Must-know tips for saving money when shopping online

 Must-know tips for saving money when shopping online

Online shops have never been more vital to our modern lifestyles. People shop for various products—from appliances and electronics to groceries delivered to their doorsteps. 

Furthermore, e-commerce has made it possible to receive goods from other countries. International shipping has become a standard, giving consumers a chance to try different products. However, you might wonder whether it is possible to save money during your next online shopping spree. The tips below are indeed enough to help you find the best deal.

Signing up as a new user 

Keep creating a new account with a different number, a unique e-mail ID, and all the other details they ask for when you register. Companies offer deals exclusively for new users sending them notifications on e-mail, SMS, or shopping apps. This way, you can make a significant saving of 10 to 50% or even more as you pose as a new customer making the first order through a new account. 

However, do not exploit this trick too much. Managing dozens of accounts will get complicated, and there are other ways to purchase goods for a better price. 

Plan and put a lid on your purchases

When you shop online, there's just no limit to available choices. When you go on an online shopping spree, you don’t realize how much you are spending since there’s no hustling from one store to the other. Therefore, planning is a must. Make a list of what you need to buy before you log in. You don't get distracted by special promotional offers when you know exactly what you need to buy. 

After you’ve decided what you need to purchase, buy a gift card. Doing so nullifies any urges to overspend as a limit is put on how much you can spend. You may opt for store-specific gift cards from Visa or American Express. 

Use discounted gift cards

A smart way to save money while shopping online is to buy a discounted gift card and make good use of it. When you use a gift card instead of a credit card, you can keep tabs on buying. That way, you can control your spending. After you have finished all the money on your card, you can't make any more purchases by using it. 

You can buy yourself a gift card at a price lower than its face value from a marketplace for gift cards. There are sites you can pick them from easily. You can make neat savings if you buy gift cards from these platforms instead of doing so directly at the departmental store. 

Set alerts for price drops

Pick your favorite items and set price drop alerts for them. This feature is offered by many companies, online shopping communities, and sites for comparing prices. The moment the price of any of your favorite products drops, you get an alert on your e-mail id or through notifications on other platforms. 

Don’t make an immediate purchase the moment the price drops. There’s every chance that the price drops even further. 

Location-based price discrimination

Online shopping can be all about location. You might not know this, but price discrimination happens on various sites. In essence, it means that product prices increase or decrease depending on specific users' attributes. It might relate to the device used or the location extracted from IP addresses. 

Luckily, you can evade location-based price discrimination. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) tool hides your IP address when you visit any site. It is a seamless application for encrypting traffic, reducing digital footprints, and evading price discrimination. VPN services usually operate dozens of servers in various locations. Thus, you might connect to servers in Germany to get an IP address pinpointing Berlin or Munich. Depending on the site, you might get better deals with such a location treated as your whereabouts. 

Conclusion

Online shopping has never been easier. You can fill up your cart in minutes, make a transaction in seconds, and wait for the goods to arrive. However, it is easy to get carried away in the sea of available products. Our tips not only help you keep an eye on your purchases by listing out what you need, but they also put a lid on how much you can spend by using gift cards. 

You also save money by setting alerts for price drops and by using a VPN to hide your IP address so you can avoid location-based price discrimination. As a bonus tip, we should mention the discount codes you can find for various services. Simply look up a specific site and see whether anyone offers sales codes that you can use.