Author: Rima Ghosh
We all dabble in online shopping for our day to day needs not just because it is trendy but because it saves our time.
Time and energy are perhaps the only driving force to draw us to online shopping. No standing in front of shops before events, no bargaining, no explaining about the lining of embroidery, etc. “just see the stock in silence”, discuss with friends if necessary, pay and exit. The product would be delivered as per the timeline. The local market mechanism going online have reached millions with a single click and it is here to stay. But there are many inhibitions also that generally play in mind and sometimes, you may end up feeling like a fool. So, you should be well equipped with some of these online shopping hacks that would make you a smart customer.
Credit vs. Debit Card – Refunding in a credit card is much easier and faster
Credit card or debit card? Are you dwindling in this confusion? When you are doing online shopping, there are always chances that you may not like the color, function, or size of the product. It may be a damaged or a defective piece and so there would always be chances of the refund. You know, refunding a credit card is much easier than a debit card. So, at least for bigger amounts, always go for credit cards.
Wish lists can be magical
Suppose you have liked a certain dress or electronic material from X,Y,Z, website but want that in a lesser price. The trick is, just select your favorite products and keep them in your Wishlist without buying. After a few days, you might just receive an e-mail about a fall of price on that same product. So, you can really manage discounts that easily. The underline is that you must carry an account with that online shopping website where your phone number and e-mail address are registered so that they can reach out to you with their sales pitch.
Shamelessly ask directly for more discounts
You must have come across the small chat box in the left or right side of the web page of the particular online shopping website. Fill in the details and start chatting with the sales representative there and ask for online gift shopping discounts there. Remember that they are sitting there to sell something to you and thus they have access to some unknown discounts. Or you can connect to the customer care number and ask for your discount. It is very simple a trick if you want a certain product in a discount, you have to ask for it sometimes.
Don’t forget to compare
Access to the internet is easy these days and people these days even watch a TV series over the internet. So, don’t think that only a five or six online websites are ruling the market. The competition is higher in the e-commerce business. There are numerous online shops and the price of a single product may vary from one site to other. To save yourself from such confusion, download a free Price Blink widget. You would get a direct access to innumerable shopping coupons and deals, price comparisons, and most importantly product reviews. Once you download it, every time you are going shopping online, it would create an alert with coupons and reviews. It is always better to do a bit of research before buying anything. After all, it is your hard-earned money!
Refer a friend and win coupons
When you sign up with a certain website, there is always a pop up refer a friend and win coupons. Always do that for grabbing 500 or 100 rupees discount. The trick is to create multiple e-mail id’s yourself and use them for future purchases. So, sometimes you have to become your virtual friend to shop smartly.
Look out for those special discount days
You should always start your shopping on Wednesday. Because generally the best deals and discount rates are given on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Monday and Tuesday are more like a government office’s very boring. The retailers are still dozing from the weekend fever and they shed all their laziness on Wednesday and roll out sales and discount cut-offs so that they have reason to celebrate another weekend.
Clear your browser cookies and get a better price
Online shopping portals can definitely get biased depending on their customer’s location, interests, age, and browsing patterns. So, always make sure you log out from all your social media accounts and go incognito before shopping. The cookies and browsing history should also be cleared in case you want to enjoy a less biased price.
Know the trick if you don’t want to pay for shipping
You are getting an item at a decent price but the pain is a staggering 50 to 80 rupees is added as a shipping charge! Generally, if the cart value is less than 500 rupees, this additional charge is taken. In case you want to avoid this clutter, just select another two or three items and make your cart value just above 500 rupees and place the order. Once the order is confirmed, cancel the unwanted items and enjoy a free shipping.
Knowing Chrome better would save some bucks
Using Chrome for browsing a variety of subjects is always helpful. But you should also start using the Honey extension for Chrome if you want to know about coupon codes for an online shopping portal automatically. Not only discount coupon codes, you can also know about how often people have used such codes and how satisfied they are. It is your money so you should always save some smartly.
Grab free shipping whole-heartedly
There are websites that offer free shipping in buying and returning both ways and here you can buy some extra items. We may like color and design of the products but especially if it is a garment piece, you may have a problem with the size. So, order more than one piece of the same item and keep the one that fits you properly. The rest of them can be returned under customer not satisfied category of complaint. So, you can actually get a trial room practice with this trick. The underline is to read the return policies well before delving into this zone.
Pay and get cashback as well
There are numerous payment gateways like Paytm, MobiKwik, or Paypal which offer cashback offers. Use them diligently and have more cashless cash in your accounts there. When you shop with a certain online shopping portal, you must always check the compatible payment gateways they are offering. You would end up enjoying 10-15% cash back in your account this way.
Follow the brands blindly on all social platforms
We all have our own set of favorite brands and in today’s date of online shopping, these brands have a strong social media platform where they put up specific discount rates and offers. Follow your favorite brands on all social media platforms to always be ready to shop at a lesser rate. Sometimes, they advertise and promote only on social media and you should not miss that.
Enjoy your shopping spree and always be a smart and intelligent customer.
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