10 Tips to Help You Save on Cyber Monday

Who needs the madness of black Friday {and now Thursday} when you can just stay in your jammies, eat pastries, and clickety clack on your laptop until all of your shopping is done?

The only downside to Cyber Monday is that you can’t just flip through the ads and come up with a game plan.  You have to know what sites are having which sales.  With the internet being literally and infinite oasis of consumerism, sometimes it’s a little trickier to navigate all of the good deals.

If you plan on taking the plunge into the Cyber Monday revolution this year, here are a couple of tips to make sure you money and time goes the distance:

1. Don’t pay for shipping.  Most sites will offer free shipping on Cyber Monday.  If they don’t, their competitor will, and chances are, even with a slightly higher price, you’ll come out ahead.
2. Take advantages of websites that let you compare prices of major retailers.  Pricegrabber.com is totally free and will allow you to make sure you are snagging the best deal.
3. Check out electronics before you blindly purchase them online.  I know, this one kind of sucks, because it involves having to put on pants and leave the house, BUT, if you know you are going to buy a Cyber Monday deal tablet or camera, get to an actual store first to make sure that you really do love it.  Then, you can buy it for that smashing deal on Cyber Monday without the worrisome hassle that you’ll have to return it.
4. Make sure to do a quick search for online coupon codes before you buy.  Search for the coupon in google or head to free sites like retailmenot.com that keep a running list of coupon codes.
5. Make sure the site is reputable and know their return policy.  General logic still applies on Cyber Monday:  If it sounds like too good of a deal to be true, it probably is.
6. Guard your personal banking information carefully.  If possible, use Paypal or a Credit Card that you KNOW will safeguard you from identity theft.
7. Sign up for e-newsletters from your favorite retailers.  You’ll get the inside scoop sooner on deals.
8. Pay attention to the fine print of deals.   Just like Black Friday, Cyber Monday deals may only be valid during certain times, like 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
9. Make your purchases through rewards sites like ebates.  You are planning on spending the money, you might as well get some points out of it.
10. Make sure your antivirus and anti-spyware software is up to date and running.  This is a major holiday for identity thieves as well.

Times are a’changin’, and in exchange for getting up, buying over-priced coffee, standing in lines, and searching for a parking spot, I’m going to change with them.  Sometimes, technology is rad.

What do you think, you going to give Cyber Monday a try?  Have you learned any tricks from previous years?

~Mavis