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Christmas Shopping: Bargains For You!
by: Matthew C. Keegan
This Christmas season promises to be one filled with exceptional
sales and across the board bargains for eager shoppers.
With fuel prices running high, interest rates climbing,
and consumer sentiment mixed, merchants know that they
must slash prices in order to move merchandise. Let’s
take a look at some of the types of sales certain to greet
price conscious shoppers this holiday season.
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More
Inexpensive Christmas Gifts
by: Rick Chapo
The holidays are quickly approaching, which means it’s
time to buy gifts. If you’re a little light on funds,
following are ideas for inexpensive Christmas gifts.
If you’re low on funds heading into the holidays,
stress becomes a problem. Don’t sweat it. Here are
some inexpensive Christmas gifts that will be hits with
everyone.
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Does hearing the terms Christmas shopping make you cringe
and feel stressed out? Find tips and articles here to
help make your Christmas shopping a breeze!
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Christmas Shopping
The Many Benefits of Online Christmas
Shopping
by: Matthew C. Keegan
Over the past decade consumers have grown to appreciate
a new option in shopping for gifts for Christmas: the
internet. Yes, online shopping is here and it is an increasingly
important choice for consumers everywhere. Without even
leaving your home you can compare products, make purchases,
and have gifts sent to your home or directly to your recipients
-- fully wrapped at that! Read on and we’ll take
a complete look at the many benefits of online Christmas
shopping and how you can make this choice work to your
advantage.
Comparison Shopping – How many times have you been
to the store and wondered if the item you were purchasing
was cheaper somewhere else? For low cost items this isn’t
too big of a deal, but if you are buying a television,
computer equipment, jewelry, or some other item costing
several hundred dollars it could be a significant issue
for you. Fortunately, online sites such as Price Grabber,
My Simon, BizRate, and NexTag allow you to find just what
you want at the lowest possible prices. New technologies
that work from your cell phone, such as Frucall, can also
help you find the best prices and allow you to place your
order immediately. Save money, time, and gas by comparison
shopping from your home: no running from store to store
in pursuit of finding the best prices.
Best Selection – If something is being sold somewhere,
likely it is available to you online. From futons to MP3
players and everything in between if it is sold in a store
then likely it is also sold online. Even traditional “brick
and mortar” retailers such as Wal-Mart, Nordstrom,
and Home Depot know that in order to reach consumers everywhere
a significant part of their inventory must be available
to you online. If they don’t provide this service
to you then they fully understand that their competition
will and that you’ll go elsewhere.
Secured Shopping – Most identity theft does not occur
via the internet, therefore you need not concern yourself
with shopping online. Instead, the majority of i.d. thefts
occur when you pump your gas and leave your receipts behind
or when someone swipes important information from your
mailbox. However, to be extra safe, secured shopping sites
with the “https:” address designation ensures
that your vital information remains encrypted and out
of harm’s way -- if you still aren’t certain
that a site is secure, you should see a padlock symbol
in the bottom right corner of your browser’s screen.
Importantly, in most cases you can also authorize the
online retailer to discard your financial information
once your order has been processed – a terrific extra
security step for you!
Free Shipping – Many online retailers will ship Christmas
and other seasonal gifts out for free. Generally, a minimum
purchase total is required – typically $50 or more
– but that amount isn’t hard to reach for most
purchases. In some cases a retailer will wrap your gift
and enclose a card for a small additional charge. What
a great way to shop for the time pressed individual!
Favorable Return Policies - In the early days of online
shopping, big concerns were raised about return policies.
For instance, just how would you return that expensive
digital camera you purchased online? Originally, you may
have had to pay for return shipping and you may have been
charged a restocking fee. Today, most online retailers
have amended their return policies and will allow you
to return items to a local store: buy a coffee maker on
J.C. Penney’s secure website and if you don’t
like it you can go to the mall and return it at the J.C.
Penney store. Of course, you should examine the retailer’s
return policy before you make any purchases online.
Truly, online Christmas shopping is an attractive option
if battling for limited mall shopping spaces, dealing
with surly sales help, or navigating big crowds has no
appeal for you. Apparently, many consumers feel the same
way as most online retailers report sales increases at
double digit rates while year to year fixed base store
sales are growing at a paltry 2 or 3 percent rate. Join
the internet shopping revolution and start your online
Christmas shopping today!
About The Author
Copyright 2010 – Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance
writer for the Shop for Christmas website: http://www.shop-for-christmas.com |
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