Online shopping facilitates unconditional shopping from any vendor, any time and anything. The most sophisticated electronic method of purchasing with absolutely no space constraints in any category and the quick delivery right to the doorstep is highly appreciable. With the added advantage of direct procurement from the manufacturers and delivery to that of the ultimate consumer, cuts down unnecessary middlemen cost and other overheads.

  What products should I buy online?

Advertisements have always influenced our decisions when we do online shopping. But mere blind brand loyalty can be too expensive. Sometimes opting for generic products can be worthy.

However, there are 11 products worth buying online. Either due to massive discounts or for your convenience.

• Electronics and Home Appliances – The online shopping price index of 2016 states that televisions are 5% and household appliances are 3% cheaper online. Best Deals through online coupons and free shipping pickup options available to give the best online shopping experience. There is a unique blend of best brand options making comparative pricing possible.

• Fashion Wear and Accessories – If you are very particular about sticking to brands because of their authentic value and also for the convenience of easy returns. Brand value holds a very significant position in ones’ online shopping routine. Whether it be bags, clothing trendy and stylish specially those which top celebrities having a great fan following prefer. There are a huge number such celebrated branded stores with plenty number of discounts offered via coupons and promo codes fulfilling your purpose of buying branded items at the same time enjoying the latest bonuses and ensuring savings to the maximum.

• Printer Toner and Ink – Checking out on smart ink cartridges, toners etc. online is a brilliant way to save. These are compatible with almost top brands making selection very easy. Some direct brands justify their pricing by pointing out on the usage on the very day of placing the order. But this no longer holds good with the immediate free shipping offered in online shopping. Comparison based on pricing, usage, offers, life becomes easy due to listing of all brands in certain websites. Advantage of decisions based on reviews is an extra privilege offered online, along with ISO9001 certification, direct purchase from manufacturers passes on more discounts and offers to its online customers.

• Cookware – This category needs complete convenience and assurance of 100% safety. Brand loyalty in this case is definitely worth appreciating. Branded cookware ensures complete satisfaction and wide opportunities for comparisons with various online high quality safe cooking ranges to choose from. Provides consumer protection standards. Some cookware’s have their exclusive 8 in 1 programs. Attractive LED displays and completely safe and secure with easy returns, free shipping with quick delivery options.

• Hotel Bookings – Accommodation booking in hotels has become more convenient and profitable online than direct approach. Attractive online offers and complimentary like book for 10 days and get 2 night’s stay absolutely free. Spotting hotels closer to your site seeing locations is done automatically through GPS. Sometimes the average savings even exceed 70%.

• Furniture – Enjoying a stress free home with cheap but best brand quality furniture online at the same time, offered at concessional rates, through discount codes and flash sales. Most brands focus on health benefits and are subjected to complete research and after thorough study by health experts, especially mattresses, chairs etc.

• Pet Food – Most people almost 80% of the market prefer designer pet foods. These are most often accompanied by huge incentives and significant discounts. Sometimes even accompanied by free vet checkups. Valuable advice of pet nutrition experts is available in most online shopping sites with 24/7 customer support team. Some brands also give us satisfaction of contributing towards a social cause by dedicating a part of their sales towards charity. Choice of products becomes easy by scrutinising the names of the ingredients listed in the site and by consultation with experts.

• Beauty Appliance – Are often accompanied by huge discounts. Prices online are low more than half from the local purchasers. Websites offering same day shipping being an extra attraction. Most sort out products being facial hair removal gadgets, facial creams, cosmetics etc.

• Sporting Equipment’s – With its huge varieties of sporting accessories, footwear. Uniqueness ensured, perfect designers. Merging fashion and tradition. Expert advice of athletes obtained to provide 100% satisfaction to customers through 24/7 customer support.

• Travel Luggage – saves the trouble of dragging your huge new suitcases home. Reduces your searches very fast. Nothing to worry about size, color, style, brand, characteristics and above all the price. Clear comparison provided with the list of websites selling them. Offers available, free shipping deals, easy exchange and replacement facilities.

• Infomercial Products – Online purchase of these items saves you the embarrassment of direct interaction, face to face contacts for products like blades, condoms, sanitary items, health or illness related products or certain medical tests which require much privacy to be maintained with 100% confidentiality.

 What are the Generic Products online?

• Aqua Bottles – Purchase a good filter and run your tap water through it and use instead of wasting your money through bottled water. But make sure the tap water is “tested for cryptosporidium and giardia” viruses according to National Resources Defense council.

• Baby Foods – Are under the complete regulation of FDA. So opting for generic rather than branded ones can hold good. Check for the chloride content important for the growth and development in children.

• Dairy Products – Inspect the label on cartons to check the origin but generic in this case cannot be a good choice as generic yogurts are said to contain additive and sugars.

