Online shopping is more convenient than going to shop and purchase products. You often gets better discounts than what the local shop have to offer. If you can do a little more research, you may end up saving even more. You can buy products like mobile, laptop, camera, books, toys etc that doesn't need physical inspection.
Based on my online shopping experience, I will share some insight, tips and ideas on shopping online from Indian E-commerce sites and also how to save maximum money while online shopping.
Online Shopping Tips to Save Maximum Money
1. Price Comparison Before Shopping : There are dozens of online shopping websites like FlipKart.com, Snapdeal.com, Jabong.com, Tradus.com, Yebhi.com, Zovi.com, Myntra.com, Amazon.in etc and it may therefore take time and effort to determine which of them offers the best deal on a particular product. Price comparison shopping sites like Junglee.com, MySmartPrice.com aggregate prices from multiple online retailers and making it easier for you to compare prices while shopping online in India.
Note : The lowest listed price may not always be the lowest on the Internet because price comparison shopping sites may not have price data from all the popular online retailers.
Note : The lowest listed price may not always be the lowest on the Internet because price comparison shopping sites may not have price data from all the popular online retailers.
2. Use Discount Coupon Codes While Shopping Online : Sites like CouponDunia.com, CouponRaja.com, have some great offers and discount coupons that you can redeem while shopping online. Most shopping sites accept coupon codes that you can apply during checkout for additional discounts on your final bill.
3. Earn Cashback : Cashback offers let a consumer earn rebate for purchases made through a website like CashKaro.com which works with over 350 online retailers.
Register for a free Cashkaro.com account and purchase a product from Cashkaro.com website link. For every successful transaction, the retailer pays commission to Cashkaro.com, in return Cashkaro.com gives you back a certain amount. Once you have over Rs 250 in your account, Cashkaro transfer the money to your bank account via NEFT or a cheque.
4. Use Credit Cards : Online stores often offer some products on 0% EMI or Cashback with credits cards. Also installments are better as they put less burden on your monthly budget. However don't miss your installment otherwise your bank will charge insane interest.
5. Watch deals on Social Media : Almost all online retailer store have their social media pages and account especially on Twitter and Facebook. They have 5% to 10% and at times 25-30% discounts if you simply like their page or share their link or refer someone to their sites via social media pages. These sites do regularly post offers and deals on these channels, just like their social media page and you can see the deals and offers in your news feed.
6. Set Price Alert for Products : You can use Amazon's, Junglee to set price alerts to know when the online prices of any item drop.
Recommended : How to buy any product from Flipkart
7. Pay bills via Paytm : Paytm is my first choice for paying regular bills like electricity, broadband, DTH, Mobile recharge etc to save some extra buck every month.
Recommended : How to buy any product from Flipkart
7. Pay bills via Paytm : Paytm is my first choice for paying regular bills like electricity, broadband, DTH, Mobile recharge etc to save some extra buck every month.
8. Research Online, Shop Offline : Well this may sound like anti climax after you have done all the hunting for cheap deals online and tried to get the best online deals in India, but it is true. Things like spike guards, antivirus and some small electronics products may cheaper in the offline world compared to online once. It is because the shipping charges may add to the costs on these small and low priced goods since the margins are lesser.
You can also find contact details of offline retailers through their listings in the eBay and Junglee marketplaces. Give them a call, ask for a quote and you may end up getting a better deal.
You can also find contact details of offline retailers through their listings in the eBay and Junglee marketplaces. Give them a call, ask for a quote and you may end up getting a better deal.
9. Try a Different Browser : News reports in the WSJ and USA Today suggest that certain shopping sites, especially those in the travel category, may alter prices based on your geo-location and by looking at your previous browsing history through cookies. I am not sure if Indian shopping sites use “dynamic pricing” but the incognito (or private) mode in your browser will prevent the site from connecting the dots and they’ll treat you as a new customer.
10. Finally Wait, If you can : There’s no Black Friday or Cyber Monday in India but shopping sites here generally offer better discounts around holidays and festivals. Thus wait, if you can.
Common tips to Save Money
- If you like a product, don't instant buy it, if you want to save money.
- Don't buy cheapest product, rather buy second best cheapest product.
- Buy stuff which you are going to use, don't buy just for the sake of it or to increase your shopping basket.
- If 0% EMI option is available, prefer to use that instead of Cash on Delivery or paying at one time.
Finally from my personal experience, online shopping is addictive, So stay away from that. If I have missed something, feel free to post it in the comments below. Happy Shopping!