My friend Faith is such a whiz-kid when it comes to finding deals and saving money that I am doing several interviews with her and I’ll be posting articles on several aspects of saving money while shopping.
Today’s topic is ONLINE SHOPPING!
Me: What sites do you like to shop at when there is a specific item you want to purchase?
Faith: Well, I tend to Google an item I would like to purchase, if it is specific. Then I usually go to Amazon.com. I compare prices so I can get a feel for what it’s selling for. Then I look for ways to get shipping for free or % off, or other discounts on the item.
Me: What are the ways to get the free or % off shipping?
Faith: I find coupon codes on retailmenot.com for % off or free shipping. Coupon codes are the best way to get free shipping. Most sites have a certain amount you must buy to get free shipping, and often I don’t meet this amount. so I look for free shipping first. If that’s not available then I factor that into the total cost of the item when I am shopping.
Me: How long would you say this process takes when you are shopping for, say, food items?
Faith: Well, I check the Amazon sales, specifically, once a week.
Me: What? Wait. Amazon has sales? (I’m such a shopping dunce.)
Faith: I go to the grocery section and click on the sales and specials tab. Then I scroll through the items and keep my eyes peeled for high % discounts, like 50%. I also keep in mind that I can get an additional 15% off Amazon grocery items when I select “subscribe and save” on my check out. I can always unsubscribe after my first shipment.
Me: Subscribe to what? (See? Shopping is not my super-power.)
Faith: ”Subscribe and Save” is a service that some items are eligible for. It means that you can order a food item to be shipped at regular intervals. When you have your item shipped by the “Subscribe and Save” service it takes an additional 15% off the item. And there is no penalty for unsubscribing right away.
Me: Ok, so when you are doing this, scanning at Amazon, are you looking for specific items or just deals?
Faith: I have specific things I look for, Kashi products. And I also am looking in general for good deals.
Another good place to look for good deals when shopping online is slickdeals.net. The first page will have a lot of current hot deals. this is a resource for any item under the sun that you could be looking for.
It’s basically a place where people gather to shop together. So you have thousands of minds shopping together and looking for and sharing deals. They even have forums for food shopping. Anything you want!
Me: Why would you wanna look at a forum for food shopping?
Faith: Well, if you want to know what your grocery store has on special that week without having to sort through the flyer reading about regularly priced items, this would be a huge time saver. They only put the really great deals on there. They weed out the junk and tell you if there are coupons available.
Me: Ok, I’m starting to see the benefit of that. Alright, now, back to deal shopping in general, do you usually have to buy stuff by the case lot or in large quantities to get the good deals?
Faith: No, not usually. Sometimes Amazon deals are that way.
Me: Ok, so is it worth looking for stuff like diapers or canned goods this way?
Faith: Nah, I usually am looking for boxed organic stuff. The high end stuff that will be tons cheaper than at the grocery. The specialty items that I would not be able to afford just walking into the health food store. Kashi products, maple syrup, better coffees.
Me: Well, that’s enough to get me started. I wonder if I can find a deal on coconut oil.
Next time we’ll talk about couponing.
I have a new nickname for Faith. She’s the Coupon Whisperer. Girl can do the CVS and Wags deals in her sleep!
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