Nothing’s more frustrating than paying full price for something and then finding out you could have gotten it for half that. And while a lot of online retailers are starting to offer price-matching, most of them put the onus on the consumer to look for deals.
It can take hours to pore through reviews, ratings and deal sites in an effort to dog down the best bargain. But savvy Internet shoppers know how to put the Web to work for them. Here are 3 simple tools to help you navigate the tumultuous waters of online shopping and come out on top.
1. Browser Add-ons -- Not many of us have time to spend all day hunting for the best prices on the stuff we need, but research shows that we do occasionally pop over to a site to gaze at the object(s) of our desire. If you’re gonna google the goods anyway, make your browser do the work by installing one of several helpful tools that let you know when there’s a discount or deal for the store you’re scoping. Downloadable plug-ins like the Offers.com Firefox Add-on run behind-the-scenes to help you save by hunting down bargains for the store you’re browsing and adding an unobtrusive bar at the top of your screen with information (and a link) that keeps you from spending more than you have to.
2. Search Alerts — You probably already know how to set up Google and Yahoo news alerts, but you can also use them to get information on the products you’ve had your eye on. Setting up shopping alerts to let you know about price drops and other bargains is one of the fastest ways to find out about deals that might only be good for a certain day or discounts on hot items. Sign up for news alerts and enter the brand or item name you want to get an information blast sent straight to your inbox (or to your phone via text message) as soon as a new deal pops up. You can also sign up for one of many shopping alerts that scour all kinds of websites to find the lowest price on what you need.
3. Social Media – With more and more companies setting up Twitter accounts, social media is quickly becoming the place to find “exclusive” deals. Retailers like Dell, Amazon and Starbucks have spurred sales and been extremely successful using social media to promote themselves. But it isn’t all about the big stores — consumers get something out of this, too. The best stores reward customers for their fandom with sneak-peeks at new merchandise, early announcements about upcoming sales, and (best of all) coupon codes and promo codes redeemable for extra savings. Before you buy, it never hurts to scan the store’s Facebook and Twitter pages to see if any secret savings can be found among the updates.
Don’t waste time doing your own research. Let these handy e-tools do it for you, and make sure you never pay more than you have to with easy tech solutions that keep you up-to-date on the latest deals.
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gr8 info..:) tnx for the post budddy…
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I pretty sure you just hit a very competitive niche, it’s very relevant since everyone is looking to save a couple of bucks.I think taking the time to sift out some good deals is worth it
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Selena Narayanasamy Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 12:50 am
I agree- especially when you can find some killer deals online. I’ve found things for 50% off just by shopping around online for discounts and coupons!
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Social Media is the best out of the lot..giving real-time alerts if properly maintained.
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Selena Narayanasamy Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Yes, real time alerts are amazing!
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Thanks for this! I think of myself as pretty savvy when buying things and I always look for the best price but I’ve never considered price alerts. Selena, I hope as well as writing about it you’ve got your own ideas to profit from it (perhaps in conjunction with online retail store’s affiliate income)
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Selena Narayanasamy Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I’ve thought about taking the step into affiliate marketing but I have not yet. It’s crossed my mind though
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I am always bonus and deal hunter, spending time in China really teach me how to make a bargain. May be it have become a bad habit already and part of my life, I just like deals.
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Google Alerts and offers.com firefox addon are one of the easiest methods for keeping yourself updated with the best deals.
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Selena Narayanasamy Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I agree. very easy to use.
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Even if etools are not enough the bloggers always find discounts etc. The example is not so far
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awesome tips. I normally do some research with Google before buying anything online.
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Social Media rocks today. Maximum mobile phones comes with social media integrated. Its easy for bloggers and promoters to use it as a platform to market the product.
Great points.
- Robi
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For me, I’ll just do some researches =)
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I agree with you. Social Media Marketing has become one the main marketing tool these days. Online shopping carts are the next. We can buy anything online…
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Researching is good habit. I never heard about the first one tool. Will try this one.
