Save Time Shopping Online
What, the web REALLY CAN save you time on your shopping? It isn’t just saying that in an effort to get you to click on a banner ad? Yes, it can … but only a few sites have this rare magical power. If you’re feeling frustrated with comparing domestic and local prices, searching in eBay stores and auctions, those bloody shopping comparison sites that are more ad than info, prepare to be enchanted. Here are our tips on best time saving shopping sites that actually do work.
Not only does Amazon have a huge range of products, usually at quite cheap prices, they have a new, superior time-saving website feature. ‘I am your leader’, says Subscribe and Save … The way it works is:
- You choose a product you would purchase regularly, usually something you can find in the non-perishable sections of the supermarket.
- Instead of adding directly to shopping cart or using 1-click ordering, look for the Subscribe and Save options at right of screen. You can choose any quantity between 1 and 30 to be delivered every 1, 2, 3 or 6 months.
- You receive a discount on the everyday Amazon supplier price (although remember, other Amazon sellers sometimes have items cheaper than Amazon itself), and also free shipping on every order.
- There are no catches – you can cancel at any time, and your credit card is only charged when the order is shipped.
If I could gather up all of the hours I’ve spent surfing for cheaper prices online, I’d need arms like Gumby to hold them. Frucall makes this easy … for SOME products, mind you! Big ticket items are most of Frucall’s database.
- Just text 37811 or call 888 363 7822 if you are in the US, and you can use the product barcode to find out if you can get the exact same product cheaper online. Much better than having to figure out confusing model numbers and comparing features to figure out if savings really are savings … or magical fairies that poke your eye and fly away laughing, when you end up receiving something totally different to what you thought. Case in point – eBay’s mini guitars. Too good to be true.
- You can also surf Frucall for price comparisons.
Sizeasy could have helped me avoid the whole mini guitar debacle (poor husband got his hopes up so high…) . If you aren’t sure whether something will fit in a space in either your home, your handbag, your pocket, or around your hot, hot, hot curves (!), Sizeasy lets you compare the dimensions of online objects to everyday items. This time saving shopping website also saves you returning things that don’t fit somewhere, and then re-buying them… trust me, not fun!
Copy and paste the dimensions from a product specs page, and you can see that item next to things like a box of matches, a can of soft drink, a piece of A4 paper or a double mattress.
No more time wasted trying to hunt down tape measures, or returning items that don’t fit around your hot, hot curves 
If you have ever researched travelling somewhere, you know what a minefield of wasted time it can be. You’re just toddling along, minding your business, and then BAM! You’ve lost a leg … or at least, a couple of hours. Farecast helps – this Microsoft site lets you search several travel sites simultaneously (expedia.com, cheapair.com, priceline.com).
Each site opens in a new window, so make sure you allow popups on the site.
Easyreach.com has software for your Blackberry, Palm Treo, Windows Mobile or Symbian that lets you instantly buy gifts for anyone in your phone address book, with no price markups. They partner with the retailers to bring the service to users for free.
No more rushing out for bottles of wine, flowers or chocolates at the last minute. You can grab gifts while sitting in traffic jams, while on your lunch break, or while waiting for a bus.
Of course, you can also buy gifts for yourself. Why not – you deserve it! Or you could buy gifts for me. Why not – I deserve it too!
A word of advice – sometimes your Mom was right, you get what you pay for … so the cheapest price isn’t necessarily going to be the best product! Look in conjunction with review sites.
By Lucy on February 7, 2009
