Shopping online

The internet has made shopping so much easier for all of us as we can now shop 24 hours a day from the comfort of our own homes. Shopping online gives us access to thousands of shops and allows us to view products, compare prices and buy all with just a click of a mouse.

If you do shop a lot online then there are various different ways you can ensure that you get the a bargain online.

Price comparison sites

As with all purchases it is best to shop around for the best deal and thanks to the wonders of the web it is possible to compare the prices that hundreds of retailers are selling their goods for online in just a couple of seconds by using price comparison sites or shopbots as they have become known such as Kelkoo or Pricerunner to find the best price.

These shopping robots do not compare every shops prices but they do give a good indication of the lowest price you can expect to pay along with details of the retailers who are currently selling at this price. The prices shown by price comparison sites normally include delivery costs so that you know from the start how much you are going to pay.

As the price comparison sites will include a large number of online shops that you have never heard of before you may feel more comfortable buying from the second or third cheapest if this is a name you feel you can trust. However, at this stage of shopping online do not click through to buy the product yet. Instead visit a cashback site and see if you can getting any cashback on your shopping.

Cashback reward sites

Cashback sites offer you cashback rewards for shopping online through them. The cashback reward sites pay you a percentage based on the cost of your shopping. The  cashback shopping sites are paid commission by online retailers such as Tesco, Boots, Carphone Warehouse and Marks and Spencer amongst others for each sale they make.

The cashback sites will then pay you either all of the commission they receive or just a share of it depending on which one you use. Cashbackkings and Topcashback pay you 100% of the commission they receive, although Cashbackkings do charge an annual admin fee. Other cashback sites such as Greasypalm and Rpoints are free but keep a share of the commission for themselves.

Loyalty schemes

If you are shopping online remember that you can also use your Nectar card, Boots Advantage card, Tesco Clubcard if you are shopping at an online shop who is a member of one of these loyalty schemes.

Discount codes

If you are shopping online it is always worthwhile just before you make your payment to do a quick check on Google by typing in the name of the shop and ‘promotion code’ or ‘discount code’ as there are often special offers available that can entitle you to further reductions in the price of your shopping.

Credit card rewards

If you shop online it is advisable to use a credit card to pay for your purchases as they can give you extra protection should things go wrong. Certain credit cards also offer rewards or cashback which can help to reduce the cost of your shopping bill still further.

Auction sites

As well as shopping at shops online it may be worth trying to pick up a bargain on an auction site. Ebay is by far the biggest and most well known and if you look carefully you may be able to buy whatever you are are looking for cheaper than you could from a shop. Some popular online auction sites are , QXL, clearancecomet and Morgan Auctions.

Concerns about shopping online

If you have any concerns or issues about shopping online then the websites of Office of Fair Trading, Citizens Advice Bureau or Which can provide additional information and assistance.

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