Maybe you spend weeks or months deciding which gift would you give your friends and family members on your list. Or maybe, you’re one of the last-minute shoppers who like to shop online and avail the one-day and same-day shipping. Either of the two, here is your guide if you need to get the best deals online and have your gift in time for Christmas. Consider this helpful calendar of what gifts to purchase!
November 1 to November 11
Before and after the Halloween, some companies sell “Early Black Friday” sales with sort out heavily discounted items such as off-brand electronics marked down by about 30 percent pointed directly at early-bird shoppers. But don’t be so thrilled about it because most of the time these items are the site’s standard weekly specials, rebranded to suit the holiday-shopping season.
To be sure that you are getting the best deals online, only make the purchase if the item meets two criteria; either it’s discounted by at least 20 percent or you were really eager to buy it regardless. One great tip you can do is to find information about these sales by looking at the ads in the Sunday newspaper or by checking your favorite retailer’s websites. After that, wait until the following Monday before you shop online. Because by that time, competitors may have started a war on the prices.
November 28 to November 30
We already know that Black Friday is commonly the biggest shopping day of the season for physical stores —less so for online sellers. However, huge general sites like Amazon, offer special Black Friday events throughout the weekend, together with ‘lightning deals” price cutbacks are provided for a short time period. Try to be more watchful with attempting to go for these sales. Most discounted items are often available for only a few hours or until they’re sold out.
December 1
This date is the day to go online to get any type of product from the brands you want —whether you want to shop for electronic gadgets, clothings, home appliances, etc. The reason why Cyber Monday gets hyped is that most merchants either from low-end or upscale want to participate in this event and their deals tend to be broad, as against to discounts on particular items. Most online shopping sites offer specials of 30 or even 40 percent off.
December 21 to 24
Take note of these days if you like to score on big-ticket items including televisions, furniture, and fine jewelry. Premium items like these that haven’t moved have bigger discounts as Christmas nears. Yes, as the holiday gets closer, prices continue to drop, so will the selection. Also, if you got an amazing deal, you might have to pay it for the overnight or two-day shipping, which can be a bit expensive on your part.
But before you go and click the check out button, here are 12 fraud awareness quick tips for a safe online shopping:
- Try to double check things that are too good to be true. There are online shops who’ll get your attention by displaying a very “pleasing” price.
- The most excellent scams don’t look like scams.
- Read the reviews. If there is none, it’s usually a scam.
- Secured payment systems put hard work, so check the effort especially for new websites.
- See if it’s a “real” owner.
- If you are using a public or open Wi-fi to make purchases, be extra careful.
- SSL does guard your connection but cannot protect you from who you connect to.
- Assess your online account settings.
- Personal information should always be kept personal.
- Use unique and hard to guess passwords and change them often.
- Guarantee if the website address makes sense.
- Use a low-limit credit card, just in case.
