Online Holiday Shopping Series (OHSS), Part 1: Pick It.

I’ve decided that with the multitude of holiday gift lists sharing happening this year, I’m going to take a different route. While I love picking out gifts for people, I tend to personalize it so much that I don’t know if I could do an overall gift list for you. That being said, blogs like Here and Now have been posting some amazing check lists that you definitely need to check out (I’ve already picked some stuff off of there!). 

Instead, I decided to play by my strengths and present you with an
“Online Holiday Shopping Series” aka how to not go broke this holiday season.

 Hopefully this guide will help you save some money (and maybe even earn a little!) this holiday season.

Please note: I am not advocating overspending or going crazy with your money. The point of this guide is here to help you be smart about spending when you spend.

I don’t like impulse buying or making decisions right away, which is part of the reason I love online shopping. I make accounts with many of the retailers that I know I like shopping from and if I see something I like, I’ll add it to my cart. [Please notice there, I said ADD not BUY] After I add it, I’ll let it sit. This adds to step #2.

If I find something I really like, I’ll start looking at other major online retailers to see if they have it at a lower price. For instance, Steve Madden shoes are often sold on DSW, Zappos, and Amazon.com (and many many others), for lower prices. Overstock.com is also a great site for finding discounted designer brands. This method however only works for brands that are sold in stores other than their primary stores, so your best bet for this is generally appliances, shoes, and jewelry. 

Once I’m ready to buy and I’ve found a good discount then I go through my cart to figure out what I actually want to buy. The best part about letting it sit is that you have the chance to find a less expensive product or version or in my case, if I’ve completely forgotten about it, then I know I didn’t really want it.

The downside to this is that sometimes products will sell out and be taken from your cart. This sucks, but I think of it as a good thing and figured that the company just helped me save money. Also, if it’s a really popular product that sells out, keep an eye on it, it’ll most likely come back.  [Note: I’ve noticed that Forever21 doesn’t consistently keep things in your cart, so don’t count on that. Companies like Gap/Old Navy will and they’ll notify you if something is removed.]