With Christmas trees and snowmen showing up everywhere, there’s no doubt the holiday shopping season is in full swing. This year, even more shoppers are going online to buy holiday gifts. As a matter of fact, online retailers are expecting holiday sales to top $32 billion. While you don’t want to be a scrooge, you do want to save money. So here are some tips to help keep more money in your pocket while shopping online.

ONLINE RESEARCH & SHOPPING

1. Research the product: Are you sure the item you are buying will look and function the way you expect? Make sure to read online reviews of products before you purchase.
-Epinions.com is a great resource.
-Amazon.com has reviews on everything from books to blenders.
-For electronics, check out cnet.com.

2. Research the website: Are you sure the retailer is what you expect? You can read reviews and see ratings for thousands of online retailers at several sites.

-For a variety of merchants, visit Bizrate.com and click on Store Ratings under Other Departments.

-For computers and electronics, check out ResellerRatings.com.

3. Look for the best price: You know what you want to buy, but you don’t know where to get the best deal.

-If you are looking for something with a specific model name, you can visit a price comparison site like mysimon.com or pricegrabber.com.

-Look at overall cost. Review shipping rates and taxes when figuring out who has the best deal. Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy from a more expensive retailer if they have free shipping and no taxes.

-Use online coupons. Once you decide where to buy, do an online search for the retailers name plus the word coupon. For example dell.com coupon.

4. Purchase securely: When you are checking out, before you enter your personal information look at the website address. Secure websites have a website address beginning with https. The “s” indicates its secure.

WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER YOUR PURCHASE

1. Look for the service before you need it. You don’t want to find out a retailer has little or no customer service when you actually need service. As mentioned before look at the retailer’s ratings before you buy. Also, do some searching of your own. Find the retailer’s customer service policies and look for an actual contact number or address.

2. Marketing Offers: Once you make a purchase you could end up getting marketing emails from the retailer and/or its partners. If you don’t want to receive promotional messages, make sure you pay attention to the email and marketing communication options when you are making your purchase. Sometimes they are automatically checked and you need to uncheck them.

RETURNS

For online purchases, knowing the return policy upfront is very important. Read the return policy before you buy. Here are some questions to consider.

1. Are items returnable? Some retailers will not accept returns.

2. What is the return period? Retailers’ policies regarding how long you have to return an item range from seven days to forever.

3. Are there any restocking fees? Depending on the item, some retailers charge restocking fees ranging from 10% -30%.

4. Who pays return shipping charges? The majority of retailers will not pay for return shipping charges unless the item is incorrect or damaged.

5. Can I return in-store? Many online stores that also have local stores allow you to return an item bought online at a local store, but some do not.

For more great shopping tips, savings, and coupons, visit the Shopping Queens's website at www.theshoppingqueen.com.