Do you love shopping, and treating yourself to fabulous items? If so, these tips are just for you!
There are so many places these days to find great deals online or at the local shopping centers. Did you know that stores mark up products in many cases 70 – 300% and sometimes even more? A great example is furniture, video games, and clothing just to name a few. We will teach you to empower yourself by shopping around and shopping smart. You deserve to feel good about spending your hard earned money.
Amazon
Amazon is a fantastic place to start searching; they often have terrific deals, many sellers are competing to offer the best price and in many cases, Amazon offers free shipping. While researching this article we found a handful of gadgets, and accessories for $10 or less that you would usually pay $50 or more in a big box store.
Ebay
Ebay has been around for a long time now offering great deals on new and used items and since it is an auction style site you can often find opportunities to get great merchandise for little money spent. We have searched some items while preparing this article and found items with free shipping, terrific prices and much lower than the prices paid in big box stores.
Walmart
Most people do not think of this, but Walmart often has a ton of items they do not offer in-store that they do offer online. They also offer free shipping in many cases and if an item is not as expected all you need to do is bring it into a local Walmart location, and they will refund you there instead of you having to ship it back. Walmart can offer items at lower prices because they buy in massive quantities. Next time you are looking for an article you should check there as well you never know what you may find.
Liquidation Outlets
These type of stores often buy stock from stores going out of business or stuff that didn’t sell during the holidays etc. You can get some great items at really low prices. We have witnessed other stores selling the same or similar items for 3-10 times more. The only downside is they want to get rid of the things they sell and don’t usually have regular return policies so make sure you can return the product if it does not work or at a minimum make an in-store exchange or receive a store credit.
Flea Markets
We all love to check out flea markets when we see them in town or when we travel out of town. Flea markets can be a great place to hunt down great deals on an array of random items.
Classified Sites
These sites are often a hit and miss; sometimes you can haggle and get great deals on new and used items but other times you could just go online to one of the sites mentioned above and pay $5 more for brand new boxed item shipped to your doorstep. Always do your homework, practice patience, and test items purchased on these sites before you make the deal.
Wholesale Outlets
Often time these type of stores buy in such large quantities that they can out price all the other stores. We have seen even gift cards being sold for 20% off the regular price for items like movies passes, Xbox live cards, restaurants certificates and much more. It is always a good thing to shop around before you commit to something especially in the digital age we live in today with so many options.
Thrift Shops
Some people are leery or uncomfortable shopping in these types of stores. They do require patience and consistency, but you can score some beautiful things for little money. Especially vintage items that you can no longer buy brand new.
Dollar Store
Last but not least we recommend taking a look at the local dollar store. We found items selling for a dollar that other stores were selling for $11. As years go by the dollar stores are bringing in much more quantity and everyday items so its a great place to start your search for something you may need.
On Top Of All Mentioned Above You Can Also Use..
Price matching, shopping apps, coupons, flyers, points and loyalty cards, etc. We also have found much saving for students and senior citizens. Recently we discovered CAA membership cards can also bring additional savings for things like hotel bookings, car rentals, and so much more. Some of these tools can even be combined to get mega savings.
The Best Tip Of All
Sometimes it is best just to wait, we have all seen great items at the store, and then a few weeks or months later we found the same item marked down 70%. Saving money is more important than having something hot off the press! It is often worth the wait.
Be Diligent And Stay Away From…
The door to door or any phone sales people: They often want to catch you off guard, so you do not have much time to think things over and price out what they are selling you. In today’s world, we have so many ways to price match and do research so watch out for any pushy sales people.
Small vendors: We all love local boutiques but in many cases the prices are way higher than the outlet or big box stores simply because of overhead and smaller order sizes. We suggest waiting until they offer sales or mark down items for clearance.
Friends and family: Often friends and family get involved in selling things as a side business. Some of these companies ask newly recruited affiliates to sell to their loved ones so be leery of these types of transactions. Always do your homework, read sites like better business bureau and ripoff report and ask many questions before you buy anything. You can always just say “sorry right now I am not in the market, but thank you for asking!”
Conclusion:
Sometimes it is nice to shop just to blow off some steam or have fun with some friends, but it is also important to not waste money and overspend in the heat of the moment. These tips are just a starting point, and you will soon quickly find that there are so many ways to save money these days. Once you get into the habit of using technology to save money, it will become second nature.
Over the course of a year, you could easily save $1000 for just looking carefully at what you are buying. Stores are in the business of making money, but it does not have to be made off you! Stay fresh and shop smart.
