How To Save Money When Shopping Online

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Canadian dollars, photo credit Michelle Spollen on Unsplash
Canadian dollars, photo credit Michelle Spollen on Unsplash

Many of us would agree that shopping online is super convenient. I love that you don’t have to go from store to store spending endless hours to find what you want. But there are other advantages to shopping online. For instance, you can often save more money by shopping online versus shopping at a bricks-and-mortar store. Read further to learn how to save money when shopping online. If you are looking for ways to save money during your everyday life, have a read of 6 Things I Never Pay For.

Save Money with Ebates

If you are shopping online at big retailers such as Hudson’s Bay, Chapters, Sephora, Indigo, Old Navy, Best Buy, Gap, Michael Kors, Swarovski, Guess, Canadian Tire, Banana Republic, Penningtons, Foot Locker, Laura, La Senza, People’s Jewellers and many more, make sure you shop through the Ebates or Ebates Canada website  . Shopping through their portal will net you anywhere from 1%-8% off the cost of your item. You do have to wait about three or four months days to receive your cheque from Ebates, but it’s definitely worth it. And you won’t forfeit any of the existing online sales at these retailers. For example, let’s say that Hudson’s Bay is having an online sale on women’s coats for 40% off. They may also be having an online flash sale where you don’t pay the tax (13%) if you buy today. So you would be saving a total of 53% off the purchase price. But simply logging on to Ebates or Ebates Canada and locating the Hudson’s Bay site through Ebates means you will get an additional 1%-5% off your item. Please be aware that the discount Ebates offers for each retailer fluctuates from day-to-day. DontPayFull and Coupon Lawn are other sites where you can get online coupons for your favourite stores.

Canadian dollars, photo credit Michelle Spollen on Unsplash
Canadian dollars, photo credit Michelle Spollen on Unsplash

Price Adjustment Policies

Check if the store you are purchasing from has a price adjustment policy. Many stores offer price adjustment policies if the item you purchased goes on sale. For instance, if you purchase an item from Hudson’s Bay, and the item goes on sale within seven days of your purchase, you can phone them to get a price adjustment. Don’t wait until you receive the item because the price adjustment policy is in effect from the time you place your order. The reason I found this out the hard way is I called them within 7 days of receiving my item, but was told that I could not get the price adjustment since I had to call them within 7 days of placing the order.

Checkout 51

Checkout 51 is an app you can use to get coupons for your purchases. You go shopping like you normally would in your local grocery store and then check whether any of the items you purchased have a coupon. If they do, all you have to do is check off which items you bought that have a coupon and then take a cellphone photo of your receipt and submit it to Checkout 51. Once you have accumulated $20, Checkout 51 will send you a cheque.

Save on Shipping Fees

Have item delivered to your local store. Many companies require that you order a minimum amount in order to get free shipping. Try to coordinate your purchases so that you are buying at least one or two items so that it is equal or higher than the amount required for free shipping. If the retailer you are ordering from online has a bricks-and-mortar store that is relatively close to you, have the retailer ship the item to the store for you to pick up. It will usually be much cheaper to drive to the store and pick your item up rather than pay the delivery charge.

Sign Up for Newsletter

Signing up for a retailer’s online newsletter will often result in you receiving a discount from the retailer. Stay signed up to be the first to learn about sales and special discounts.

CardSwap

Buy gift cards online at CardSwap. When you purchase gift cards online at CardSwap, you receive CardSwap points. Once you have accumulated enough CardSwap points, you can redeem them for a gift card.

Please let me know in the comment section if you have other tips to add to how to save money when shopping online.

 

10 COMMENTS

  1. Since most people shop, at least in part, online nowadays money saving tips are always welcome. I have used Ebates before with some success, but I see I need to double down on my efforts. It never occurred to me to sign up for newsletters which is something I intend to do now. Thanks for the tips!

    • Yes, online shopping is becoming the norm for many people! I have had a lot of luck with Ebates…you just have to wait a few months for their cheque though. Cheers, Lori

  2. Hi, have you ever try Compacom.com service to compare offers from different companies?
    Seems like it can help save some $$ as well.

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