10 Tips for Saving Online (Just in Time for Cyber Monday)
We’re big fans of saving money. That’s why we love Cyber Monday. Here’s how we maximize our Cyber Monday savings.
Research
Make sure you know exactly what products you want and who offers them. Ensure that the products you’re comparing on different sites are actually the same product and not some small variant. Do this ahead of Cyber Monday. Set up a bookmark folder to keep everything straight.
Double-Check Shipping
Many sites that don’t normally do free shipping will do it on Cyber Monday. As part of your preliminary research, see who offers what.
Double-Check Return Policies
Return policies might be different on Cyber Monday—or just on discounted products in general. Make sure you can return stuff if you need to.
Check Out Past Cyber Monday Fliers
Just google “[store name] Cyber Monday 2021 flier” and you’ll see what the store was offering last year. This might give you some guidance into what they’ll offer this year. Obviously, the deals won’t be the same, but you might see what kinds of things go on sale and how good the deals are.
Follow Retailers on Social Media
Not only will following your targeted retailers on social media help you stay informed of deals, sometimes they release discount codes specific to their social media.
Sign Up for Newsletters
Newsletters will help you stay abreast of the best deals in the pipeline. And, just as with social media, sometimes retailers advertise certain deals only in their newsletters, so it’s worth it to pay attention. You can always unsubscribe when you’re done.
Obviously, there’s a big downside to signing up for newsletters in the form of a cluttered inbox. Set up a special folder to shunt newsletters away from your inbox—or create a special email address just for Cyber Monday shopping.
Pick Up Discounted Gift Cards
Whenever you see an online sale, it’s worth seeing if the sale applies to gift cards. If so, pick up a gift card—it’s like getting free money.
Use a Price Comparison Tool
Use a price comparison site or app to compare prices across retailers, to see historical pricing information, and to see just how good of a deal you’re actually getting.
Plan to Shop at Odd Hours
Some Cyber Monday events are 24 hours. Others actually start on Black Friday. Some even go all week long. And some retailers even do hourly sales—which, fortunately, they advertise in advance. So maybe you’ll end up doing your Cyber Monday shopping at 1 a.m. on Monday. Given that product might run out, this may be a good strategy.
Go Incognito
Some sites use dynamic pricing and change the prices of things depending on where you’re browsing from, whether you’ve searched for the item before, and what kind of demand they’re seeing. You can change some of these variables by doing your shopping in incognito mode on Chrome.
