  |
|
|
|
Safe & Simple Shopping Using Only A Net© Reginald Vickers
Last Black Friday (the sacred shopping day following Thanksgiving) I broke tradition with Momma by not going shopping with her. I had planned to carry out the 40-year tradition up until the evening before; we had already planned our CMT (Commando Mall Tactics) weeks in advance. Yet last Black Friday, I had the most wonderful day shopping I had ever experienced. It was that day that I truly committed to using the Internet for all of my holiday shopping. You can read about this at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1901... .
1. Know your budget. Know exactly what you can afford and promise yourself that you will not go over that amount. 2. Know your gift receivers. Make a list of all those for whom you plan to buy gifts. 3. Divvy the budget between your receivers. 4. Categorize your receivers. Lump your receivers by general interest: people who like to garden, those who like Dean Martin, the ones who like the Croc Hunter, and those who like to play Parcheesi naked in a canoe. It is easier to find gift ideas for many than one gift for one person. 5. Shop at the Internet sites that offer FREE SHIPPING (you can find a list of these sites at: http://www.suite101.com/mypage.cfm/shopp... ) for those who live farther than 2 blocks away from you and that you probably won't see for the holidays. Many of these sites also offer wrapping as well. Sometimes the items may cost a little more, but it is worth not having to go to the post office or UPS to stand in line for 2 hours to ship a box that never arrives anyway. 6. Be certain the site is reputable by their association with Better Business Bureau ( http://www.bbbonline.org/ ), or http://www.truste.com/ 7. Know the company: make sure they have a physical address listed on their site and a phone number. Read their policy- know how to return an item. Be sure that the "shopping cart" is secure. (You can tell if there is an s in the address- like "shtml".) 8. Purchase with your credit card instead of your debit card (you are only responsible up to a certain amount with your credit card- $50 for most cases). 9. Use Internet Coupons: Many stores are currently vying for your holiday business. Use what they give you. One place you can find these coupons is at: http://www.suite101.com/files/mysites/sh...
Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Safe & Simple Shopping Using Only A Net in Online Shopping is owned by Maureen Fleury. Permission to republish Safe & Simple Shopping Using Only A Net in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
