Preparing for Christmas
Everyone knows that the Christmas period is often one of the busiest periods of the year for businesses and that means you will need to plan in advance so that you deliver the best quality service to your customers. If however, you’re a customer then it’s really important that you plan your Christmas purchases in advance so that you avoid disappointment at Christmas time.
We mentioned in a previous blog that you need to ensure you have products in stock and that if you don’t, your customers will not be happy. If you advertise a product as being in stock, but it’s not then although it’s reasonable for your customers to wait a few days for the product, if it’s going to be longer than that you need to let your customers know BEFORE they place the order, or at the very worst, right after the order has been placed. Don’t wait until a couple of weeks after they’ve placed the order to let them know you can’t provide it.
It was said in last week’s blog that it would be bad customer service and leave people with the wrong impression of your company. That holds true. Failure to keep your customers informed of product delivery will just annoy them and potentially lead to even the most loyal of your customers walking away.
When a customer walks away once, and goes to another retailer, online or otherwise, that shift away from you once, could potentially stop buying from you all together and that could also cost you, other customers, and no business, online or otherwise wants that so ensure you only sell products you have in stock, and keep your customers informed.
Christmas is a busier time for all types of retailers, including online. That means you are going to have increased needs and require increased staff numbers to ensure you meet your customers’ needs. Although you may not think it’s necessary for an online retail environment because you aren’t dealing with customers face to face, it is still worth hiring extra staff to cope with the increased demand. You do not need to hire them on a permanent full-time basis if you only have a short-term need. You can instead plan for this period by hiring the right number of staff. Even when you’re running an online store it’s important to have enough staff to cater for customer requirements. Those staff will be in the warehouse and they’ll be in your distribution centre because even as an online retailer those requirements are the same as retail outlets.
As a customer, most stores anticipate and plan the Christmas rush. There will be increased demand and pressure on retailers and postal services. Ultimately that means you need to order your products earlier than you normally would so that they will arrive on time for Christmas Day. A good rule of thumb is to order a few weeks before Christmas. That will allow for any shipping delays if the retailer needs to order the goods in, and it will allow for potential delivery to the gift recipient, although, to cut down on transportation time, you could get the item delivered to them directly rather than getting it delivered to you first. That will save you considerable time.
There are always crowds at Christmas time because people leave their shopping until the last minute. They don’t tend to plan in advance so that can also lead to disappointment three days before Christmas when people do all their shopping. It doesn’t have to be that way though. You can buy throughout the year, and that way you will not only get all the products you want, you will also avoid significant disappointment and will not be left wondering what you’re going to get people for Christmas. There’s nothing worse than receiving a gift a few months late, so if there is someone you’re buying make sure you buy in advance, especially if it’s a popular product like an iPhone or something else that is likely to sell out by the time Christmas rolls around.
If, of course, you do leave your Christmas shopping until the last minute then you should set a spending limit and stick to it. If you don’t, it would be very easy to get caught up in the Christmas madness and spend way more than you intended to, or worse yet, buying what you don’t need. That said, if you see an item on sale, why not save it for next year if it’s an item that is likely to remain on trend for a considerable time period.
These tips should help you as a retailer deal with the Christmas rush, and should also help you as a customer so that you don’t need to worry about missing out on the ideal product for your friends or family members.
Shopping at Ebay at the Lowest Prices
In today’s economic climate people don’t have as much discretionary income as they might have in previous times. This is due to the rising cost of living. As a result, they want to be sure that they are not paying too much for goods and services. That leads to them making decisions to save money. One such decision means that they are searching online for cheaper prices and looking for the best discounts they can possibly get their hands on.
Their online search is quite extensive and they will conduct research to find the best value for money. Value for money is not just defined by the lowest price. It is also defined by the number of features and the quality of the product that you are purchasing. People will look at goods on a number of sites. The sites they look at for the best deal around extends to Ebay as well as the major online retailers and discount chain stores.
Ebay allows shoppers access to many more products than what they could find in their local area. EBay has such a wide range of products that you can easily choose from without even leaving your house. All you need to do is go onto the website and enter a search term of the products that you want. Then you’re away and can easily find the products that you want.
Shopping through Ebay gives you access to products at prices you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. You can find products at a rate cheaper than what you would pay in store. When you buy online you have access to retailers that may not be in your particular town or city, so you’re not limited by geography or the cost of living where you are.