• Spices – Normally generics here go with freshness. Which matters has nothing to do with brands.

• Sunscreens – Also under the regulation of the FDA check for the SPF rating 30 or more preferred with the words “broad spectrum” allowed only if the product has passed the spectrum testing procedure under the Federal Law. If this is happening and if the generic products price low, then it’s worth the deal.

• Wraps and Foil – As good as its branded cousins not much of a difference but can help you save much.

• Canned Groceries – Certain vegetables like the flavor of tomatoes can vary when canned.

• Fruits and Vegetables – Difference is not noticeable while cooking and baking.

 What should you check when you do online shopping?
 

• Buy from websites whose URL is https as ‘s’ stands for safety and security and lesser risk of data leakage.
• A live chat option and 24/7 customer support preferable.
• Monitor options like return, terms of use, legal etc.
• Always choose reputed sites to do shopping as they would deal with original products verified sellers and duplicity would be less.
• Check for the trustworthiness of E-commerce sites from reviews.
• Don’t buy from sites which does not have SSL (Secure sockets layer) available if site starts with https:

• Don’t disclose your credit card details via email.
• Always be particular to share the least information. No store needs your social security number to do business.
• Always check your card details online never keep waiting for statements. Also monitor for fraudulent charges.
• Regularly update your PC with antivirus program to avoid data piracy through malware.

 How to find the best price in online Shopping?

Really a challenging task with so many stores, always there is a doubt whether I am going for the best deal.

Go for comparison Shopping Engines – Based on a consumer query comparison shopping engines display the prices, shipping options and services from various best retailers on a single page.

Top 10 price comparison sites for online shopping :-

1.     Amazon

2.     NextTag

3.     Google Shopping

4.     PriceGriller

5.     Shopping.com

6.     Shopzilla

7.     Become

8.     Bing Shopping Campaigns

9.     Pronto

10.   Bizrate

Patience – Waiting for the right time always rewards you with discounts rather than wanting to be the first one to buy means paying the full price.

Waiting for the appropriate season like that of stock clearance moments of inventory with right prediction of the product cycle like that of Apple products having quite a guessable time frame.

In case it is unpredictable wait for the new launch to replace your oldie.

If patience is impossible these can help you still.

Subscribe and watch deal newsletter, price alerts and to Analyse price changes-Though you might dislike getting ads and overflowing your inbox subscribing for newsletters is your pathway to the latest offers.

Some sites like Deal News notifies you regarding deals while Pricepinx and CamelCamelCamel can watch for price drops and intimate you for specific products even future price drops are predicted.

Invisible Hand Tool – Gives automatic notifications of lower prices anywhere. But it’s just a software so some misunderstandings of our shopping intentions might occur so always better sometimes to check more than 2 alternative pricing given even though higher. A little personal hunting might be good. Popular Deals sites like Dealzon and Deal News can help. Patience aids especially when you are a hunter of deals. A new deal might crop every week based on time frames especially sales during holidays.

The Incognito mode – A wall street journal study says that online shopping stores tend to display prices based on zip code. Browsers can locate your places approximately with the IP address and also through the data in cookies. Though cookies help us to locate our preferences quickly they don’t serve our purposes of looking for the best price. Always good to shop in private/Incognito mode.

Cash book Concept – This is applied by some retailers who offer a cashback on bulk purchases and frequent shoppers. The website receives a commission from the retailer who gives a portion of it to the shopper. Very much suitable for shoppers who make frequent purchases online.

 How to save from Online Coupons?

If you want to know ways to save money on products online, Coupons will serve this purpose.

Coupons are also called promo codes, discounts code, offer code or gift documents or tickets that can be exchanged for a rebate, while buying a product. Coupons can be printable coupons those in Newspapers or online. All of them serve you the purpose of savings on shopping.

What are linked coupons?

These coupons are in the form of links, and when you click on them, takes you to the online store for a discount on checkout.

What are online coupons?

Unlike paper coupons handed physically to the cashier at the store, online coupons ask you to enter a code before payment and that is deducted from your price and displayed in your final bill. The discount given could be dollars reduced or even free shipping.

Where to locate coupons

You can locate these coupons in the relative websites of company, dealing with the products you want to purchase or even coupon websites which have coupons related to different online products. You can either type “Coupon code” in Google to get the websites offering coupons or just enter the product name you have decided to purchase along with “Coupon code” e.g. I have to purchase mattress products you could type “Mattress coupon code” or Latest trendy glasses like zeelool you could type ” Zeelool coupon or Zeelool promo code ” or Latest theme or plugin like crocoblock you could type ” Crocoblock coupon code “

If I do not find a place to enter the code?

Check the FAQ in the website online or leave a query in the customer service area or talk to the customer care.

How to ensure the coupon has been applied?

