Slow Shopping
How to get the products you want at the lowest cost
Our Tech Super Saver Jonathan has a big interest in tech and works in the gaming industry. To keep up with his hobbies it is impossible for him to not have a keen eye for a deal.
The Black Friday discounts you’ll see on billboards and web banners this month are great, but they’re sitting at the tip of a massive dealburg! Saving money is about much more than just turning up and clicking on adverts, so check out my advice for how you can get the products you want for the least money this year.
Join the club(s)
Mates’ rates don’t just apply to rent and second-hand speakers from the in-laws. Lots of retailers will reward their newsletter and/or points scheme subscribers with a special discount code in the run-up to major promotions. Find out who stocks the products you want, get registered ahead of time, and you might just be in luck. I have a secondary email address for promotional subscriptions so that my personal inbox doesn’t get bloated with spam, too. PriceSpy's alert & price history features are a great place to start when you are looking for specific products at a specific cost.
Boost your savings with browser extensions
As I’ve said before, there are loads of extensions available to shoppers that can shave decent money off purchases by flagging up voucher codes and cheaper options. The main ones I’ll be using this year (and every year) are:
- Honey
Honey scours the internet for active voucher codes that you can use on the products in your basket. - Piggy
Similar to Honey, with a nice central feed for popular products and savings.
Calculate price, not percentage!
This one seems obvious, but it’s easy to get dazzled by a massive “discount” and end up paying over the odds. There are rules in place to stop retailers artificially inflating prices pre-sale, but percentages can still be very misleading. “15% off” £90 is a better deal than “20% off” £100 – always and only judge your deals by the cold hard cash that’s coming out of your account.
Test the retailer’s resolve
With online retail, there’s more going on behind the scenes than you might imagine. Get ready to experiment a bit.
You know how subscription services sometimes slash your fees if you threaten to cancel? Well, retailers often do the same. Log in to your account, add products to your basket, and close the tab completely. Sellers with the right tech will recognise that you have abandoned your purchase and email with a last-ditch offer to win you back!
Text:
Jonathan Watts
Published:
1st November 2021
This article is written by PriceSpy's tech super saver. No one else has influenced the content of it. There are no paid links or other types of advertising collaborations.
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