Online shopping is on the increase. It has become a safe and fast way to get your goods. With a bit of online savviness, you can also save a few pounds over ‘traditional’ high street shopping.

Online shopping fears and scams are becoming a thing of the past as retailers and banks are catching up and ever improving their customer shopping experience.

Here are ten tips to help you avoid headaches and make the best savings when shopping online:

1. Favourite Retailers

Do you have favourite retailers or places that you shop regularly? If so, it’s worth following their social media sites or signing up for their email newsletter. These are the first places they are likely to release news of a sale, discount or voucher code.

2. Voucher Code Search

Search for voucher codes on Google etc. Simply type the retailers name and ‘voucher code’ and you will get up plenty of saving options.

3. Strong Voucher Code Search

Be sure to have a look through the first or second page of your search results. Quite often, more generous voucher codes will not be the first listed offers. TroopScout often has much stronger voucher codes than the big saving names online, so be sure to check here too!

4. Unhappy With Your Purchase?

If you are unhappy with your purchase, let the seller know. They will be keen to protect their reputation with good customer service.

5. Public Complaints

If you are really disgruntled with your seller and or purchase, contact them via twitter with public hashtags such as #customerservice . They should be keen to look after you and keep onlookers impressed by their top-notch customer service.

6. Market-Place Feedback

If you are buying from Amazon marketplace, eBay, ‘not on the high street’, Etsy etc. Be sure to check the sellers feedback so you know who you are dealing with.

7. Premium Goods From Big Names

Avoid buying expensive goods such as laptops, mobiles, TVs etc from smaller sites or online market places. If things go wrong, you want to have the clout of a big company to protect your back. Trust big names such as: Amazon direct, PC World, Currys, Play.com, etc

8. Odds And Ends

eBay is a great resource for smaller household items that you might be looking for. There are many sellers on there competing with each other, this keeps the prices down and the customer service high. Don’t forget to read seller feedback, check the items location, and total price after shipping.

9. Home Delivery

If you are away from home in the daytime when you are expecting delivery, leave a note on the door for the delivery driver saying a safe place to hide your parcel. It might be worth adding to the note, asking them to ‘remove this note once the item is hidden’ to avoid anyone else finding your parcel. This should not be practiced with high value items, these will often require a signed for signature to avoid missed deliveries.

10. Password Security

If you are creating a user account for an online retailer, use a strong password. Use upper and lower case letters and numbers and different password for each site. Software such as 1Password can help you create strong passwords and remember them too. It is a paid premium service, but well worth every penny (searching ‘1password voucher code’ in Google will help you out ?? .

Follow these rules for a great online shopping experience and save a few extra quid to go towards that holiday on the beach!

Have any tips of your own? Let us know in the comments below.

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