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Tip Store: Shopping: Online

​Shop Around Online for Newbie Bonuses

​When shopping for products online, try different websites each time! Most sites have 10-20% or $10-20 discount bonuses, and sometimes free shipping as well for new members who sign up to their website or mailing list (which you can always unsubscribe to later). So if you regularly buy a favourite product that is available on different websites, by purchasing from a new website each time, you'll save heaps for months or even years! 
Contributed by Alyce Fenton

​Buy, Swap and Sell on Facebook

If you are not already on Facebook then its really worth a look, as Facebook has buy, swap and sell pages in all local areas as well as "freebie" pages. It costs you nothing to advertise items you want to sell, saving you money. I have bought a beautiful cane wicker outdoor lounge that would normally retail for over $500 for only $100, as well as buying good quality clothing, household goods and even tickets to theme parks $20 cheaper than usual. I have also managed to sell a bike, surfboard, a huge tent, tarp and other items no longer needed at no cost to me what so ever.
​Contributed by Tracey Jarvis

​Catch Of The Day

I signed up to a free newsletter from www.catchoftheday.com.au They often have great savings on various products, including gifts, cleaning items, chocolate, lollies and the list goes on! Recent catches have included ten blocks of Lindt chocolate for $8 which is a huge saving!
Contributed by Anne Marshall
​ Website: www.catchoftheday.com.au

​New Way of Shopping Saves $200 a Week

I have a lot of trouble with my grocery shopping, I spend over $300 per week. I know all the things to do and you have given me extra help. However I get sucked in to all the colours and tags etc. I walk in to buy 1 thing and I always walk out with a dozen (even when I'm repeating over and over to myself, "Don't look at anything, don't look at anything"). I have a problem and I know, but find it hard to break. I have just found that you can shop online with Coles and have it delivered. I pay $9 delivery fee, however I order what I need and can see what is on special, I can check the cupboard to see if what is on special is low and worth buying now. At the end if I don't like the price I can delete items out of my basket (which I'd never do at the shops). I have saved $200 this week by paying the $9. I thought I'd send this to you, as there may be others out there the same as me. I figure if I can start a new good habit of shopping right and break my old bad habit, I can later on go back to the shops knowing I have the right habit to take with me.
​Contributed by Melinda

​Amazing Deals on Just About Everything

If you log on to www.catchoftheday.com.au apart from a great Daily Deal they also have a new deal called Scoopon. You get some amazingly cheap things through this program.
Contributed by Beverley Leeson
​ Website: www.catchoftheday.com.au

​Sign Up for the Online Shopping "Junk Mail"

We all know online shopping is excellent for savings, but my tip is to sign up for membership/subscribe to newsletters of your favourite websites. Every day I have new "member only" specials in my email inbox, and in particular "free shipping" offers are flooding in now it is close to Christmas. If you do not like giving your primary email address out, try a free service like Hotmail to set up an account especially for subscriptions. This has saved me hundreds of dollars in shipping and purchases as I do most of my shopping online.
​Contributed by Jodie, Seaton

​Warning Re Online Shopping and Deliveries

Just a warning with using Coles Online delivery - if you're not there for the whole 4 hour delivery period and they arrive when you've ducked out - there is a $30 cancellation fee and they don't come back to you after their next delivery. Also, remember there are heaps of other online groceries sites - Foodirect.com.au, Onlyoz.com.au, so shop around for cheaper delivery and product prices. Cheers!
Contributed by Luisa, Balmoral
​Websites: www.fooddirect.com.au www.onlyoz.com.au

Check Your Prices Before Online Grocery Shopping

​I know that online grocery shopping has helped many people stick to a grocery budget by avoiding impulse purchases. However I'm unsure if you are aware that the prices charged for each item online are inflated. I had been using the Safeway online shopping facility to help prepare my price book and to compare costs with Aldi who list most of their prices online. I happened to notice when visiting my local Safeway store that most items were actually about 10% cheaper on the shelf than online. I'm unsure if this is just a local phenomenon or if all online supermarkets do this. Just be careful!!
Contributed by Deborah, Point Lonsdale

​Power of Pre-shop

www.lasoo.com.au is a terrific website to look up the price of a particular item you are after (e.g. multivitamins), the search will return whatever is available on sale at this particular time. The little thumbnail will come up with a picture of the product on offer, which then leads to a catalogue in which its featured, with details of how much you get to save, duration of the promo, shop it is available from etc.etc. I found it particularly handy during the Easter "chocolate bunny hunt" for multitude of nieces and nephews, saved me from walking for hours in the shopping centre.
Contributed by Yelena, Wadalba
​ Website: www.lasoo.com.au

