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Surf The Net, Catch A Wave Of Discounts

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 17, 2008

When gas prices rose to more than $4 per gallon, it marked the tipping point for a lot of people. Reality set in, and consumers of all income levels have really started cutting back. And when we do need to spend, we're looking for deals.

If anything positive has come out of this struggling economy, it's that sales are really starting to heat up. These days, it's possible to get a discount on just about anything, so long as you know where to look.

First stop? The Internet.

The Web has long hosted comparison shopping sites, which allow you to plug in the name of an item you're looking for to find out who's selling it at the best price. But don't stop there. Very often, you can get that price to drop even further by doing a little extra legwork. Here's how:

•Outsource. I've always been a fan of plugging the name of a store and the words "discount code" or "coupon code" into a search engine before I submit my order. Often, you can turn up coupons that will shave 10 percent off your total or throw in free shipping. But with sites like brads deals.com and dealnews.com, you no longer have to put in the hard time to save. These sites, and many others, are continuously researching and publishing the best deals out there.

"I estimate that probably 90 percent of the stores at any given time have coupons available, so it's just a question of finding them," says Brad Wilson, founder of bradsdeals.com.

•Double up. Many people are under the impression that they can't use a coupon on an item that's already on sale. But Daniel de Grandpre, founder of dealnews .com, says that's often not the case. "You can't usually double up on coupon codes, it's true, but you can typically stack them on top of a sale that's going on."

•Be flexible. One rule of thumb when shopping is that flexibility always works in your favor. If you're willing to consider another brand, you have a leg up when it comes to getting a good price. This is particularly true when it comes to shopping online, because you can easily hop around from store to store in minutes.

•Consider the unexpected. We all know we can easily find electronics, clothing and books online. But did you know you can turn to the Web for things like groceries and drugstore items?

"You wouldn't expect Amazon, the bookseller, to have food, but they sell thousands and thousands of non-perishable items, and they're probably 20 to 30 percent cheaper than the grocery store on average," says Wilson. The retailer also offers free shipping if you spend more than $25 - an easy task when it comes to buying groceries these days. Keep in mind that you'll have to buy in bulk, so this is great for things like granola bars for the kids' lunches, but it might not be worth it for something you won't eat on a regular basis.

Drugstore.com, on the other hand, doesn't only sell in bulk, but they are still often less expensive than your local pharmacy, depending on what you buy. The Web site offers free shipping on first orders more than $25, but even paying shipping in the future may be worth it if you find that the prices are less than those you're seeing on store shelves.

•Get off the Web. Some people still don't like to buy online. Despite all the security measures in place, there's something about sending your credit card digits off into cyberspace that's unsettling. But that doesn't mean you should let these savings pass you by.

"If you'd rather go to the store, print out the online offer and see if the store location will match it," advises De Grandpre. In fact, larger stores frequently offer price matching, so be nice, ask to speak to manager and see what he or she will do to help you out.

With reporting by Arielle McGowen. Jean Chatzky is an editor-at-large at Money Magazine and serves as AOL's official Money Coach. She is the personal finance editor for NBC's "Today Show."

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