(Newswire.net — November 23, 2018) — The process of shopping and making purchases has changed rather dramatically over the past 20 years. Not only is there increased competition in many verticals and product categories, but there’s also an abundance of information. Knowing how to sift through all of this will benefit you in your search for the right product at the best price.
How to Always Find the Best Deal
Life as a customer often seems overwhelming. There are so many different products to choose from – each with its own set of features, pros, cons, and prices. Finding the best deal can feel like trying to locate a needle in a haystack. But with some practice, you can consistently make smart purchase decisions – regardless of the product or service you’re buying. Here’s how:
1. Use Independent Rankings and Reviews
There’s a huge discrepancy between biased and unbiased product information. You’ll find both online, but you should try your best to lean less on the former and more on the latter.
Biased product information typically comes in the form of branded content and information that’s available on a company’s website or social media profiles. While this information may be true, it’s always going to be structured and worded in a manner that makes the product look good.
If you want the truth without all of the promotion, spend your time reviewing independent sources of information. Top10.com is an example of a trustworthy, independent source that ranks and compares products without any influence from the brands themselves. There are plenty of other industry-specific websites that do this as well. Referencing them in your purchase process will serve you well.
2. Read Customer Reviews
It’s one thing to find a product with an attractive price point. But the lowest price doesn’t always indicate the best deal. If that product breaks a week after you get it, then it doesn’t matter how much you saved. What you want is a competitively priced product that’s reliable.
The best way to gauge a product’s reliability is to read organic customer reviews. You can find these on Google, Amazon, and other independent websites. Keep an eye out for fake online reviews and never work with a company that knowingly uses them to promote their products.
3. Try Comparison Engines
You’ll also find that there are plenty of comparison shopping engines that use various metrics and data points to compare multiple products and services within a category. When you’re first starting your search, this can be an excellent way to whittle down your list to the ones that are worth your time.
Comparison engines are particularly helpful when it comes to technical products that have lots of different features and specs. It allows you to quickly find the ones that fit your needs and evaluate how products differ. Sites like PriceGrabber.com are helpful for this purpose.
4. Tap Your Social Media Network
While you can personally conduct a lot of your own research on products, sometimes it’s nice to enlist the help of people you trust. To get product recommendations, try making a post on your social media accounts. Your followers may be able to point you in the right direction.
5. Leave an Item in Your Shopping Cart
Here’s a lesser-known trick that may prove helpful when shopping from certain ecommerce sites: sign up for an account with the merchant, add a product to your shopping cart, and then leave the website without completing the purchase. If you wait a few hours, this may trigger an automated email that sends you a discount on the item(s) you’ve left in your cart. Not all ecommerce websites do this, but it’s a rather common technique larger companies use to reclaim some of the value that’s lost from abandoned shopping carts.
6. Shop for Discounted Gift Cards
If you’re looking to save even more money on a product, you may be able to find discounted gift cards online.
Whether via eBay or some other secondhand online store, you can often find people selling used gift cards for less than the remaining value. You won’t save a ton, but discounts in the range of 5 to 20 percent are common.
Patience Pays Off
There are times when you have to make a purchase right away, but you should avoid putting yourself in these situations as much as possible. When time is of the essence, you don’t always have the opportunity to research your options and make a calculated decision.