Where to find the best deals when shopping online

Online shopping continues to grow in popularity and the deals that can be found online are also growing in number as well as overall savings. There is more than one way to find a great deal online. I have family and friends that always contact me before making a purchase online because they know I have some inside tips on how to get a great deal. In this article I will share some of these money saving tips.

Find a Coupon Code

My wife and I have a 2 month old little girl who we love to death but insists on filling close to ten diapers daily! I knew there had to be a way to get a great deal on diapers online. So I went to Google and did a search for “Pampers Diaper Deals” (the brand we use), and hit the “search” button. I found out there is an online business called Diapers.com so I thought I would check them out. Glad I did because they sell in bulk and at a discount. They had a box of 200, size 2, Pamper diapers for $37.88. This by itself is a pretty good deal and cheaper than our local Wal-Mart, but I wanted an even better deal! This is when I noticed that they offer free shipping on a $50 or more order. Knowing how fast our little girl is growing, I went ahead and ordered a similar box of diapers, except in size 3, for the same price of $37.88. This gave me free UPS shipping. I am a deal hunter so I wanted more! So I searched Google for “Diapers.com Coupons” and found a coupon code for $10 off your order and added that to my order. This gave me close to 400 diapers delivered to my front door for $65.76. If I went to Wal-Mart and bought the same amount of diapers it would have cost me close to $90, not to mention the headache of loading three kids in and out of the minivan. Try this technique yourself; I think you will be surprised at the great deals available online.

eBay Bargain Secrets

There are also some great deals to be found on eBay.com. For example, one of my favorite clothing brands is American Eagle Outfitters, and there are a small number of eBay sellers that sell nothing but brand new, with a tag, American Eagle clothing. I am able to save at least 50% off what I would pay in their brick and mortar store. I do this by waiting until the last 30 seconds of the auction before I bid which almost always guarantees that I will not be outbid and get the best deal possible. This is also a great way to get deals on other clothing brands like Abercrombie & Fitch and Eddie Bauer. In addition, I will often buy more than one item from the same seller to reduce shipping costs.

Perhaps the best way to get a deal on eBay, especially around the Christmas shopping season, is to shop at eBay the week after the Thanksgiving holiday. Why you ask? Well you know how stores offer such great deals on “Black Friday”, which is the Friday after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year? What I found out is that the people who are crazy enough to get in line at 5 in the morning to get these bargains often turn around the next day and place their merchandise on eBay to turn a quick profit. For example, last year Best Buy was practically giving away a Garmin GPS unit, a couple days after Thanksgiving I was able to bid on the same unit on eBay for a great price. The final auction price was only a little bit higher than the great price Best Buy listed it for on “Black Friday”. What a great way to get a deal on eBay, plus you never have to stand in line at 5 in the morning! I plan on doing it again this year.

photo by Ryan Fanshaw Photography

Posted by Kyle James on October 11 2010. Filed under Contributors.
Kyle is the owner of an online coupon Web Site, http://www.rather-be-shopping.com He lives in northern California with his wife and three children. You may contact him via e-mail at ratherbeshopping@sbcglobal.net