Verify if the discount is applied in your order page, deduction is done on the price before you accept the transaction.

If the coupon code does not work?

This might be due to the reason that the coupon has expired, due to the date check for another code.

 What are the easy 7 Variables to avoid coupon frauds

1. Strictly abide by the stores Policies – Can be checked in the stores website in Google.

2. Not to create or use duplicate coupons-

• • Not photocopied

• • Check for already redeemed coupons by referring to the unique code in the top right codes.

• Don’t use coupons which sound to be too good e.g. Making the product free of cost.

3. Check the quantity related to the Coupons – Please verify the quantity of the product the coupon is valid to be used for.

4. Use the coupon only for the item mentioned in It – Only for products listed on it.

5. Restrict usage of coupon to only 1 item per coupon.

6. Never try using expired Coupons – Check twice for the expiry date on it.

7. Never photocopy a Coupon – Only original coupons are valid and are redeemable. Each coupon has its unique serial number and barcode and this contains the date when the coupon had been printed.

 How not to be carried away by fake reviews?
 

Fake reviews account to 30% mostly not left by customers but by the company itself.

How to spot them in Online Shopping?

• Can be tested on a site called review skeptic where the review can exhibit the following features: –
• Only eye catchy words of higher degree of appreciation nothing much natural e.g. Life changing
• Words diverting from the product round about talks about their family e.g. my husband, father etc.
• Usage of first person singular words like “I” “Me”
• Exclamatory expressions very often exaggeration moderate praises are welcome.
• Usage of full official names in the content sounding more like a marketing notice.
• Most reliable reviewers are branded verified purchasers by some websites cross checking them with their buyer database.
• Time span check can prove to be beneficial. Multiple entries within a span of 30 mins cannot be relied on.

Customers who drop a review on discounted product cannot be considered. Their reviews might glow in return for the product they have received with a massive discount.

The find option as Ctrl+F can be used to locate words like “Honest” or “unbiased” or “Discount” most commonly focused in paid reviews.

Be on your guard for short crispy reviews – With no elaborate discussion or explanation about their experience of the product keep in mind only star ranking as their goal. This can be copied and pasted in multiple products. Hardly 4-5 lines dates etc.

Not much inner product details are dealt like price, dates etc. except for generic details written through a standard template by hired staff of the company.

Puppet profiles are created for these fake reviews either face or non-person images, avatars of the internet.

Duplicating review text by copying from other websites monotonously is the most common tendency of fake reviews.

Check for more reviews by the same reviewer under “see all my reviews” next to the reviewers’ name if not regular then not worth.

Check for verified purchase – If a reviewer is really a purchaser and is in receipt of the product there is an orange “Verified purchase” notation under the reviewers’ name and date.

Consider middle ratings than high or low. Be a mediocre thinker taking into account middle ratings. A one-star rating can invoke suspicion.

• Make sure to leave your feedback – If you are sure the review was really objective then click yes for “was this review helpful to you” This increase the reviews trustworthiness or a “No” can lower the status of the review.

Reviewmeta.com and Fakespot.com analyses reviews for any product on Amazon and gives the rating for the authenticity.

WIkiHow

To see how many products, you have reviewed under “your account” under “community” “product reviews written by you” shows ranking, number of helpful votes and number of reviews.

Reviewer can either set his full name or screen name to be visible.

Fake video testimonials: Inside the world of fake reviews (CBC Marketplace)

 What are the simple 8 signals to find a fake website

1. Heavy discounts – Any offers too good to be true please verify any similar deals for same product in other sites.

2. Bad Website design and English – Unprofessionalism leads to lack of trust. Grammatical mistakes show lack of expertise.

3. Doubtful domain Names – Extra words in the URL like deals, sales etc. Chances are more that the website might be a scam. Type address into Googles Transparency Report to check sites safety.

4. Life of the Site – Archived versions of the website regarding its existence can be checked at archive.org. A red big flag indicates the existence of the website only in the past year.

5. Payment mode not through debit or credit card – If the seller insists payment through bitcoin, cash, wire transfer or prepaid gift card alone then there is little chances of your money back.

6. Contact information not Clear – Absence of address or phone number and the email not having the company’s name lacks trust. You can look up the website on GoDaddys, WhoIsTool shows complete detail of website.

7. Refund Policy Not Clear – Difficult refund policies or vague answers regarding shipping dates should not be appreciated. The Federal Trade Commission requires sellers to ship items within 30 days of order.

8. Bad Reviews – Type company’s name and scan in Google and check for complaints about the sites. Use the Scan tracker tool of Better Business Bureau for feedbacks regarding the site.

Implement all these methodologies and ideas to enlighten your online shopping experience. “Buy the Best for the Best Price at the Best Place” and make your shopping enjoyable, comfortable and profitable.

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