Online Shopping For The Christmas & Holiday Season

The Christmas shopping season has begun. As my family and I strolled through stores to buy Halloween decorations, we also spotted Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years decorations . We are not quite ready for Christmas, however others seemed to be already buying these items, but personally I need to get through Thanksgiving before I look at the other holidays.

I have done all my Christmas shopping online for the past 3 years, and this year will not be any different. I still like to walk through the stores and malls, however I'm just looking at the decorations as I can't take all of the pushy people and the long lines. A lot of people surprisingly don't know this, but you can get most of the same Black Friday deals that are being offered in the stores from the comfort of your home by simply checking online sites. For examples, last year e bought a LG front load washer and dryer for half the regular price at homedepot.com. We got this price at 8am, and it was delivered the next day, and this was the same exact deal they had offered in the stores but in limited qualities based on item availabiity.

I had been in the market for a GPS too, so I logged on to Bestbuy.com to do some shopping and quickly found what I was looking for. Once again I paid almost half so I must say the holiday sales are truly worth waiting for. If I am looking for something that I don't absolutely need, such as the GPS, I will usually wait for Black Friday. Retailers are hoping for a better holiday shopping season this year, so I imagine they will have plenty of promotions and sales to lure us into their physical and online stores.

If you have specific items you are searching for, check to see which online retailers sell them, and add the store to your favorites. This way you can easily check from time to time for sales which can save a good amount of time, especially if you are buying several items on Black Friday.

Something else to remember is, December 17 is the national free shipping day for online shopping. I'm sure there will be plenty of discounts on this day to help drive sales. Also, don't forget about eBay when considering gifts as many sellers already provide free shipping all year long. At my eBay store, about 70% of the items have free shipping. If you are unsure of the free shipping you can always contact the seller to be sure they ship quick. I look on eBay first for most of the product I buy because if you can find what you're looking for, it will most likely be cheaper. If you are someone who does not like bidding on their auctions, you can use the "buy it now" option too which allows you to immediately purchase the item at a resonable price.

Another tip is that you can check your credit cards to see if they offer a warranty on products you buy. I have a American Express that offers a warranty on anything I buy, so there is no reason for me to waste money on extended warranties or protection plan thanks to their protection. Many of the warranty or service plans offered in the stores cost about up to one quarter to half the cost of the item, which can make a huge difference in your holiday shopping budget.
Many stores will be also be promoting their in-store credit cards. These cards often offer discounts on your purchase if you apply(Normally 10%). This can be a good way to save money if you pay it off at the end of the month. Before you apply for the store cards make sure that you are being honest with yourself. If you know you will never pay this off right away, or you will be tempted to spend more than you can afford, forget the credit cards. I did this with a TJ Maxx card and saved enough to buy a tank of gas. Yes, I paid it off.

When shopping online, do a google search for a promo code for that particular store. I have done this several times and I was able to receive free shipping or a percentage off the order I was placing. Sometimes the codes don't work, but if there are several codes you want to make sure to try them all. I buy in bulk for my eBay store, and shipping plays a major role in my pricing. I found a code recently a the last minute, and when I typed the code in and got free shipping. The shipping would have cost me $185 so this can really be worth the extra time.

If you find a deal while shopping online that seems to good to be true, make sure to do your research before you buy. eBay has a buyer protection plan to cover you there, but other online retailers that you never heard of should be checked. Go to Better Business Bureau www.BBB.org to check out the company. The business in question should have a "Contact us" or" About Us" tab and if they do not, don't bother with them. If they do, make sure to get the address and name of the company, then check them out on the BBB website. I searched for a retail store in Los Angeles that had great prices on name brand items, but when I did my BBB check I discovered that they had a F rating and most of the complaints listed were that they did not ship the items. They had a good looking website that was easy to navigate. Their pictures were great and there were lot's of items. It looked as good as Best Buys site, but as I discovered you never know

It is also very important that you watch out for online shopping scams. The copy cat websites will be showing up more the closer we get to Christmas. These site's look like big retailers sites, and they will take your order, and they take your information, then they take your money, and you get nothing in return. If you think something is strange about the website you are on, write down the product number for the item you are looking at. Type the business URL back in, being sure you are on their actual page. If you don't know their URL, then you would want to google the business or even call the company to check if you need to. You are better off spending ten minutes checking, than you are having your credit cards ripped off.

I would recommend using credit cards over debit cards for online shopping. They both have protection, however debit cards can take weeks or months to refund your money if someone uses your card. With credit cards, it was not your money they stole. American Express is one of the best companies to deal with in this situation.


Be smart and safe this Holiday shopping season. The mail will be slow starting in November, so make sure you have plenty of shipping time. It is best to pay for priority shipping with the USPS. This is 2-3 delivery and worth paying for. Your average 2-3 pound package will cost $5 to $10 dollars within the US. Have fun with your families, and don't invite the relatives that make you miserable.