One thing that turns off people from shopping online is the cost of shipping. It seems you might end up spending more, especially on expensive and heavy items that aren’t worth it. How can you save on shipping from online retailers? Here are some great tips on How to Get Free Shipping with Online Purchases.
How to Get Free Shipping with Online Purchases
Join a shipping savings program. Amazon has something called Amazon Prime that allows members to get free 2-day shipping on most items fulfilled by the Amazon warehouse. It is around $99 a year, but you can split it between 5 other people (who live with you) and share the cost. Along with this, you get access to free movies, books, and streaming TV shows.
Look for coupons. Just by Googling, “Free shipping (name of store)”, you may find some codes that allow you to have free shipping for a limited time. You can also try a site like Freeshipping.com and enter the name of the store you are looking to get free shipping for. Sometimes there are codes available.
Sign up for newsletters in your email from your favorite online retailers. Many times, you can get exclusive free shipping offers sent to your email on a regular basis by signing up. Availability depends on the store.
Regularly check the site. Once a week, you may find deals that are short spanned and offer free shipping. Wait until these deals pop up if it is something that doesn’t need to be bought right away.
See if there is a “site to store” option. If you are shopping at a store that has brick and mortar storefronts as well and one is close to you, see if there is a site to store free shipping option. Not only is it usually free, but you will get your item quicker as well.
Simply ask for it. If there is a live chat option on the website, feel free to just ask if there is a way you can get free or reduced shipping for your order. Tell the associate you are chatting with that you really want to make a purchase, but the shipping is just too much. It never hurts to ask. Many times, these chat personnel have codes they can give out to those asking on a limited basis.
See if there is a promotion to get free shipping when you spend a certain amount. If your item is just below it, fill your basket with very cheap items like a small accessory or clearance item to get you to the amount you need. Just make sure you don’t use more than 1 or 2 filler items that are very low cost or it’s not worth it.
Order offline at the store. If you know your favorite retailer doesn’t have the item you want in stock but they do online, make a trip to the physical store and have an associate order it for you. The shipping will almost always be free this way.
Price-match. Many physical stores will price match with online retailers. For instance, this last Christmas, Best Buy stores were price matching with Amazon. You can get the low price you found
online and not even have to ship it.
More Frugal Shopping Tips:
Tips for Saving Money on Nearly Everything
5 Ways to Save Money at the Farmer’s Market
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