Here's an article written especially for me from my friend Mary Baker.
Whether your passion is garden gnomes or golf balls, there's a way to save money on them if you buy them over the Internet. In this article, we'll clue you in on how to save money with coupons, free shipping, clearance shopping…and the much-coveted "triple play."
Saving Money Online:
Triple Plays and
Other Ways
You have to admit, we live in a pretty fortunate age. Not only can you hop on a jet in LA and be in New York City within a few hours, you can order just about anything off the Internet, and within days it'll arrive through the mail. The best part is, you can shop from the convenience of your own home -- now that's bargain-and-a-half! And of course nobody minds saving a dollar here and there, which is why we've prepared this primer on safe and thrifty online shopping.
Here's an example. Let's say that you've become infatuated with that debonair Travelocity gnome in the TV commercials. Wouldn't it be great to have a nice gnome like him living in your garden? Of course it would. But how do you go about acquiring such a gnome? And better yet, how do you get one inexpensively?
Fire up the computer
We've all heard horror stories about identity theft, and this might cause you to think twice before handing your credit card number over to a digital stranger. But fear not: modern encryption techniques are so advanced that it's unlikely that a bad guy could ever intercept your information. To make doubly certain you're protected, you can always deal with retailers in the USA, where you have legal recourse if you feel you've been cheated. Of course, that completely defeats the biggest benefit of the World Wide Web -- the fact that it is worldwide, and sometimes the best deals for what you're looking are located overseas.
Let's look at our garden gnomes example again. Your first step is to go online and find a good source for the kind you like. Once you've found the right retailer -- maybe in Germany, maybe in Florida -- spend a little time getting to know the stock, the site's shipping options, and whether or not they're offering any deals. For example, many retailers offer a "loss leader" they know that they'll lose money on, because they expect to make money selling other items to customers who were brought in by the advertised deal.
Triple Play and Away
Even if a site doesn't offer any loss leaders or clearance items, you'll often be able to get a coupon deal, where they'll give you either a flat dollar amount or a certain percentage off your purchase price. Not a bad idea, since it assures that they make a certain amount of money, and you get an excellent deal. Otherwise, they may offer free shipping -- again, not a deal to be sneezed at, since shipping can vary from five bucks on up, depending on what you order and how fast you want it.
The real thrill, of course, comes when you can score a triple play, the bargain hunter's equivalent of a "hat trick" in hockey. You scour the clearance section to find something you want; you slap on the online coupon they're offering; and then you pick up free shipping on your way out the door. It's true that you may not be able to find exactly the item you're looking for, but usually you can get something close. As far as gnomes go, you may not end up with, say, classic Rien Poortvliet gnomes. Maybe the best you can do is a couple of naughty gnomes flashing the world or flipping you the bird. Who cares? They're cute, and they're better than those silly cutouts of old ladies bending over in the garden!
Published with permission (FCDMInc)
