Top 6 Ways to Maximize Your Online Shopping Experience

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With the amount of online shopping and product sites out there, you might be saying to yourself – “where do I even begin”?

Here are a few tips to start you off:

Tip # 1: Read aggregated product reviews with Wize.com

For me, Wize.com is right up there as one of the best online resources for product reviews. It’s strength comes from it’s ability to aggregate user and expert reviews from all the major review sites such as CNet, PC World into a single location, making it a true one stop center for comprehensive reviews of any gift you are scoping out.

Tip #2: Find a gift which looks the same, but cheaper – with Like.com

From the makers of Riya, the famous photo storage site with face recognition, comes Like.com, a truly amazing search engine which features product recognition from photos.

Here’s a quick run down of key features.

• The ability to search by image as well as text. Upload an image of something you like, and Like.com will search it’s database for a product that looks like your image. With that you can
  • Find color and design variants of the item you desire;
  • Find clothing, shoes and accessories similar to those worn by your favorite celebrities
  • Find similar looking items within your price range

Try Like.com, and both your wallet and your girlfriend will love you.

Tip #3: Get the bottom line prices with UGenie.com

If you’re searching for Books, Movies, CDs, or games, stop over at Ugenie to find the some bargains. What I really like about Ugenie is that it cuts right to the point when it comes to pricing. It will search multiple shopping sites online, and apply all the available discounts, and add in the hidden (shipping and tax) charges before presenting you with a final price, so you know what exactly you’re paying.

i.e. Bottom Line Price = Item price + Shipping + Taxes – Coupon Discounts

Tip #4: Find interesting deals & compare prices online

Personally, I find it really hard to tell which is the best price comparison site on the web because results will vary from product to product. Here are a few popular ones you can try.

• Google’s Froogle
• Yahoo Shopping
• PriceFight
• Dealio
• dealspl.us
• Pronto
• Shoutback

Tip #5: Get free coupon codes at RetailMeNot.com

Many online stores allow for a “coupon” or “promotion” code when you order to automatically assign discounts, deals and freebies (kinda like money for nothing). RetailMeNot is a place for finding and sharing these coupon codes – and it comes with a free bookmarklet too. Does the concept sound familiar? Well that’s because it’s brought to you by the same people who did BugMeNot. Highly recommended.

Tip #6: Get awesome coupon deals at Coupon Chief

Coupon Chief is a great free resource for online coupons. Before you buy anything make sure you look up their site first. They also have a reward system which pays people to upload coupon codes to the site, which ensures they have a strong community of coupon contributors as well.

And there you go… 6 solid tips to get your shopping off to a great start!

What are your favourite online shopping resources?