We have organised some of the best tips to help out with the upcoming Black Friday – Cyber Monday Weekend.

• Beat the Crowds With Night Owl Discounts on Friday at Predawn

Internet shoppers can shop online in the predawn hours of Black Friday. Many retailers will post Black Friday specials that can be ordered online and picked up at your local store. Special “web only” deals will also be available starting as early as Friday 00:01 am

          

• Compare Prices

Use price-comparison Internet shopping sites to assist you in comparing product prices.

Compare the “options” included with the product. A good example of this is super low-priced computer printers that come without the cable or printer ink.

• Budget Accordingly

If you’re shopping for everyone on your list this Christmas, outline what your spend ceiling is when it comes to each person, especially because it’s easy to get caught up in the shopping frenzy with competitive consumers stocking up. That way, you won’t blow your budget on the first enticing sale you see.

• Factor in Shipping Fees

The worst thing to do is have your heart set on a discounted item only to realize that the larger, heavier items, including furniture and technology, have shipping costs that are more expensive than the item itself. Do yourself a favour and look up shipping costs in advance.

• Bookmark Retailers’ Websites and research on Social Media

Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t take full advantage of bookmarks.

Also following social media of sites that you are thinking of purchasing from can save a lot of time and effort in finding the best deals. This information can give you a jump on competitive offers as stocks can be limited

• Avoid Sketchy Websites

Avoid patronizing merchants that shrug at safety. When you visit a new e-commerce website, look for two things: SSL encryption and Verisign protection.

SSL certificates protect against payment card fraud, the bane of online retailers’ and shoppers’ existences alike. The encryption protocol makes it much more difficult for hackers to capture and collect usable payment card information in transit between consumers and retailers.

While SSL encryption is not foolproof, it’s better than nothing. You should never, ever enter your credit card information on a site without it, full stop. SSL-protected page URLs have “https” prefixes.

E.g.  

When you’re dealing with sensitive information, it’s better safe than sorry. Look into browsers with these protections (or free plugins that do the same thing) if you plan to visit lots of unfamiliar sites. You can view our post regarding Online Safety here

• Relax

No matter what happens on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, remember to relax and try to enjoy yourself. Shopping for holiday gifts isn’t the highest-stakes thing you’ll do this year.

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