It might be difficult to imagine now, but even as recently as 2015 just half of UK residents shopped online. Currently this figure is at more than 75%. However, online shopping still can be somewhat of a minefield, and it isn’t always guaranteed that you can get the cheapest deal.
That is why we have written this article for you to help you get the lowest prices for the goods you want now, but also help you potentially save hundreds or even thousands a year on your shopping!
Tricks and Tips
All of us are familiar with comparison website and how they can potentially help us save money on everything from our summer holidays to our weekly shops.
However, were you aware that Shopbots are able to do this and much more? They can search through thousands of different comparison sites and online retailers to find the best deals on the products you are interested in. The best Shopbots are used by MegaShopBot in order to find the best deals for you with only one click.
In addition, there are a number of smart online tools that help you with saving money. For instance, the Super Saver Delivery tool will help you find extra small items that can be added to your Amazon shopping cart in order to meet the £20 free delivery amount. Since delivery can range from £1.50 to £6, that means you can have extra items and save money at once.
Cashback
No matter what you would like to purchase online there is most likely a way of you getting some of the back. The only thing you need to do is join a cashback site like TopCashBack (which is totally free). Then you just log in, look for the link of the retailer selling the product you want and click the link.
How much money back you get will vary from only a couple of pence up to more than £100. However, don’t be tempted into purchasing things that are unnecessary just due to the amount of cashback you can receive. This money is stored by the cashback sites in your online account. So once you reach their minimum withdrawal amount you need to remember to withdraw your cash.
In addition, a majority of credit card providers these days offer cashback deals as an incentive for new clients to sign up with them.
Coupons and Codes
Discount, Voucher and Promo Codes
No matter what you are purchasing online, most likely you have seen those little boxes at check out that ask you to enter your discount, voucher or promo code. It’s definitely worth searching online prior to buying something to look for a code that could possibly save you as much as 50% of the cost. There also many different websites which show the latest offers and codes.
Money Saving Expert provides the most comprehensive list of ongoing and current codes.
Coupons
Some of you might have watched “Extreme Couponing,” a US reality show. For anyone who hasn’t, collecting coupons and then using them, whether from Facebook groups, websites or magazines can save you thousands.
For instance Mirror Newspaper’s Jordan Cox save almost £2000 in one year. The money he save allowed him to pay off bills and take two different holidays abroad. Most important, it provided him with the motivation to keep couponing.
However, you do need think carefully about whether or not you really need the product that is being offered, particularly perishable ones. However, if you happen to see a great deal on non-perishable items like bathroom and cleaning products, go wild and stock up.
In addition to picking the store magazine the next time you are out at the supermarket, we recommend that you visit Coupon Shop or a similar website.
Bargains and Freebies
All of love getting a great bargain, especially when something is free. Doing quick online searches will provide you with results to hundreds of different freebie and bargain websites, in addition to groups on websites like Facebook.
Those websites give you offers from various manufacturers and shops (including very high end ones at times). Those offers are frequently on a first come first served basis since stock may be limited. Therefore you need to be on the ball in order to get the best freebies and bargains.
Freebie and Bargain websites can be quite tempting and you might end up with many things you don’t need really. So you need to really ask yourself whether you will really use it or need it.
For the best bargains and free we recommend that you use website like WOW FreeStuff.
Freecycle
What’s really great about Freecycle is the fact that everything that gets posted on this website is completely free. The goal of the website is to prevent useable items from ending up in the landfill and going to those who need and appreciate them instead. In the UK there are currently more than 4 million members, which means that your local area will most likely have a large number of members. The only catch to this is you usually need to go to collect your freebies.
And if you need to clear some things out, you can always post unwanted items on the website also. Somebody will come over and them away for you.
Conclusion
Online shopping can really be a minefield at time, with so many offers and websites available these days, even for the exact same product. However, if you use the bargain sites, shop bots and comparison site, it can help you with finding the best price possible online. After you know what product and retailer you are interested in, you can see if there is a way to increase the saving even more through getting cashback or using a coupon or promo code. If you are short on cash you can still shop online since there are many freebie website available like Freecycle that you can use.
This is a guest post by Sam Hadi
Image credit by Artifical London via Unsplash
