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If you know me, you know that I LOVE to shop. But setting foot in a store now involves keeping 2 wild animals contained in a cart, which means I am usually tossing snacks at them and apologizing to strangers for 45 minutes until I admit defeat and race back to the car. So, my new (old) favorite shopping method is now online. All online, all the time.
There are a few websites that I swear by to help me shop smarter – and save money! Here are my fave online shopping tips & tricks:
Shoprunner.com
ShopRunner is an annual membership that allows you to get FREE 2 day shipping + FREE return shipping through select retailers, including Tory Burch, Neiman Marcus, Drugstore.com, Shoes.com – even Domino’s pizza delivery fees are waived when you checkout using ShopRunner. Super easy to use; sites that partner with Shoprunner have options to log in to Shoprunner during checkout so you don’t have to leave their sites to get the free 2 day shipping. It also keeps track of how much I’ve saved on shipping by using Shoprunner- $154 this year. I’ll take it!
eBates.com
eBates deposits CASH into my PayPal account 4xs/year for first visiting their site, searching the store I want to shop (Target, Nordstrom, Gap, etc), and buying through that store’s website. eBates is an affiliate site, which means that retailers pay eBates a portion of each sale that comes from eBates as a referring site. Some sites that NEVER have promo codes will offer a percent back through eBates. For example, I recently got $5 cash back from a pair of never-on-sale Jack Rogers sandals. I also used eBates when we were purchasing furniture for our home; even 1.5-3% cash back adds up quickly when you are spending thousands on big ticket items.
Another trick is to order things using a Pick Up In Store option. For instance, we need soil and mouse traps (ew) from Lowe’s. I visit eBates, click through to Lowe’s, and then checkout on Lowe’s website using the option to Pick Up In Store. Lowe’s puts my order together and all I have to do is run in to pick up my stuff while Chris sits in the car with the kids. This makes errands so much easier, you get a percent off you would never usually get in store, plus you save on shipping costs and shopping time. Win-win-win-win!
eBates is totally free and you can sign up here (if you sign up using this link, I do get a small commission).
Drugstore.com
Drugstore.com is like a trifecta of smart online shopping: I can use BOTH ShopRunner and eBates magic PLUS they have a quarterly rewards program that credits you toward a future purchase. So instead of clipping coupons for very specific items, I can buy what I need, when I need it and get a percent back (from both eBates and Drugstore.com) AND its shipped to me in 2 days. Drugstore.com has staples that you need and things you wouldn’t expect; I buy the obvious staples like toothpaste, medicines and sunscreen but I’ve also purchased glass baby bottles, a humidifier, and a water bottle. Bonus that they have a LOT of organic and natural products, too.
Like my tips? Pin the images above so you don’t forget to use them. Happy saving!
