1.       Associations: If you belong to an association, check out your discounts and rewards programs. Many of these benefits can be acquired on the association’s Web site, and related links.

 

2.       Online Retailers: There are many retailers who sell exclusively online and their prices are reduced due to having no overhead. Some of the best known exclusively online retailers are Amazon.com and Overstock.com, but there are many others. Some lesser known online retailers include SmartBargains.com, NewE gg.com, and Shop.org.

 

3.       Major Retailers: Most major retail stores have online shopping, and they give the online customer special benefits in addition to their in store specials, such as free gift wrapping and shipping. Others, such as sephora.com, will send along free samples for online shoppers.

 

4.       Multiple Merchant Sites: There are mega-watt shopping sites that have a selection of retailers they accumulate for the online shopping convenience of web site surfers. For example, Ebates.com has more than 900 online sites, and their shopping also credits your account with rebates from various vendors that can range from 1% - 25%.

 

5.       Free Shipping: Since the price of shipping merchandise discourages many online shoppers, the savvy can look at what can be purchased with guaranteed free postage. For example, Freeshipping.org , let’s the online shopper choose a specific merchandise category, and then shows which vendors are offering free shipping.

 

6.       Coupons and Freebies: There are several Web sites and blogs where the online consumer can obtain information about free offers and coupons that can be downloaded. A blog started by Ryan Eubanks called heyitsfree.net allows the online surfer to search by categories for freebies and other sites offering freebies. Another resource is retailmenot.com that offers access to valuable online coupons and discounts.

 

7.       Sites that Cater to You: There are some Web sites that ask for your personal sizes, preferences, and likes, and then send you information, coupons, and deals on your favorites when they become available. The Shopittome.com Web site, for example, has you fill in a questionnaire and then sends daily or weekly updates on your preferred choices.

 

8.       Price Comparisons: There are several Web sites that offer the convenience of comparing prices across retailers. There are several travel sites including Cheaptickets.com and Kayak.com. In addition, there are sites for retailers as well, such as Pricegrabber.com, which also calculates shipping and tax costs in addition to comparing base prices.

 

9.       Check the Sites Prior To Using: Since all of us have heard of online scams, including identity theft, many people are hesitant to give their personal financial information online to an unknown source. If you are wondering if a Web site is safe, you can use a few resources to check. In all areas of the country, people can logon to the Better Business Bureau in every state at bbb.org. Other sites used to check on retailers include resellerratings.com and bizrate.com.

 

10.   Read Rating Reviews: If you want to know what to buy and the best place to shop, or what not to buy and where consumers think they would least like to shop, go to an online rater network. For example, Buzzillions.com has millions of raters’ reviews by categories of purchases.