Shopping online can be confusing and rewarding – sometimes at the same time. How do you know you’re getting the best deal? Is there a further discount available? Is the site safe? This week I will discussing some do’s and don’ts of internet shopping, so you can shop safe, save money and get the best deals the market has to offer.

1. Be Safe (it’s about saving money but it’s also about not losing any!)

When you are at the payment stage of your transaction the url should Https (as opposed to http) the ‘S’ is for secure, meaning that your transaction is secure.  Also if you click on the lock symbol on the credit card transaction page, it should state who has verified the site.

2. Use Discount Codes

If it’s a large business you are buying from, the chances are there is a discount code available for the site. There are a few sites to check as a first port of call, after is boards and google…

www.discountcodes.co.uk- this is a good site for buying from UK retailers. It is also a good site if you are heading away to the UK for a weekend as it has lots of discount vouchers for restaurants (including Wagamama, Pizza Express (Milanos) and other large coffee shops chains too)

www.5shop5.ie – this is good for discount codes for Irish based companies or international companies with an Irish arm- Nike, Reebok etc.

www.iloveshopping.ie – this An Post’s online shopping directory and it features a lot of Irish based companies, as well as some international ones too like Oxendales. They have a special offers section with good discounts of up to 20% off.

www.boards.ie – search the threads for discount codes. If there are none for the site you are looking for, put up a post requesting a code. There are also moderators in each section who possibly already know the answer to your question or at the very least, they know where to find it.

www.Google.com – where would the world be without google?? If you can’t find a discount code for it on any of the above, google ‘discount codes for x 2010’ Make sure you put a date on it as you could get ones from years ago.

3. Use A Cashback Site

Cashback sites have been around for years in the US and the UK and they are starting to get big in Ireland.

How do they work?
All cashback sites work by providing traffic to various online retailers. Every time the internet retailers receive a click-through or make a sale they pay a small commission fee to the cashback site.
If you are going to be shopping online anyway – as many people do these days – why not make some money while you’re doing it?

Cashback sites look similar but there are a few subtle differences, if you read the small print. My suggestion is that you should check each one according to the service you require as they carry similar retailers but the cashback amounts can differ. Fatcheese has promotional discounts, so they may have a greater discount but for a limited time. Here’s a quick comparison:

www.cashbackireland.com
•    Cashback retains the first €9

www.fatcheese.ie

•    They don’t charge you anything for the service.
•    €1 join up bonus and €1 cashback for every friend you refer
•    You can also earn cashback by doing surveys in their ‘no spend’ section.
•    They have special offers that change weekly This week they have 10% cashback on all Reebok purchases through Fatcheese and 12% back on FlowersDirect .

www.bethrify.ie
•    100% Irish owned. They don’t charge you anything for the service.
•    BeThrifty offers more cashback with Tesco (€2.50 for returning users), Fatcheese offers €1.75

4. Use A Price Comparison Site (to get the best deal)

These are called pricebots and basically trawl the internet for the cheapest price for you. This is a good idea if you are purchasing an item like a camera or other electrical goods.

‘Pricebot’/comparison sites
www.Kelkoo.co.uk – this site trawls 3 million products and works with 41 out of 50 of the UK’s top retailers.
www.pricegrabber.co.uk
This is not the biggest site but it’s very user friendly and you’re not bombarded with information. It’s good for gadgets and fashion.
www.megashopbot.com
I think this might be my favourite as it is easy to use and comprehensive in terms of product range and market coverage.

That’s all for now -if you have any tips of your own on saving money online, I’d love to hear them- Value Vera