​X5 Online Auctions

Approximate $ Savings: I saved $825

I recently discovered X5.com.au, an online auction site. To win an auction you need to submit the lowest unique bid. most of these auction sites require a bid fee, so it could end up costing a lot to bid with no guarantee that you will win however X5 offers a huge range of free bid items. I have just purchased a set of digital bathroom scales (rrp $159), a wireless home phone (rrp $199), a motorcycle helmet (rrp $159), a kids scooter (rrp $99) and a laminator (rrp $325) all for only $115.61! A whopping savings of over $800! Unfortunately all the really good stuff (TVs, cameras, computers) require a bid fee, but they have heaps of other stuff. The majority of my costs was postage! Also check out the $5 postage auctions. great bargains. BEWARE - This site is lots of fun and for compulsive shoppers could get out of hand! All of the items I purchased I have wanted for a while ( except for the phone, I dropped mine down the loo a couple of weeks ago. Oh, and the helmet, but for $11 who could resist? See, danger!) great site for a bargain, but only buy what you really want! Also a big Thankyou to Cath and her team for such a fab site. Keep those tips coming!
​Contributed by Leah, Lake Haven
Website: www.X5.com.au

​Email Newsletters Help With Saving Money

Approximate $ Savings: $249.05

I have been looking for a compact PC notebook and recently saw on in the Myer catalogue. It was the Asus Eee PC 701 which only has a 7" screen but has all the capabilities of a full size PC. I was thrilled with the price of $349 and did a Google search to research it and check that it was a good price. In the mean time I had an email from a website I joined a while back, it sends out special deals which have a time limit, usually a week. The web site is www.shoppingsquare.com.au and it deals direct with the warehouse. Anyway the email was for the ASUS EeePc 8.9" which is the next size up and has genuine Windows XP, 12 months warranty and is only $349.95, RRP is $599 so this price is a saving of $249.05. Join the newsletter and stay informed, you never know what might be on special next, it might be something you need or want.
Contributed by Marilyn, Wellington
​ Website: www.shoppingsquare.com.au

​Shopping Planner

Approximate $ Savings: $50/week

I found this fantastic free website where you can plan your meals for the week. It has a great selection of recipes to choose from or you can enter in your own. It automatically creates a shopping list that you can alter if you discover you already have the item in your pantry. You can print off the week's menu and have it pinned up in the kitchen. You will never have to panic at 5pm and wonder what you are going to cook tonight? And you will have all the ingredients there to prepare the meal. I have found the website easy to use, a real time and money saver and best of all its FREE. The website is : www.shoppingplanner.co.uk
​Contributed by Mary, Sutherland

​Deals Direct

Best online discount store great for Christmas fast delivery www.dealsdirect.com.au
​Contributed by Kerri, Caloundra

​Catching a 24 Hour Bargain Saves $200

Approximate $ Savings: 100's dollars

I found a website http://www.catchoftheday.com.au/ They have ONE special for ONE day (24 hours) starting at 12 noon eastern time. You register free and then if you want to buy the item you just click on it and check out. They guarantee the cheapest price on that product anywhere through deals with the suppliers. I bought two pure wool doonas (500 grm wool weight) for $49.00 each (all the sizes were the same price) they would have normally cost over $100 (Jason brand). I also bought a wool underlay which is reversible with a cotton quilted side for summer with magnets to help back pain etc. for the same price (again Jason brand). My latest purchase was a gift for my husband. A case of red organic labeled wine for $4.10 a bottle delivered. I bought a gift for my daughter, a Kensington speaker dock for her ipod, which I found everywhere else for around $149.00 for $50.00! The delivery fee changes but is usually around $7.50 for one item (for WA). It doesn't double if you buy two, but if the item is large it does go up. I have saved a small fortune by buying on this website, and have been able to live a higher standard of life with much less money. Happy shopping.
​Contributed by Silvia, Port Kennedy

​A Great Alternative to eBay

Everyone loves eBay. Have you checked out greysonline.com.au? They have a great range of product and just like eBay,you can snag yourself real bargains. They also seem to have lots of quality items. Discounted designer sunglass (Dior, Prada etc), clothes, electrical etc. Almost anything you can think of. The good thing about it is that they give you the model numbers and you can research in the shops to double check that you are getting a 'cheapskate buy'!
​Contributed by Jane, Belfield

​Deals Direct For Savings on Everyday Items

Approximate $ Savings: $50 + per year

Last week I received an email from dealsdirect online store (www.dealsdirect.com.au) with some of their products. I decided to have a look and came away buying a bulk lot of shampoo and conditioner, 24 bottles of each, for less than $1.40 per bottle (even taking into account their slightly costly delivery). This will mean I have enough to last well over a year (especially if I can stop my daughters shampooing dollies hair!) and it will mean that I won't run to the costly local store and pay $4 - $6 a bottle when I forget to include shampoo and conditioner in my big grocery shops. They also have other bulk buys that could be handy like handwashes etc.
​Contributed by Veronica, Oatlands

