Shopping Tips

I haven't even begun shopping for the holidays, but I guess I should.  'Tis (almost) the season!!!  After all, the Christmas music has begun on many radio stations, and WalMart and Wegman's have their decorations up and out on display.

I have, however, been thinking about shopping, and I'll share the details of my thoughts with you...  No problem, my brain hurts anyway.

I do use Amazon.com all the time for gift shopping, for my kindle purchases, and to research customer reviews of products (whether I'm buying from Amazon or not).  For those of you who do too, there are two things you may not be aware of that I hope will help make your shopping "trips" easier.

Don't get me wrong, I like shopping in actual SHOPS as much as the next gal.  However, there's something pretty satisfying about ordering on line, after confirming the product is well-reviewed, and then having it shipped - for free!

An Amazon Prime membership is absolutely worth looking into, and will only cost you $79 per year. You can start with a one-month free trial, or if you're a student or a parent, the Amazon Student and Amazon Mom programs offer other benefits - such as free books, and discounts on diapers!

One membership can be shared with up to four additional people, so you and your family members can all receive the membership for one fee.

Basically, you get free two-day shipping and $3.99 one-day shipping on eligible orders.  And, it doesn't matter how large the items are, the shipping is free. Furthermore, with prime membership, you get free video streaming - either to your laptop, tablet, or your TV.  So, not only do you save with shipping, you save for movies (The other movie rental companies cost about $90 a year).  For me, this was a no-brainer.  The video streaming alone is cheaper than the other movie rental companies, and the free shipping can't be beat.  PLUS, you get a free ebook rental per month, and discounts on ebooks.

When you shop, you may have noticed that Amazon will randomly drop their prices.  Sometimes by A LOT.  A sofa can go down from $2000 to $800 overnight.  It's frustrating to think that if you want to buy something from amazon you might miss a price drop.  But there's a solution.  Here's my second tip - go to Chintzee. You just type in the item number you are looking for and you will get an email alert when the price drops.

Pretty cool, huh?  Do you have any shopping tips for the upcoming holidays?  I would love to hear them!

Happy shopping!