by Regina Lewis, tailer inflates shipping charges, then that so-called bargain might (NAPSA)—While plenty of us like to shop till we drop, that does- you anticipated. The good newsis there are lots of sites now offering some of the best deals may be as shop early. In some cases, there may be a minimum total dollar are great deals online. So keep the jammies on, eat a Christmas might be worthwhile to do as much shopping as you can on a Online Advisor, Author & National TV Contributor end up costing much more than n’t mean we wantto drop a lot of moneyin the process. Turns out free or flat rate shipping if you close as your living room. There cookie or two, and get ready for some bonafide bargain hunting this holiday season. Six Ways to Cyber-Save this Season: Virtual Outlets—Many people love a good day at the outlets. Now,there are “virtual” outlets. At discount sites like Overstock.com and the new “AOL Outlets,” you can choose from a wideselection of merchandise with big brand names and deep discounts off retail prices. For example, there are more than 3,000 items from brand names like Krups, Burberry, Samsung and Waterford. Go Deep—Sometimesthe best deals aren’t necessarily on the frontscreen of a Website, just as they aren’t always in the front of the store. Go deep by scrolling downorclicking on the “bargain basement”or “clearance tab”first. Be the First to Know—For updates from your favorite retailers, sign up to receive e-mails about private sales and special offers. One word of caution: Sometimes if you don’t want to receive promotional updates, you may need to UNCHECK the box with this type of offer. Otherwise youremail in-box could fill up quickly, especially during the holidays. order required. For this reason,it Bargain Bee Buzz—yYourbest source for bargain tips may very well be other bargain bees. Getting some common-sense consensus never hurts. Manysites offer customerratings. After all, the customer is always right. AOL message boards are chock-full of tips from real-life shoppers across the country. You wouldn’t believe what some people get for free! For example, one member found that single site and meet the minimum rather than spread your purchases out over multiple sites. Smartbargains.com offers one low flat-rate shipping charge regard- less of how many items you buy. Overstock.com has a flat $2.95 shipping charge, whether you buy a designer watch or a big-screen TV. Gotta love that. IMPORTANT BONUSTIP Security Matters—Abargain buying gift certificates online isn’t a bargain if you can’t purchase it safely online. Reputable e- only $25 if purchased online to and trust) and the shopping partners found on major ISPs such as resulted in big savings—some sites will sell a $50 gift card for tailers (the big names you know encourage customersto do their shopping online. If you’ve got some AOL, meet high standardsfor cus- tell. There are thousandsof people online every day clamoring for the sell a single item. Importantly, you should NEVER give your credit bargain shopping power moves, do latest shopping scoop. Compare Prices—Savvy shop- pers compare prices. Shopping BOTS(short for robot) will check prices across multiple retailers and serve up the best deals. You can use the intelligence to plan your shop- ping sprees. It’s a great place to start. And if you're shoppingonline, be sure to tailor the search to includethe lowesttotal price for an in-stock item with shipping. Meet the Minimum—TIfan e- tomer service, secure transactions and privacy protection before they card information or online pass- word to unauthorized persons con- tacting you via e-mail, Instant Message, or telephone. These requests are almost always fraudulent, so don’t take thebait. You can also check a company’s reputation with the Better Business Bureau or the National Fraud Information Center by see- ing if any bad reports have been written about a particular company (www.bbb.com).
