Compare Price|Cash Rebates | Credit Cards | Charity | FF/Points | Volume Purchasing 

WELCOME TO eSHOPPING PAGE!

NET SHOPPING GUIDE

Update: Due to difficulties in Internet industry, many eRetailers are cutting down on coupons but we will try to bring you the latest coupons as they become available.

If you shop on-line why not get something in return like cash rebates, FF miles, and etc?  You could buy books at BarnesAndNobles.com by going directly to their website but you do not get any discount nor any reward points.  Here is some of possible discounts or frequent flyer miles available when you make $50 purchase at BarnesAndNobles.com.

• $50.00 - No discount shopping directly at BarnesAndNoble.com
• $48.75 - 2.5% rebate via BonusTree.com
• $48.50 - 3% rebate via Spree.com
• $48.00 - 4% rebate via Ebates.com
• $50.00 - 25 miles via MilesMall.com
• $50.00 - 5% Donation to Charity via ShopForChange.com
• $40.00 - using coupon code found at our search page

As you can see above how much you actually pay may vary depending on how and where you do the shopping.  BTW these portals' memberships are free.  But for the max savings is to use coupons at these shopping portals.  Please note that sometimes you may not get the rebate when you use coupons.  Lastly you could get extra savings or frequent flyer miles by using a reward credit card for the purchase.

Because of coupons and cash rebates, one eRetailer's price advantage over its competitor isn't so clear anymore.  For example, your purchase might cost $48 at Amazon.com but cost $50 at BarnesAndNoble.com shopping at each websites.  Unlike BarnesAndNoble.com, Amazon.com doesn't give out coupons often like the one I listed above which was $10 off minimum of $40 purchase.  With the coupon BarnesAndNoble.com now has price advantage.  Unless the apparent price advantage is large you can overcome the price differences with coupons and rebates.

What does this mean?  The finding a bargain isn't simple anymore.  You want to stretch your $ to max but don't know how?  ValueConsumer.com is here to help you with your net shopping.  Get the max savings!  Be a Value Consumer!

Here is a "Triple Dipping (2-4)" shopping strategy which will stretch your $.

1. Know your price
   Use price comparison engines such as PriceGrabber or DealTime.
   Remember what we mentioned about price one's advantage mentioned above.
2. Use eRetailer's/manufacturer's coupons or/and rebates
3. Find out which eRetailer's partner (shopping portal) gives you most discount
4. Use reward credit cards  This is icing on the cake!
   Or buy gift certificate at discount.  More on this later

You can find information on steps 2 - 4 at ValueConsumer.com.  For the coupons list, please refer eCoupons/eDeals page.  ValueConsumer.com lists major rewards shopping portals to help you to choose ones that reward you most.  Many of major eRetailers such as Amazon.com and Buy.com have teamed up with these portals.  If you shop at eRetailers directly, it's like paying MSRP for your purchases.  How could they offer cash rebates or other types of rewards?  Simple, they share part of their commission they get from eRetailers with their customers.

In order to get your rebate/FF/points/donation at these portals, you must to register with them and start your shopping at their sites.  In addition some sites require you to use designated email address to get the credit.  It's a good idea to get a free email account such as Hotmail or Yahoo for registrations.  This way you can keep junk email away from your private email box.  Please note that these sites use cookies too so you have to set your browser's setting to accept cookies.

Because the reward structures and eRetailer partners, you may want to pick one or two of the sites to maximize your savings.  You will notice that eRetailer signed up with more than one portal.  Here is a guide to help you pick right shopping portals.

• What kind of rewards do you want?
  Cash rebate, frequent flyer miles, merchandize or donation.
• Who are your favorite eRetailers and whom they signed up with?
• How much do you spend on net shopping?
  If you don't shop frequently then you might want to pick a portal that has low rebate payout threshold portal.
• Privacy Concerns? 
  If you are not comfortable with registering at these portals then you might want to stick with credit card shopping portals or stick with using coupons.  Many eRetailer but not all let you make purchases without registering with them.
• Referral bonus?
  Many portals offer referral bonus to recruit new members.

Icing on the cake

What kind of credit card do you have?  Did you know that you could get cash rebates, frequent flyer miles and other rewards for using credit card?  By using reward credit cards for your purchases you can squeeze extra savings out of your shopping.  There are several good reward credit cards without annual fees and ValueConsumer.com will cover them soon.  Please check us out often since we are planning to add more topics.

USEFUL LINKS

Better Business Bureaus

eComplaints.com

epionions.com

uGetHeard.com

Return to Top                               Copyright © 2000 ValueConsumer, Inc. All rights reserved.

Deals | Shopping | Finance | Travel | Reward Programs | Dining | More

Comments, Complements, Complaints, Questions or Updates?  Write us!

Disclaimer