What’s the biggest shopping day of this year? It’s not Black Friday. It’s Cyber Monday, whose week starts in December this year.
You don’t have to shop every website to find the best deals. Now bots, browser plug-ins, and other automated helpers will find them for you. Here are some of the best tech helpers:
- CamelCamelCamel: You’ll be notified when the price of an Amazon product on your wish list falls to the level you want. The tool also shows you the price history so you’ll know whether to buy now or wait for more price drops.
- Keepa: Like CamelCamelCamel, Keepa offers price tracking and detailed price histories on Amazon products. You can set alerts for price drops without opening an account.
- Honey: Tech takes over your shopping with a browser extension that finds coupon codes and automatically applies them at checkout. It also has a price tracker with alerts.
- Slickdeals: This platform is run by humans, with shoppers sharing active deals and discounts. Like the other monitoring tools, you can set alerts for items by name and keywords.
- ShopSavvy: Feeling tech savvy? With this app, scan a barcode using your smartphone and find out what other sellers charge online and in their stores. An item’s price history shows you the latest trend.
- PriceGrabber: This app allows you to shop several stores at once. It compares sellers side by side for easy comparison. A weekly newsletter delivers information on big discounts and popular products.
- Google Shopping: What Google has done for search results, it now does for bargain hunting. Its Deals feature customizes discount price data.
To ensure you’re getting the best deal from an online retailer, factor in the less obvious expenses. First, estimate the shipping costs. A quoted sales price may be the lowest but not the best deal after you pay to have the item sent to you. Read the fine print on “free shipping.” It may require a minimum purchase amount. In that case, look elsewhere or consolidate your purchases with that retailer to meet the threshold for free delivery.
Second, investigate the retailer’s return policy. A Cyber Week deal may have a shorter return window. Even a return window of 30 days may be a bad deal if you buy a gift in early December and the recipient doesn’t think to send it back until after the holidays. Third, read the fine print to learn who pays for shipping and whether you will receive a refund or store credit.
Last tip, regular readers of this blog already know: Watch out for scams. Taking advantage of the excitement surrounding Cyber Monday, crooks lure shoppers into fake online stores, advertise popular items at unreasonably low prices, and claim to have hard-to-find items. The fraudsters either take your money and send nothing or deliver a poorly made imitation.
Sophisticated scammers send unsolicited emails announcing special deals, mislead you into thinking there’s a problem with a purchase, or announce that you have won a holiday gift. All are efforts to get you to click a link that will infect your computer or mobile device.
To protect yourself, shop from well-known retailers. Reviews can be faked, so check the company’s Better Business Bureau rating instead. Pay online using only secure payment methods. Make sure the website address starts with “https” and displays the padlock symbol on the page where you are entering your payment. Remember that credit cards offer better fraud protection than debit cards.
Never send money via wire transfer and be cautious when using a gift or prepaid debit card. It’s doubtful that you will get your money back.
How can you save even more money on your holiday shopping this year? Open a Tropical Financial Daily Rewards Debit Card account that pays you back two cents on every purchase. The more you spend, the more that is put back in your pocket.