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Hieu Martin Reply:
August 3rd, 2010 at 6:50 am
I’m too chand
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great tips here.. I rarely use Firefox anymore, but I google a lot. I’m usually trigger happy when buying online without looking further because its hard to find that one thing I’m looking for. I think I’m gonna try my Google and Yahoo alerts which I’ve been ignoring for a long time.
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I don’t install many add ons in my browser. Just a few necessary ones!
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This blog really made a great tips. Also, the three handy tools being featured in this blog is really a great help to all online shoppers. By means of this handy tools you can save your time by doing research on the net. The fact that its not only frustrating on the side of the online shoppers but also it creates bad image on the side of of the site that sells the product being purchased online.We all know that research is good but really takes times. So why spend more time if you can have it on a single click.
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Social media is nice but browser addons gives us a specific info of everything…..
Nice article……
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I’ll add a few things…
PM (price-matching): This can be tough, but it can make for some great deals. Be sure to read the retailer’s terms and conditions carefully. Many folks think that any deal involving a PM should be YMMV (your mileage may vary).
Coupons- Don’t forget to check eBay for any coupons that might be available. But coupons alone don’t necessarily make a great deal, so be sure to check prices at Google Shopping or a similar site.
Tax- Sites like Newegg and Amazon that only operate in a few states usually only charge taxes in those states. This can make things much less expensive.
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well i am using Offers.com Add-on for quite somedays and social media always there with offers…
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Informative post Selena .
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Selena Narayanasamy Reply:
August 3rd, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Thanks!!
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Excellent article. I did the mistake of paying the full price to Dreamhost, and after I have done that I realized I can get discount’s upto $70. Everyone should take a note from this post since it will save some of your hard earned bucks.
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I have posted a comment here and it is not visible to me. Is it bcoz my comment is marked as spam. Shiva can you check it and tell me here, what happened.
~ Sathish
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Iphone 4 Jailbreak Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 11:00 pm
contact akistmet , ur probably hit by its spam engine , i got banned to few days back , then later restored …. all my msgs went to spam
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Thanks for this great post. I never heard about them. Will try this one
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Selena Narayanasamy Reply:
August 3rd, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Let me know if you like it.
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thanks Selena
elegant solutions you have
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This is nice information. Thanks to sharing with us.
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This is a good post about deal hunt and I must say that you have given nice information about it in detail.People should really consider your points and suggestions for deal hunt.I do appreciate you for this valuable information.
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Frankly I do not like such an annoying offer, as it makes my browsers ugly and sometimes it popup that also annoys our readers. Sorry as I have tried this and not really happy with their approach. Thanks for your detailed review
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Selena Narayanasamy Reply:
August 3rd, 2010 at 7:25 pm
everyone is entitled to their own thoughts- not everyone likes certain add-ons. I know there’s a few that I don’t like because they clutter and look bad
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I have posted a comment here and it is not visible to me. Is it bcoz my comment is marked as spam. Shiva can you check it and tell me here, what happened
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Browser Addons are just my second favorite after social media…..
thanks for sharing the article…
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Thanks for the tips especially for those who have domains to promote. Your tips are really helpful. Competition in online marketing is rapidly increasing and therefore, we need to win the deal to have clients.The tools you’ve presented will be really helpful.
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Competitive world for online marketing is really on! It is rapidly changing,therefore you need to increase the speed of hunting for clients to win the game. Thanks for posting those tools to win the deal. Let the deal hunt begins!
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nice idea….. i addon an social media for it…..
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Great tips Selena. Hoping to use these when I go for a deal hunt next time
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I like google alerts and I am informed everyday with the things I want for my business and to my website. Thanks for sharing!
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John @ My MN Yellow Pages Reply:
August 18th, 2010 at 12:57 am
Yes, google alerts is a very good tool if you want to get updates on your personal stuff. I also use it to track gadgets I want to buy
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Well, I have note yet used browser add-ons and search alerts, but I come across some really awesome deals via social media, especially Twitter and FB.
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Absolutely! Or… you may want to head to TechChunks.com and look for the daily Hot Deals from TechBargains on the sidebar section.
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