​Check the Currency Conversion and Plan Your Buying

When selling or buying online purchases on E bay or Amazon.com, or from any website, I always crosscheck on www.XE.com, which is a currency converter. I have saved hundreds by figuring out exactly what something will cost me in purchasing items, including paying for postage or shipping. It gives you the exact current exchange rate and converts any currency to Australian dollars or vice versa. With the Australian dollar doing so well at the moment, I have saved heaps ordering from the US even with shipping, especially for hard to find items. I also use it when selling on E bay so that I can give an accurate price to potential buyers, which increases my sales.
​Contributed by Bernadette, Greensborough

​pharmacydirect.com.au

Approximate $ Savings: 15% PLUS

I have been using this online pharmacy for almost a year now. My husband has kidney failure and is on dialysis, so wounds heal very slowly. I have been dressing a chronic ulcer on his foot (I am a retired nurse) every day for 8 months now, and could not have done it without this online store. My savings to date have been almost $200 on the prices I would have paid at our local pharmacy and supermarket. Had I used other online pharmacies, the savings would still have been more than $100. They also have a much more comprehensive product variety and stock, and delivery is standard. The longest I have waited for delivery is 4 days.
​Contributed by Jan, Moe

​Shop Online at Two Dollar Shop

Need to shop for presents, stationery, gardening, party supplies, etc.? Hate dragging the kids with you while you shop? Or find it awkward shopping for kids presents while their with you? I found a fantastic site on the Internet, its www.twodollars.com.au I found them to be a great saver, not only in cost but also in time, as everything can be purchased over the Internet. www.twodollars.com.au have a wide range of items starting from as little as $1. Goods covered are: Arts and Craft Baby and Kids Beauty, Bath and Cosmetics, Books and Music, Candy and Chocolate, Car Accessories, Electronics, Gardening and Outdoors General Merchandise Gifts/Cards/Candles Housewares Kitchen Party Supplies, Pet Supplies, Sewing and Thread, Tools and Hardware, Toys and Sport. They have a minimum order purchase of $15 with a small delivery fee, and I found that you don't have to pass on your personal banking details over the Internet, they also accept cheques or money orders. I have found this site fantastic for the purchasing of cards, birthday presents, Christmas presents, as well as baby products, school supplies for the kids and general merchandise... and have personally saved quite a bit by purchasing through this site, not only in the price of their goods, but also in time and petrol, and I don't have to take the kids with me.... that's a saving in itself. \
​Contributed by Sandra, Erskine Park

​Shopfast Advantages

I do my grocery shopping online at Shopfast. Once you have your items in the trolley you can view them and the cost of your total order and delete what you really don't need. You especially save money cause you don't have the kids with you asking for extras. So you only buy what you need. If you're like me and don't have a car, I save $5 each time on top by not having to take it home with me. Sometimes the specials are cheaper than the shop and sometimes they offer $7.50 off your next order. Delivered to your door. I have received free samples and a mousepad with every delivery I've had. So you also get something for nothing.
​Contributed by Ruth, Kingswood

​eBay Items Can Be Overpriced

eBay can be great for finding all kinds of things cheaply. There is also great quality to be had, but some people are not so honest. There was an item up for auction that stated it was worth $129.95. There is only one problem - I bought it at K-Mart three weeks before for $39.99 without paying postage costs! Please be careful. My brother's daughter loves Disney Princess items and some of them are cheap and in great condition on eBay, so when I bought the exact bed head they were advertising for below half the price I was shocked.
​Contributed by Kaye, Dianella

​Bargain Shopping Online

A way of saving money especially leading up towards Christmas on presents is www.dealsdirect.com.au you can purchase every day items from all aspects of the house, family, car and/or office at huge discounted prices. A few items we have purchased came in a large quantity. All we did was split with either a neighbour or family member.
​Contributed by Jacquie, Axedale

​For Online Shopping

I would like to let readers know about an excellent online shopping store. It is called Dstore.com.au and it is very good. I have personally used this service and can vouch for the good service. Also, the freight charge is a flat rate to anywhere in Australia. Now there is also international so you can send a gift overseas. Best of all, you do NOT have to have a credit card...I don't) so you may pay by bpay or credit card and a new service is Paypal, which has just begun on the site. So, all you need is your online banking, and off you go. No matter how much you order in one lot, the freight charge is just $5.70. There are heaps of items and some real bargains, too. It is Brisbane-based, but anyone can shop and ship out! PS: I don't have a part ownership, just thought more readers should know about the little gem) Cheers and thanks, Cath.
​Contributed by Felicity, Petrie