Just when you thought your shopping days were over after the chaos that is Black Friday, retailers turn around and throw Cyber Monday at you! 2015 marks the tenth anniversary of Cyber Monday – the day that stores around the world slash prices on their websites to intice customers to shop their online storefront. As a “tech guy” and genuine hater of standing in line waiting to check out in traditional brick and mortar stores, Cyber Monday is right up my alley. What can be better than getting bargains without having to leave the comfort of home to fight traffic and unruly customers? After the joys of Black Friday, I’m not coming up with anything!
There are many benefits to shopping online. From the aforementioned avoiding traffic, to the ability to easily search multiple stores for prices on a product without having to drive all over town, online shopping has its place. I know that many of you have credit cards that give cash back on certain purchases, but did you know that it’s possible to get cash back on every purchase you make online? I’m here to tell you it is, and every day of the year, not just on Cyber Monday. Visit http://www.ebates.com/ to get started! Simply sign up for a free account, peruse the over 1,700 stores you wish to do business with, click the name of the desired store, and you’re automatically directed to the retailer’s official online store where you can shop as usual. Anytime you wish to buy something online, go to Ebates first. Either shop by department, click “All Stores” to see the alphabetical list, or type the store or item you’re looking for in the search bar. Any coupon codes and their descriptions are listed for easy reference. The percentage listed to the right of the retailer’s name is the percentage of cash you’ll get back from making a purchase at that particular store. The cash back is calculated before any sales tax is added, so you’ll have an idea of how much to expect to receive. Make sure to input your name and address into your Ebates account so they know where to send your check! On Cyber Monday, many retailers offer double cash back through Ebates, so be sure to take advantage. There’s also a free app for your Apple, Android, or Windows device as well. For those who are skeptical, this is no scam. Personally, I’ve been a member for two years, and have received checks totalling several hundred dollars. Ebates has been in business since 1998 and has paid out over $325 million. If you’re going to shop, you might as well get some money back!
Shopping on the Internet can be a bit overwhelming. I’ve been looking for an LED TV for my garage for years now. When I’m not working on computers, I’m working on race cars, so I spend enough time in the garage that a nice TV is a must for all the sports I’d otherwise miss. Don’t judge me! I love Samsung TVs, but there are a million different types of them with slightly varying specs. After deciding on a model number, I could search all the popular stores for that model: Best Buy, P.C. Richard, Amazon, the list goes on and on. An easier way would be to head to pricegrabber. Pricegrabber is a website that will list every store on the Internet that lists the item for sale you’re searching for, along with the price, and a link to the site it’s sold from. There are also customer reviews that may help sway you to or away from the product. If you’re not quite sold on what you want and would prefer to shop around a little, you can shop by category, or narrow down a search based on manufacturer, screen size (in that case of my TV example), etc. If you’ve found “the one” don’t purchase it through Pricegrabber’s link: copy the information, and shop through your Ebates portal so you can receive cash back! Pricegrabber, like seemingly everything else, has an app for your mobile device.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you to be safe when shopping on Cyber Monday. As you can imagine, potential predators come out of the woodwork this time of year. If you’re using a desktop or laptop, always make sure your anti-virus software is active and up to date. Complete any Windows Updates that are available for your P.C. to diminish any security vulnerabilities that may exist. Only enter billing information into secure websites: sites with web addresses beginning with https and not http, and/or sites displaying a padlock. Never click on links that come from e-mails you’ve received. Basically, if something doesn’t look quite right, don’t do it. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
For many people (my wife included), shopping online will never take the place of shopping in a traditional store. There’s less of a “thrill of the hunt” when you’re finding deals with the click of a mouse rather than creating incredible steals with floor models and gift cards. Shopping on the Internet has plenty of perks in its own right though, as pointed out above. If you missed Black Friday, the good news is you can make up for it today on Cyber Monday, and you don’t have to worry that the online store will be closed when you get home!