Avoid the online sale traps! Follow these three tips before you click to buy.
By Beth KoblinerYou zip through a 70-percent-off flash sale online, waffle about the wedge sandals in your virtual cart, realize the deal's about to end, and - click! - they're yours. Sound familiar? To avoid overspending on sale items online, just follow these three tips:
Related: 3 Women Who Learned to Be Happy Living on Less Money
Hit "pause" if your dream dress is out of stock.
If you log on for a Web-only sample sale and find your fave item already gone, you might be tempted to buy something else. In a recent study, shoppers were 47 percent more likely to purchase an item when a similar one was sold out. Tell yourself, "Try again tomorrow," and get outta there!
Don't keep your credit card on file.
Doing so puts you on the fast track to one-click impulse purchases. Opt to enter your payment info each time, and use those extra minutes for an Is it really worth it? gut check.
End online buyer's remorse!
Retailers use "cookies" - files of your personal data stored by Web browsers like Firefox and Safari - to come up with those "If you liked that, you'll love this" recommendations. Some sites might even use the info to quote you higher prices based on your shopping habits. Delete cookies in your browser's preferences from time to time and see if you start to get better deals.
REDBOOK's money expert, Beth Kobliner, is the author of Get a Financial Life and is on the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability.
Read more: Online Shopping Addiction - How to Avoid Overspending Online - Redbook
More from REDBOOK:
Permissions: Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment