by Maggie O'Leary

Created on: December 02, 2010

Everyone loves to get a good deal, especially when shopping online. And with the upcoming holidays, budgets are stretched to the limit for many shoppers. There are several ways to find great deals when shopping online, and all are free and take very little effort. And retailers are offering more incentives to encourage shoppers to purchase online as opposed to in-store. This reduces the workload of store staff and raises sales totals during the season.

Search Engines

First, use a search engine to find coupon codes for the online retailer that you wish to order from. Most retailers offer free shipping or a percentage off your order. These coupons are published on coupon websites for use by the general public. Retailmenot.com and CouponCabin.com are two great websites for coupon codes, and they are updated daily.

Email Newsletters

Sign up for the email newsletter from the merchant you wish to shop with. Many of these newsletters offer coupon codes, or give you a free code for a discount on your next order.

Sunday Paper

Check your Sunday paper for store ads. Many of these ads include discount codes for shopping the merchant's online website, in addition to information about sales and coupons for in-store use.

Cash-Back Shopping Websites

Also, utilize cash-back shopping websites. There are many of these online, you simply need to use an internet search engine to find them. MyPoints.com and UPromise.com are the two most popular websites. The amount of cash back you earn is based on a percentage of your total order and can really add up quickly.

Cash Back / Reward Points

You can also use a credit or debit card that offers cash back or rewards points for your purchases. While credit cards were historically the only type of card that offered cash or points rewards, most banks are now offering the same incentives with their debit cards. This is a great way to get an end-of-the-month or end-of-the-quarter rebate on the items you purchase online.

Comparison Shop

And finally, don't forget to comparison shop. Many products are sold by multiple merchants, and you can find a better deal by shopping around. There are also websites that will do this task for you for free. You just simply input the item's information that you are looking for, and the website will tell you which online retailer has the best price on the product.

Holiday shopping doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, you just have to persevere and find the good deals and incentives. Happy holidays!

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