Shop Safely Online And Save Money : Domestic Cents

I’ve got something different for you today. I’m trying out a new, monthly feature with Kyle from Rather Be Shopping. His site features online coupons and discounts, which is something I don’t offer here at Domestic Cents. My idea is that his posts will add an extra element that will be useful to my readers. If you enjoy this post I hope you’ll consider subscribing to his RSS Feed. ~Nicki

First of all, I want to thank Nicki for giving me the opportunity to try a monthly ‘online coupon’ feature on her fantastic blog. Very exciting! A little about me, my name is Kyle James, and I live in northern California with my wife and 3 young children. I own and operate a website called Rather-Be-Shopping.com which specializes in online coupons for over 500 stores, organized in 23 shopping categories. I also have a blog, where I write about frugal living, tips on saving money, and other musings about family and life in general.

Since I am a huge proponent of frugal living and bargain shopping on the Internet, I wanted to use my first post to give some tips on how to shop online safely. After all, no deal or bargain is worth the money if you are compromising your credit card or personal information. Here are a few tips on how to shop safely on the Internet.

Know Your Store

If you are considering making a purchase from an online retailer that you have never heard of before, do not use blind faith. Instead, try and find out if the store has any kind of a track record, either good or bad, by doing a Google search for the store to see what others have to say. Also, search the Better Business Bureau to find out more about the store in question. Don’t be afraid to trust your gut instinct as well. If the online retailer you are considering buying your digital camera from is offering it at 50% less than anywhere else, the store is probably too good to be true. Also, if the website does not look very professional and seems kind of fishy, stay away, having your credit card information compromised is just not worth the risk of saving a few dollars.

http:// Versus https://

A great way to make sure the online store you are buying from is using software that will secure your transaction is to look in the web address bar of your web browser. When you reach the checkout or billing page the http:// should change to https://, a good way to remember this is that the added ‘s’ stands for security. If there is no ‘s’, you should NOT enter your credit card number as this information could easily be stolen by a 3rd party.

Print, Print, and Print

Finally, always remember to print out your receipt once your purchase is complete. In many cases, this will be your main recourse if something happens to your order or if it gets lost in transit.

To get things started, here are some of the more popular online coupons on my website right now. Until next time, happy savings, and please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Thanks again Nicki for letting me contribute!

All Posters.com
Save 20% Off your Entire online order
Coupon Code: SERENE
Expiration: 3/19/10
See All: All Posters Coupons

Birthday Express.com
Save 50% off your Entire Clearance order thru this link
Coupon Code: 50CLEAR
Expiration: 3/21/10
See All: Birthday Express Coupons

Harry and David.com
Save 20% off your $50+ online purchase
Coupon Code: SAVE20
Expiration: 4/05/10
See All: Harry & David Coupons

Lands End.com
Free shipping on your $50 or more online purchase
Coupon Code: SUNNY and PIN 1875
Expiration: 3/19/10
See All: Lands End Coupons

Linens N Things.com
Get 15% off all Organization and Storage Items for Spring Cleaning
Coupon Code: CLEAN15
Expiration: 3/23/10
See All: Linens N Things Coupons

Old Navy.com
Save 20% off your entire online purchase
Coupon Code: ONGET20
Expiration: 3/18/10
See All: Old Navy Coupons

Oriental Trading Company.com
Free shipping on your $49+ online purchase
Coupon Code: OTC7575
Expiration: 3/31/10
See All: Oriental Trading Coupons

Sports Authority.com
Get $25 off your $100 or more online purchase
Coupon Code: TSAMP45
Expiration: 3/20/10
See All: Sports Authority Coupons

photo credit: quique_fs

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Tagged as: Rather Be Shopping, Shopping

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Elisa | blissfulE March 17, 2010 at 6:45 am

I don’t own a printer, so rather than printing online confirmations or receipts, I do a quick screen capture of any relevant information using the ‘print screen’ button and paste it into a blank document.

I usually save the file on my desktop and can easily delete it when the package arrives as promised. OR, if I don’t see the package but I still have that file on my screen, I know I need to chase it up.
Elisa | blissfulE´s last blog ..neighbourhood cat

2 Nicki March 17, 2010 at 7:03 am: Elisa, a screen shot is a great idea! That way you aren’t wasting ink or paper (or creating clutter) and I love that you can just delete it when your package arrives.

3 Kyle @ Rather-Be-Shopping March 17, 2010 at 11:49 am

Good tip Elisa. Also most online retailers will send an instant e-mail receipt with order # and details on it. So I will just wait 30 seconds and check my email and then I usually don’t have to print anything. Then I have a ‘Receipts’ folder in my email program where I store all of these emails until the product arrives.


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