It’s the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ again: time for a plethora of holiday decorations, food, spending quality time with family…and presents! Although presents do not quite signify what the holidays are all about, they sure are fun to receive and even more fun to give. There’s no better feeling than watching someone open the perfect gift…but what to get them? Read on for five tips on online shopping for everyone on your list, on a student budget!
TIP #1: Make sure the websites you are shopping on are secure.
There are so many online stores out there these days that you are bound to stumble upon one that you have never heard of—be careful, these could be fake sites that want to spam you, steal your identity, or worse. If you find something you like on a site like this, it is best to try to find in on a more reputable site (like Amazon, Etsy, etc.). If you absolutely can’t find anything, look for things like customer testimonials, the use of PayPal as a payment option, and if there is a return policy or customer service number. Also, when shopping online it is best to remember that if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you see a brand new iPad on sale for $19.99, it is (unfortunately) a very bad idea to give that site your credit card information!
TIP #2: Use websites outside of online stores
If you are looking for a present for someone, the best way to find something that they would love is to look at things that they like. How do you figure that out? Check their Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest accounts! Social networking sites are a goldmine for finding out what a person likes and the kind of gift they would enjoy most. That person who is always instagramming pictures of Starbucks cup? Get them a Starbucks giftcard (not online… sue me). Know somebody that is always tweeting about how cold their apartment is? Get them some slippers or a nice warm sweater! Facebook likes can show you what type of movies and music people like, which is extremely helpful for gift buying. Pinterest is the definitely the best website for this—most user even have a board titled “Wishlist” or something similar. If what they want is out of your price range, you can use websites like TheHunt.com to find the item at a discount! A fair warning though, if the person likes that particular item enough to post it online, they might have already purchased in for themself or gotten it as a gift from someone else!
TIP #3: Personalize
The hardest people to buy for? Those who buy themselves everything they want! They see something they like in a store and they buy it immediately (how aggravating!). So when a gift-giving occasion rolls around there is nothing they truly want. That is where personalized gifts come in. The person in question may already have a mug, but they probably don’t have a mug with a picture of the two of you (or of their favourite band, their name, a meaningful quote, etc.) on it! Www.artscow.com is a website where you can select basically any item (phone cases, mugs, blankets, calendars, key chains, pens, pillows, and more) and then put a picture of anything you want on it (for cheap). It’s easiest to upload a picture you took with a camera and use the template they provide; however if you want to get creative you can Photoshop your own design and make a special present for everyone on your list.
BONUS: This website also offers tons of promotions, including free shipping on orders over $20!
TIP #4: Buy vouchers
Vouchers are relatively new to the online shopping world, but websites such as Groupon and DealFind are very popular. A voucher is like a gift-card, but it is for a specific service or item instead of a dollar amount. The best part about vouchers is that they are often very highly discounted from the original price of the good or service that you get for purchasing it (as companies usually offer them as a way to get people to come into their store and hopefully become loyal customers). Vouchers that would make great gifts could be for pedicures, haircuts, car detailing, hotel stays, or passes to a popular attraction.
BONUS: there is no shipping cost because you print them out at home!
TIP #5: Shop smart
Sometimes you will find a great deal online and then as you are checking out you find out that shipping costs a ridiculous amount of money. Look for websites that offer free shipping, or offers like “free shipping on orders over $50” like forever21.com. Sometimes buying items in bulk also helps lower the price. Before buying anything online you should Google promo codes for that site, a lot of people will post them in forums or on deal sites! Also, just like when shopping at a mall, you should keep an eye out for sales online, especially sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.