4. Shop around
Price comparison Web sites such as BizRate, PriceGrabber.com and NexTag can give you a leg up in the search process.These sites automatically compile information on the lowest-priced consumer goods such as computers, home appliances, clothing and cribs. Visitors can search for specific products and sort by category.
Many shoppers also sift through merchant reviews written by other shoppers. Such reviews offer the lowdown on possible product defects or merchants with less palatable return policies.
But for all the bargain-hunting perks, there's a time and place for price-comparison shopping sites, Webb says.
"They're a great place to start for big-ticket purchases, but if you're looking for particular clothing items or smaller gift items, it really pays to conduct your own search," she says.
What's more, she adds, many price-comparison sites enjoy affiliations with merchants that may preclude them from offering "the best buys." So make sure you do your research.
Just be certain you're comparing apples to apples. For example, one merchant may offer a lower initial price that quickly climbs once variables such as handling and postage are added to the final tally.
"Comparison shopping is valuable and can be a good starting point when shopping online," says Lauren Freedman, the president of the E-tailing Group, a Chicago e-commerce consultancy. "But consumers need to look at the total price of the product, including taxes, shipping and handling for a true comparison."
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5. Clean up your cookies
Because retailers base their promotions and price points on shoppers' buying habits, your Web browser's cookies could be condemning you to higher prices. Cookies are small bits of text placed by Web servers on your hard drive when you visit a Web site.If you don't delete your cookies, a Web site will recognize you as a returning customer when you make future visits to the site. This can hurt your bargain-hunting efforts because new customers are often treated to better deals than frequent patrons. For this reason, make clearing your cookies a regular part of your online-shopping routine.
"It's a good and healthy practice," Webb says.
Your Internet browser's help menu should provide instructions for deleting cookies. Or see "Delete cookies, score some dough."
6. Check out secondary sources
Sometimes, secondary sources can actually sweeten an online bargain.For example, Freedman says, it never hurts to call a merchant's toll-free customer service number to find out whether any discounts are being offered in conjunction with online purchases. In other cases, deals you find in catalogs and direct-mail items may get even better when combined with online perks.
"You might get an offer for free shipping and a 20% discount if you enter your customer number on a retailer's Web site," Freedman says. "So be sure to look at the direct mail you're receiving because it could be another quick way to a good deal."
Even Facebook can serve as an excellent source for bargains, as more and more merchants flock to the social-networking site to lure 20-somethings with coupons and discounts.
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7. Get a little help from your friends
From blogs to discussion forums, consumers are banding together online to share deals, swap coupons and exchange money-saving tips.For example, FatWallet claims more than 1 million registered users, 200,000 of whom visit the site daily.
"I equate FatWallet to going bargain hunting with a couple hundred thousand of your closest friends," says Tim Storm, the founder of FatWallet, which is based in Rockton, Ill.
But while some peer-to-peer advice never hurts, it's important to keep an eye out for incorrect information and expired offers before handing over your credit card number.
Continued: Consider your route
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