you buy the product from and which store you buy it from, you may or may not be charged a sales tax. If the sale is exempted the sales tax, it is a savings of 6 percent to 9 percent of total sale amount. Each seller clearly indicates if a sales tax would be applied on the sale in the geographical location. Thus, a little cautiousness would translate to a savings as high as 9 percent.
On the downside, you may have to pay for the shipping for the product which in most cases would compare less to the total of sales tax. And, by the way, due to the immense competition among the internet-sellers, you may end up making a bargain by not paying the taxes and not paying for the shipping either. Free shipping – as it is called, is common on many internet sites these days. For an item priced at $1000 you would save as much as $90 as sales tax savings – all you do is pick the right seller.
Early Shopping:
Planning on shopping near the beginning of the season will give you ample time to compare the prices on the product at various sellers. During this process, you will form a ballpark estimate of the item.
Let me remind you that the variation of the price can be any where from few dollars to few hundreds of dollars depending on the original price of the product, which makes it necessary for you to do this homework as to know the kind-of best price before you finalize on buying the product.
In addition, sellers usually hike the prices as the holiday season approaches so that they can display higher discount-numbers on their sale-advertisements. The higher discounts not only attract more customers but also compensate and compete the prices for the similar items at other stores. The fact is, even when you see greater discounts, you would not realize tangible savings around the holiday season unless you end up getting an early bird discount. I am somewhat reluctant to say this is true all the times, but is the case in several occasions.
Team Shopping:
Like in a workplace, collaborative shopping produces amazing results. You are not mandated to go to a shopping mall as a team, but exchanging ideas and information as a team would be advantageous.
Talk to your friends about their experience buying a similar item in the past. Gather information about the quality of the product, prices at different stores, seller reputation, etc that play a vital role on your buying-decision. Moreover, ask your friends and relatives if they could share any discount coupons. If preferred customer, they would share the coupons with you, which in turn would give you the opportunity to cut down on the final price. Beware that some sellers distribute non-transferable coupons in which cases you need to be creative to maximize your savings.
So finally:
These ideas only scratch the surface of the iceberg. You can get innovative and creative to find the best deals on the market. Websites like www.techbargains.com, www.ecoupons.com, etc are some of the few sites that gather information about the greatest deals of the day. Internet has many such great money-saving ideas.
Armed with this information, I am sure you would be able to craft a good plan which would save you many dollars each shopping trip. If you are meticulous enough, you would save at least $200 for every $1000 dollars spent. I guarantee it. If you deny my proposition or have a different opinion write to me and I will help you see the potential of putting the above facts to work.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
5 Tips to Better Clothes Shopping
Shopping can be a pleasure or a chore. However you look at it, use these five tips to save money and look
your best.
1. Dress well. In order to spend less and buy wisely, dress up in comfortable clothes. It's the same concept as going to the grocery store on a full stomach.
2. Shop with a plan. Know exactly what you need and how much you can spend. Write it down. Create a budget.
3. Keep an ongoing list of needs in your closet. As you dress each morning, note items needed to better complete outfits.
4. Before you make a purchase ask yourself, "Does this match my wardrobe in terms of color, style and price?
Is this on my needs list? How many ways can I wear this item?"
5. Shop first at high-end mass merchants, outlet malls, and off-priced stores for basics such as tees, shirts and pants. You'll then have more money for seasonal updates like jackets or accessories.
your best.
1. Dress well. In order to spend less and buy wisely, dress up in comfortable clothes. It's the same concept as going to the grocery store on a full stomach.
2. Shop with a plan. Know exactly what you need and how much you can spend. Write it down. Create a budget.
3. Keep an ongoing list of needs in your closet. As you dress each morning, note items needed to better complete outfits.
4. Before you make a purchase ask yourself, "Does this match my wardrobe in terms of color, style and price?
Is this on my needs list? How many ways can I wear this item?"
5. Shop first at high-end mass merchants, outlet malls, and off-priced stores for basics such as tees, shirts and pants. You'll then have more money for seasonal updates like jackets or accessories.
Monday, May 4, 2009
6 Smart Tips To Avoid the Stress of Shopping For Holiday Gifts
For those who find making their gifts list for the holidays a very exciting activity, good for you. Those who find it less than an appealing bustle don't fret. Many share your sentiment. The problem with making a list is that it seems to become never ending especially when you decide on checking it twice. Okay, you're no good ol' Saint Nick but hey, this is only looking at it with a bird's eye view. What you don't know is that buying the gifts could actually cause a bigger headache than the preparing of the list.
Who wants to wallow in the stress brought by holiday gift-giving? Holidays need not always put you in a major state of panic. Here's how to breeze through the holiday season with these tips on buying gifts.
1. Say no to a rigid gift list.
This doesn't mean that when you arrive on a situation like when you get to see a "spunkier" Ipod when you originally thought of giving out a Walkman, you'll always give in. The thing is that you should be open to alternatives with your choice of gifts. You might as wel, jot down all the possible options on that gift on your list in case you're having a hard time looking for it.
2. Nifty over Hefty.
An expensive price tag does not necessarily mean a perfect gift. What is more appreciated is creativity and when someone puts in genuine effort. Your budget does not have to suffer so much during the holidays. Doing your homework will get you a long, long way.
3. Doing some favor is a labor of love.
Instead of material presents, an act of kindness can very well serve as a very valuable holiday gift. One may run errands or do things like babysit for a busy aunt, cook dinner for a couple, or do a car wash. Of course, just don't forget to do this for free. One more thing, you can also do this goodie-two-shoes stuff not only for your family and friends but also for those less-fortunate.
4. Techie not Newbie.
For those who are still thinking that the Internet is only a mirage of the future, please wake up. You're so late! Online shopping is one of the many conveniences the Internet offers. Just click the mouse and voila! Before you are a wide array of brands and pricelists for your choice of gifts. Amazon.com, EBay, and Overstock.com are just a few of the best web sites that can help you in this endeavor. Just remember to provide ample time for delivery.
5. Comfort Zone.
During the commotion from shopping for holiday gifts, it's wise to wear your most comfortable outfits. This will make it easier for you to rummage through shelves of stuffs and will make scurrying not much of a hassle.
6. Early Bird Gets the Most Appreciation
Yes, there's still no better way of dealing with this gift-buying problem but to do it ahead of time. Creating your list about two months before the "season to be jolly" will help a lot in downsizing the hassles of this activity. Some can even go the length of preparing for it at least three months before the holidays.
Some people never have to worry about buying for gifts. Can you imagine having a closet of stuff always ready to be given out for various occasions? Yes, these cases exist. But you don't have to really succumb to such almost-paranoid acts. Following the simple but noble tips above will do.
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