Let’s see a show of hands if you love shopping online! My hands are in the air, too! It’s so easy and convenient to shop from the comfort of your couch. You don’t have to mess with crowds, traffic or parking. Shopping online is a great way to find the things you need without having to drive all over town. But when you are shopping online, make sure you are saving money with these 3 easy tips for shopping online!

I’ve written many times about how to save on online shopping but there are just some things that need to be repeated and reminders sent out!

Don’t forget the rebates!

This seems to trip people up sometimes. But here’s how rebate sites work. There are several different ones, but today we’re going to focus on Mr Rebates. Let’s say you love to order photo gifts from Shutterfly or Snapfish. Before you go to the Shutterfly website, you should start here at Mr Rebates.

Click on Mr. Rebates or Ebates. (Both sites work the same)

• Login or register (If you are registering for the first time, you will get a $5.00 bonus just for signing up!)
• Now type in the store name where you want to shop in the search bar at the top.
• A small screen will pop up telling you that you are being directed to your store’s site.
• Shop like normal! Pay like normal! Receive your product – like normal!

In a few days, you will get an email saying “Thanks, your rebate is being processed at Mr. Rebates.” It takes 90 days after you make your purchase to have that money available and you must accumulate at least $10.00 in rebate money at MrRebates or Ebates. But then you can request a check mailed to you or have the money deposited into your Paypal account.

I understand that this is not INSTANT savings – but I figure if I am already going to be spending the money, I may as well have the company send me some of it back. This is a great way to get money back on things you are planning to purchase anyway!

Stock up online

Sometimes there is an item in the store that you just love but they don’t have the colors or variety you want in the store. No problem! Just go home and log on to the store site (after going through a rebate site of course) and see if you can order the additional colors in the same style from the website. You may be able to get the items cheaper by using a coupon code and applying the rebate, plus you can get the varieties that were not available in the store.

I had a pair of shorts that I really liked but they only had 1 color in the store. I went home and found the exact pair of shorts on the store website and was able to score them for a discount!

Never pay shipping!

I hate paying shipping fees. Most websites offer a free shipping option. It just makes no sense to spend $10 on shipping if I can get to the free shipping minimum instead. If I am planning to spend $65 at a store website but free shipping starts at $75, I will find something else for $10 to get me to the free shipping option so I don’t have to pay shipping charges.

For more ways to shop online and save money, check out these other money saving tips!

How do you save money when you are shopping online? I’d love to hear!