Often the reason why goods are cheaper online is that online retailers have lower overheads so they can charge less than what a local business would charge. The really good part about buying online is that the quality is just as good as what local brands would charge, but you do not pay local prices.
Sometimes people associated cheap with goods not being as high quality but that simply isn’t true. There have actually been reports that cheaper products are manufactured in the same factories as labelled ones and that in some cases the only difference is literally the label on the product. The product itself isn’t actually any different.
People are also busy today and don’t have the time to wait at stores. They want to get their shopping done easily. When you use online shopping websites that are done conveniently from your home and at any time you want. You don’t have to contend with crowds of people or worry about car parking. Online shopping allows you to be focused in your shop so you only target a specific product and don’t waste time.
When you shop online it is much easier to maintain focus and you won’t need to worry about getting distracted looking at products you don’t actually want or need. You will just search for the products you want. You can streamline your search so that you compare the different offerings available. Comparing prices and features is much easier online and you will not need to spend time travelling between stores That will not only save you money on the products that you’re buying. It will also save you the money you might have spent on others had you gone into a physical store.
Instead just sit back, browse products from the comfort of your own home and then wait for the discounted goods to arrive. It will be like Christmas for you all year round when you buy online.
What you should never pay full price for?
These days it seems that everyone is looking for the lowest price and looking for a way to save a dollar or two. People don’t have a finite supply of money so they need to be sure they’re getting quality when they make a purchase and sure that they’re spending their money wisely. If you don’t spend your money wisely there can be consequences. One such consequence is that by trying to get a bargain you end up paying more in the long run, this is especially the case if you buy an item cheaply but you have to replace it more often and end up paying more than if you’d simply spent the full amount in the first place.
So what should you spend and splurge on?
You should never splurge on magazines. Don’t pay the monthly or weekly cover charge. Instead get a subscription and save yourself some money. You can often save yourself a large portion of the cover charge. Shop around for the best deal as well. Just because the price is high at one place doesn’t mean it will be at another and let’s be honest, that money is better in your pocket than someone else’s.
Most people don’t buy their books in the store anymore and you shouldn’t either. When you pay full price you might as well be giving your money away. You shouldn’t pay full price for books because in all honesty, you’re only likely to read them once or twice before they’ll be sold on. So why not by them cheaply and sell them later anyway?
Clothes are another category you should never pay full price for. There are so many discounts available. You can either take advantage of two for one deal or simply wait until the end of the season and get the same item on sale for half the price. I know this is what I do. I never pay full price for my clothes, well that’s not strictly true. I do, but only when I really can’t wait for the item and it’s high quality. If the item is seasonal then you definitely should not be paying full price as you won’t get all the wear out of it that you need to. You can also utilise the specials you can get when you use coupons.
There are so many discount grocery stores around, both online and offline. The key is to buy in bulk. When you buy in bulk you get discounts that you wouldn’t get if you were to just buy one or two items at once. It’s best to buy in bulk, especially if you are buying an item you regularly buy, for example, don’t pay full price for bread, but make sure you can store it in a freezer or it will go off and you’ll lose the benefit of the discount. You don’t want to end up spending more money in the long run.
Appliances come in and out of fashion every couple of years. The reason for this is because technology is constantly evolving. As a result, you should never pay full price for electronic appliances because you could end up losing the money and having less in your pocket. This is especially the case for technology such as mobile phones. There is a new smash hit phone every couple of years. Speaking of smash hit phone, most people drop their iPhone or Android phone at least once and end up with a cracked screen. That can be pretty costly if you do it on a regular basis.
It can be really difficult to spot a bargain online but there are a few things you need to ask yourself and you’ll be able to.
If you ask yourself how long the item you’re purchasing will last you and then the number of times you will use it, or how long you expect it to last you can identify if it’s a bargain or not. The greater the use you get out of something, the more of a bargain it is if it was reasonably priced. Let’s be honest though. What we deem “reasonable” differs between us greatly. Some of us would think a $350 leather jacket is a bargain while others would think that’s a splurge. Some, on the other hand, would be happy paying $30 for a book but others would deem that a rip-off. It’s all about what you value and there is no set formula to what we place value on. There is, however, a formula to “cost per use” or “cost per wear”.
There are of course occasions when you should pay full price but again, that’s definitely up to the individual and what they value. If you are conscious of what you’re spending though then make the most of discounts and coupons. That way you’ll have more of your own money in your pocket rather than giving it to retailers and help them go on an expensive trip to Fiji.
