With the holiday season in full swing, shoppers will be looking to save money, but they are also busy and searching for convenient and easy ways to do so. Michelle Madhok is founder of SheFinds.com and MomFinds.com, websites that help busy women get the best deals on online.
She recently appeared on "The Martha Stewart Show" to share her tips with the nationally syndicated show's audience. Here is some of the shopping wisdom she had to share.
Michelle's tips:
1. Shop Online Only. Avoid the holiday mayhem entirely. Schedule time to cybershop-most stores will save the contents of your shopping cart for a few days, so you can revise according to your budget when you are don e. This will give you more control over what ultimately ends up in the cart.
2. Pare Down Your Search. If you have some idea of what to buy but aren't totally sure, Pronto is a great place to start. The shopping search engine is accurate and user friendly, and with photos and price ranges for all the results.
3. Set Yourself Up For Deals. Know where you'll do some of your shopping already? Sign up that retailer's e-mail newsletter list and you'll be the first to know about sales, spend-and-save offers, and free shipping - sometimes they'll even throw in a coupon code.
4. Visit Deal-Specific Sites. SheFinds.com Deal of the Day is http://www.shefinds.com/tag/sales-and-deals/ and offers the best buys for fashion and beauty. Woot.com offers a huge discount on limited quantity one day deals.
5. Pinpoint Seasonal Items. Keep an eye out for whether they go on sale. If you're getting all of your girlfriends gloves, for example, it might be worth waiting, since they may be marked down by mid-winter. Same goes for anything wintry - sweaters, pine-scented candles, peppermint bark, et cetera.
6. Visit Sample Sale Site! Everyone at SheFinds.com loves these sites right now - they feature great brands and often have a pretty decent selection of products for up to 70% off during sales that last a few hours. We keep a calendar of the all sales up at Shefinds.com, and send out a list of our favorites each Monday morning.
7. Shop Safe. Be wary of ordering from a merchant that you've never heard of. For a quick check, Google the name of the site and "fraud"scam" and do a quick search of http://www.ripoffreport.com/ to see if anyone else has reported a scam. Shop with companies located in the U.S. because you're protected by state and federal consumer laws. Use a credit card when you buy online since unauthorized charges of $50 or more are covered by federal law.
8. Get Smart with Social Media. Follow your favorite retailers on Twitter and join their Facebook fan pages that frequently give subscribers early access to sales and additional discounts.
9. Ask for an after-the-fact markdown. If the item you bought goes on sale within in the week or the month, many stores will pay you back the difference. Keep your receipts! Some retailers offer a price guarantee over 100%- that means if you find the item cheaper anywhere else, prove it to the retailer and they'll beat that price.
10. Get Cash Back. A no-brainer for saving during a big shopping season: shop through a cash back service like Bank of America's Add It Up Program which gives Bank of America customers up to 20% cash back on purchases from participating retailers. Add It Up has over 300 retailers and you can even take advantage of double cash back offers from retailers like Apple Online Store and BestBuy.com.
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