Tips and Tricks while shopping online

Online shopping in India is increasing, and people like me prefer to order things online rather than going to shop and purchase it. Especially, utilities that don’t need physical inspection, they are lot easier to buy online now.

As so many Indian e-commerce websites coming in, and especially if you are a brand conscious shopper, you will find amazing deals online. At the same time shopping online have its own advantages and disadvantages.

If you are an impulsive buyer, you might end up shopping un-necessarily. In last 2-3 years, I have seen many E-commerce websites in India coming up and dying, and based on my online shopping experience, I will share some insights, tips and ideas on shopping online from Indian E-commerce sites and also how to save maximum money.

With the features like cash on delivery, shopping online has become easier, and anyone with internet connection can shop from home or smartphone.

If you live in any of the metro cities, you will find it more convenient to order stuff online rather than going to shop for shopping. Whenever I have to order a branded stuff or buy a utility or gadget, I prefer ordering it online, as I get best deal online and since I live in capital city of India, delivery is quick.

I use different websites for different purposes. For example, IRCTC to book train tickets, MakeMyTrip to book flight tickets, Flipkart, Amazon to browse products (I don’t usually end up buying from them), and few more websites that I will share below.

First, let me share few tips which you should keep in mind when you are sitting in front of your laptop with credit card details:

• Don’t be an impulsive buyer. If you like a product, don’t instant buy it, if you want to save money. I will talk about this later in this article.
• Buy stuff which you are going to use, don’t buy just for the sake of it or to increase your shopping basket.
• Don’t buy the cheapest product, rather buy the second best cheapest product. This will create a big difference for your collection.
• If 0% EMI option is available, prefer to use that instead of COD or paying at one time. This way burden on your pocket will be less.
• If E-commerce site has an option for the coupon, do search for coupon codes to get an extra discount.
• Make a list of stuff which you need, and keep an eye on special deals from Snapdeal, eBay, Groupon or other similar sites.
• Last but not the least: Money saved is money earned, so again “Don’t buy stuff which you don’t need.”

In last eight months, I have done online shopping worth 1 Lack (Including iPhone5), and I try to save as much as I could. After waa sting few of my hard earned money on buying random stuff, I learned it hard way to buy only those stuff which I’m going to use, and not because the product looks interesting.

More over, don’t rely on one site for shopping, as you can always find great deals for the same product on other E-commerce sites. So, let me share how I shop now, and this will be helpful for many Indian users, who prefer shopping online:

• Make a list of product that you want to buy.
• If you know what you want, but don’t know which company or brand you should go for. Do research online. Check reviews on eBay, Amazon (if available), or similar E-commerce sites where people leave reviews.

Now, I could see the lowest price is on the first site followed by Infibeam and Snapdeal. Usually, I don’t mind ordering from new e-commerce sites, as most of the E-commerce sites have a return policy.

However, when I shop from a new Indian E-commerce site, I do check things:

• About page – Give me details about the company.
• Refund policy
• Payment options
• Design
• Contact information

If any of these details are missing, I skip to next site. The trust factor is very important for any E-commerce site. From the above image, Snapdeal, Infibeam, Vijay sales are known the brand, and trustable.

So if a new site fails to create trust in the first impression, I simply jump to trustable once. Now, along with product based discount, many of these sites have an option for putting a promo code.

For example, when you are shopping from Snapdeal, along with a discount on the product, you can use Snapdeal discount coupon to get extra discount on final bill. There are many online coupon sites where you can get discount coupons for various E-commerce sites, or a simple Google search (E-commerce site name + discount Coupon ) like khojdeal and Grabon will let you find more coupon codes.

As I mentioned above, if you are buying a costly product online, it’s better to go for EMI option. Since almost all of these online sites offer 0% EMI option, you have nothing to lose, and you will not put a big hole in your pocket instantly.

Especially if you are buying mobile phones, laptop or any costly gadget, EMI option is your best friend. This way, you will not only shop at lowest possible price, but also you will end up shopping smartly. Also, additionally you should take advantage of Payback points if available.

For example, when you shop from MakeMyTrip, you accumulate points, and you could use it to get extra goodies for free from Payback.in. This option may not be available in online shops, but still an option you should look for.

When I bought iPhone last time, I ordered it from Infibeam, and with the discount coupon, I saved INR500 ($10), which may not be much, but again that 500 saving means, I earned extra 500.