Discovering Free Coupons to Spare Cash
Sparing cash by utilizing coupons for the things you are going to buy in any case is key. The test might be discovering these free coupons. When you acknowledge that it is so natural to spare cash by utilizing coupons you will never need to shop again without them.
The old conviction was the best way to get coupons was to buy a daily paper or trust for something to come via the post office which was near what you needed. Luckily, now through the web, you have the capacity be a proactive customer.
There are destinations which have practical experience in coupons and extraordinary arrangements all intended to spare you cash at your most loved retailers. Their administrations are free furthermore permit you the additional profit of correlation shopping. You have the capacity buy the accurate thing you were searching for at the best cost as well as frequently with a free coupon. It permits you the advantage of not needing to drive anyplace or stress over a stopping spot or current climate conditions, There are regularly free dispatching coupons accessible which add to your funds. Before you purchase dependably discover a coupon first.
An alternate spot to discover free coupons is through parsimonious bloggers. There are many bloggers who find on a day by day and week by week premise the best accessible staple and medication store bargains. Their forte is matching the producer’s coupon and particular store coupons. Regularly through their site, you have the capacity print the coupons. I discover this an extraordinary administration particularly on the off chance that you don’t get the daily paper.
In the event that you are searching particularly for a brand an alternate approach to discover free coupons is by going to the producer’s site. Once there you can pursuit and check whether there are any coupons accessible. This is off and on again an extraordinary spot to sign up for uncommon offers as they get to be accessible.
As should be obvious discovering free coupons is just a click away. By utilizing coupons the investment funds will be extraordinary. In the event that you don’t have entry to the web, go to your neighbourhood library.
Using Coupons can Save People Huge Amounts every Month
The wisest thing to do on the internet, is to use a coupon while purchasing anything that will get you a discount. For example, to get online coupons for Ebay, that is most in demand, you will need to scour the web for it, and this is completely different than checking other eCommerce websites for better deals. Because once you get those coupons, you can get a better deal on any website that you wish.
And while most people think that only selected people to get access to those coupons, it is certainly not true. You don’t need to be a highly technical guy to search for those coupons. All you need is these methods to make sure that you get the best deal available on the internet every time you purchase anything online. And once you’ve got those awesome coupons, you should know exactly how to use them. It doesn’t make any sense gathering those huge amounts of coupons if you just don’t know how to use them. So without any further due, let’s get into the nitty gritty of this.
Never Ignore Anything
I know a couple friends of mine who ignore those coupons and purchase everything in the mentioned price. This is what I say the “Ignorant” behaviour. I mean, if you are getting those discounts for just clicking on them, then why not take advantage of it?
So make sure that the next time you spot those free coupons anything on the web, grab it by its throat and whether you will be shopping or not, just make sure that you save them so that you can use them at a later date.
Now that the “Ignorance” thing is out of our way, let’s get into the How To Use A Coupon On The Internet Thing.
Coupon Code
This is the most common way to get those prices slashed on the internet. You are given a coupon code that is a combination of letters and numbers (or sometimes just letters and just numbers), that you can use while making the payment. Once you enter that code, the price will automatically be reduced by a certain percentage or amount. One thing you need to make sure is that you should copy and paste the coupon code exactly as it is mentioned, or else you might not be able to redeem it.
The Link Follow Discount
This is the emerging way to get a discount. Basically, this is another way to get popularity for a new store. In this method, you click a link that gets you to a particular online store where you get an already discounted price for the mentioned product or any product that you purchase. I prefer this way because here we don’t have to remember to enter the coupon codes while checking out, just make the payment.
Combining Coupons
Okay, this is the part where online shopping gets complex. I know there are savvy shoppers who want to use that coupon on the appropriate product, at the appropriate time to get the maximum discount on it. But there are some limits that are already set by the seller of that product, below which you cannot redeem any coupons.
But there are still other websites that allow you to use multiple coupons even after getting a discount coupon from them. These are the websites that I call the Heart because they almost always win my heart.
Ask For It
This is the simple best way to get those coupons. There are two ways you can get these. Either by calling the manufacturer (if you are purchasing directly from their website), or call the company that is selling the product. And don’t just ask for a discount, ask for any available coupons. More often than not, they will give you one to have a loyal customer.