Lifestyle

Think You Know How to Shop Online? Think Again

Written by Chloe Harwood

Online shopping is fairly simple, on the face of it. You log onto the site, you click a couple of times, and bam. You’ve ordered your item. Now you just play the waiting game between now and its arrival time. Is there really any more you can do than that?

This article is going to outline how you can improve your online shopping experience. There are loads of secrets out there that can make things easier or cheaper. A lot of people don’t know about them, purely because online retailers prefer that you didn’t know them! The fact is that if you’re willing to do a little searching and exercise a little patience that you

Don’t just shop. Shop smart! Check out these tips.

Making sure you’re speaking to a human

Trying to get in touch with customer service is a hassle at pretty much every online store. Trying to get assistance seems to send you down a labyrinth of questions and links and directions. They don’t end up being that helpful when all you want to do is talk to someone! Even at the end of it all, there seems to be no guarantee you’re not just talking to a computer. If you want to save time and energy – and speak to a human! – check out https://gethuman.com/.

Use a third party if a retailer doesn’t accept your card

One of the most annoying things about shopping anywhere is finding that a particular retailer doesn’t accept your card. It seems like everyone should be accepting every card by now, but sadly that’s not the reality. At least at a brick-and-mortar store you can pay cash, though, right? What are you supposed to do if you’re shopping online? Thankfully, there are outlets you can use that will make a purchase for you if you pay them using that card. See https://www.skypax.com/shopping-concierge/how-it-works for more information.

Search the price history of particular items

We’ve all seen great deals online. In fact, many of us have missed great deals online. Sometimes we resign ourselves to the fact that we missed a deal on an item that we want. We purchase it at the higher price and move on. But price drops and rises are placed out strategically over time by retailers. Simply put, if you know the pricing history of an item, you can figure out when it might drop in price again. You can find such a service at places as http://camelcamelcamel.com/camelizer.

Keep things in your basket for a while

You may have heard this piece of advice in relation to curbing impulse purchases. Put something in your basket, then wait till the next day. See if you want it as much as you did the previous day. But there’s another reason that leaving something in your basket can be a smart move. The big retailers keep track of items that have been unpurchased in someone’s shopping basket. After a certain amount of time, they might take this to mean that you’re umming and ahhing about it. An automated email might be sent to you for discounts on the item or on the delivery. It’s not a guarantee, but it could be worth a try!

About the author

Chloe Harwood