Close your eyes and think of your most recent visit to your local retail store to purchase a gift for a love one. Remember when you entered through the sliding glass doors and immediately noticed the large crowd of people, clogging up the isles and picking away at all the sales items. Maybe you had the encounter with the pesky sales person who asked “Is there anything I can help you with” and you reply politely for the eight time “No, Thank You”. Remember after hassle to get your gift; the reward you received was the long line to get to the cashier. Now open your eyes, go to your computer and make a simple search the same item you purchased. You will notice that the nuisances discussed earlier are eliminated and the item you wanted is a click away. Also look at the price, notice that it is less than the retail price you paid. The benefits of shopping online are easy to see, however if you don’t know what to look for, then obtaining the full benefit is not as easy to see. Use the following as a guide to obtain the full benefit of shopping online.

The web is full with online stores all trying to do one thing… sell to you! The prices are already incredibly low, but some websites have their prices lower than others. Look for online stores who sell at below retail price otherwise know as “Wholesale”. Also make sure when searching for a product online, don’t settle for the first great price you see chances are there’s a better price. For instance, if looking for gifts, don’t just look through the first few websites, go deeper into your search results and ensure your getting the best price. If you could save a dollar or more for every website you visit, then taking the few extra minutes would really be beneficial. However you want to stop as soon as you see the price on the item does not continue to decrease.

When looking through these online stores look to see if they have a minimum order, membership or dropshipping fees. There is nothing more annoying than thinking that you have the best deal on the web and then looking at your checkout cart noticing there are hidden fees. When shopping for wholesale prices this is often the case. Websites who don’t have minimum orders or hidden fees usually advertise this on the home page.

As previously stated, online stores want your business so they are willing to take the extra step to ensure that you not only become a customer but also a return customer. Some websites offer free shipping after a certain amount others offer a free vacation. For example at istockbargains.com customers who purchase $100 or more receive a 3 day 2 night stay at a deluxe hotel. Usually these rewards are listed on the home page of the site. These rewards serve to remind the customer of the store they purchased from and hopefully to entice the return of that customer.

So now when shopping online, remember the following to make sure that you receive the full benefit of shopping online. Remember to truly search for the best price available and don’t just settle for the first store. Remember to look for websites with no membership fees, no dropshipping fees and no minimum order. Finally, don’t be ashamed to want a little extra for your buck. Look for websites that pride themselves on return customers and rewards them for their business.

About the Author

Angel Dominguez is the VP of Sales and Marketing at Continuum Wholesale Group, LLC. Visit istockbargains.com and istockwholesale.com