With about 4 hours left, the biggest day of deals is coming to a close! Cyber Monday has, without a doubt, taken the place of Black Friday. Hard. Forget risking being trampled and waking up at horrifying hours – just whip out your laptop/phone/tablet in the comfort of your own bed. Technology has taken the place of shopping in the mall, and I am personally ay-okay with that. Cyber Monday is my favorite holiday (after Thanksgiving, of course), and I am here tonight to give you some tips on how to make the most of this day of savings. Ready… set… shop!
I will admit right now that I seriously pride myself in my online shopping abilities. There is rarely ever a time that I pay full price for something, and I’m usually able to find multiple deals at once. This skill did not come naturally, however. It took years of practice (and some mistakes) to become the savvy shopper that I am now. At this point, it’s like a sixth sense for me! The tips that I am about to give you are geared around Cyber Monday, but also apply to general online shopping as well:
1) Sign up for promotional emails from the stores you shop at. While this is somewhat obvious, it’s important to know that most companies do their marketing via email and social media networking. They send out many different deals/discounts at varying points of the year, and without being signed up, you will miss out!
2) Know what items you have been needing to buy. My favorite part of Cyber Monday is the elatedness that comes with seeing something you’ve been needing for ages for half the price. For example, I’ve been seriously needing sweaters for the colder months, so that was the first thing I searched for on my favorite clothing sites. Every sweater I purchased was half-off, if not more.
3. Filters are your absolute best friend. The first thing I do is search the category of what I want (for example: “sweaters” or “bralettes”), and then I narrow it by “price: lowest to highest”. This is a lifesaver. Not only does it save you the time of scrolling through items you certainly cannot afford, it also narrows down the price range of exactly what you’re looking for. Because I’m familiar with online deals, I knew I was going to be able to find sweaters for under $20. This tool allowed me to see the sweaters exactly in my price range!
4. Be careful of buying things just because they’re on sale. The “price: lowest to highest” filter can sucker you into buying things you really don’t need but feel inclined to buy because of the discount. These “little” purchases can add up quickly, and I can promise you – these purchases will end up being the most unworn items in your closet. Not to be confused – if you find something that happens to be cheap that you were already in need of, that’s perfect! But, there have been a lot of times I bought something I would never wear, just because it was on sale. (This is one of those mistakes I was referring to in my second paragraph.) Also, be mindful of the quality of the things you are eyeing, because you never want to sacrifice quality for price.
5. Open those tabs. I know, I know – this is going to give a lot of you anxiety. This is one of the smartest things you can do. I pinky promise! Today, I opened every single website I planned to browse/purchase from in its own tab to compare styles and prices. There is absolutely nothing worse than buying something only to find it cheaper on the next website you look at. (Another mistake I have learned from!) I had “sweaters” open on 5 different websites and found the same style ranging from $35 to $15. Do your comparing!!!
6. Do other shopping in the meantime. Need to do holiday shopping for the rest of the family? Take advantage of this time. With free shipping (usually) and discounted items, it is so smart to make the most of what you’re buying – because if you don’t, you’ll end up spending a lot more in the meantime. Plus, you’ll save yourself some time and get some shopping/stress out of the way!
7. Get things you’ve been needing to meet the price range. What I mean by this is, some stores will have specific shipping deals. I believe it was Cotton On that had a “free shipping over $55 sale”. That sounds extensive, but with two $20 sweaters, a pullover sweatshirt, and a pair of leggings, I was right below that $55 mark. Then, I thought about what else I needed (I’ve been looking for a long choker for some time now), searched it, and sure enough it was on sale and brought me right up to that price. Not only did I get free shipping, but I also remembered another thing I’ve been trying to discount buy. (Is it me or are chokers ridiculously overpriced when they’re not on sale?!)
8. Take advantage of that free shipping. 3/4 of the stores I bought from had free shipping for the day, and this is not something you want to put on the back burner. If there is something you are unsure about getting and want to put it off for another time, remember that another time you won’t have free shipping. This will add at least $5-8 (or so) to your total. This may not seem like a lot, but it can be the difference between a $22 sweater and a $30 sweater. I’m not saying to go crazy buying everything in the store just because you have free shipping, but be conscious of the fact that free shipping is not always a given.
9. Prepare to spend more than you had bargained for. I’m sure this one is a no-brainer. I knew I was going to spend at least $100 and it ended up being $150. I’m not beating myself up, however. I truthfully only bought one or two things that were not items I had been looking for sales on. For $150 I bought a black cable sweater ($20), a maroon turtleneck sweater ($15!), leggings ($5), a pullover sweatshirt ($13), sparkly fashion socks ($3) [one of those things I didn’t necessarily need, but was cheap enough to get me to the free shipping price], a long choker ($5), a layered choker ($5), an off-the-shoulder top ($10), a cage lace bralette ($7), a double strap lace bralette ($6), a bodysuit for NYE ($24) [see, something I will need later down the road but bought ahead of time to save myself money in the long run], a white turtleneck sweater ($15), and a gray going-out turtleneck ($14). These were all from Cotton On, Tobi, PacSun, and Garage. For 13 items, $150 is an amazing total.
10. Take your time. I spent more time than I would like to admit this morning on shopping, but that time was necessary and enabled me to save as much as I possibly could. I researched, compared, and really kept in mind what I did/did not need, and for that reason, I do not regret the price I spent. I have not had a shopping binge for a while, and I am hoping this one will hold me over for the rest of the year!
May the deals be ever in your favor!
Truly,
Taylor