Searching and Buying Wisely ——The Second Step of Buying Christmas Decorations Online

1. Notice the many marketing schemes or tricks that sellers use to lure buyers. There's a bunch of schemes and tricks used in advertisements on the web that can easily distract any online shopper. When the shopper is distracted there's more changes of impulse purchases (purchases brought at first site without good judgement) and the original shopping list, goals and budget to get larger than intended.

2. Use search engines with specific keywords. Stay away from using very generic searches that are vague. Don't just say Christmas decor, or you'll get flooded with millions of results and get lost. Instead of typing "red ball ornaments," type "red glass ball shiny ornaments." Whenever you can, type brands and other specific terms to narrow your searches down. Knowing the size, brand or artist you want will help narrow things down to precise details.

3. Look for coupons. Coupons and promo codes are easy to find on websites of shops, in Christmas forums and blogs, on Facebook, or on coupon sites like RetailMeNot. Watch for sales as well. Pay attention when you watch a video or the TV or radio for those codes. Reading newspapers and magazines may yield new sales for saving money as well as new site options.

4. Use a price comparison engine. There are a some sites that let you compare prices for the exact same item within different stores. Examples of these include Pricegrabber, Google Shopping, Nextag, Shopzilla, Shopping.com, Bing Shopping. These are like search engines that collect information about prices from sellers and give the prices to you. Some sites like Ebay and Amazon will have this already built in and you get the results automatically.Often you will get the price with shipping and handling included other sites do not.

5. Use the rebate or points as you shop sites to your advantage. Swagbucks, Ebates, Beezid are examples of sites that give points for every cent or dollar you spend in a shop while on their site or using an extension, app or button installed on the browser's toolbar. These "points" can depending on that site be converted into gift cards or a check. It's like an online version of a mail-in rebate you receive at stores while in person.

6. Don't forget add shipping and handling costs to the total price. Shipping and handling can present the consumer with surprises. Sometimes an item is very cheaply priced, but the shipping cost can make you pay more than just buying the ornament in a store in person. Some international sites have free shipping but the object being shipped has to go through customs and inspections, and this can take weeks or months.